“I’ll stay with Jenn.”
Bobby assumed the itty-bitty blond committee was Jenn. When he glanced at her she winked. He shifted his attention to Raye. “Do you know how to use a gun?”
“Nope.”
Why did people think using a firearm was as simple as pointing and pulling? If you wanted to hit a can that wasn’t moving, shouting, running toward you—often with a gun of its own—maybe it would be. However, that so rarely happened.
People also seemed to think that the bigger the gun the better, never considering how difficult it would be to hold the thing steady at all, let alone if it weighed close to three pounds, like this one. Dirty Harry might fire the weapon accurately, but he doubted anyone else could.
“I am not taking a gun home,” Raye insisted.
“Yes you are,” her father said.
“No I’m not!”
Bobby’s head was starting to ache. “If you didn’t want your father to worry, you shouldn’t have told him there was someone in your apartment.”
Silence fell.
“There was what?” Larsen asked. He didn’t yell, yet still all three of them winced.
Raye shot Bobby a glare. He was glad he had the gun and she didn’t. He took one step into the kitchen and set the weapon on the counter so it was far, far away from her, then returned to the front hall.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Larsen began at the same time Raye said, “There was no one in my apartment.”
“He just said—”
“He searched the place,” Raye interrupted. “Tell him what you found.”
“Nothing.”
Larsen’s gaze narrowed on his daughter. “What did you see?”
“A shadow. Something thumped. After this morning who wouldn’t be spooked? But I had a trained detective search the place, and he found no indication of an intruder.”
“The more important question,” Jenn said, “is why you had a trained detective available to search.”
Raye blinked. “What?”
“You saw a shadow, heard a noise, freaked out and…” She spread her perfectly manicured fingernails. “You rubbed a magic lamp and tall, dark, and well-armed swirled out?”
Raye made a disgusted sound. “Not now, Jenn.”
“It’s a legitimate question.” Jenn shrugged. “Or close enough.”
“I had just driven into town when Raye ran outside,” Bobby explained. “She seemed upset; I asked if I could help, and it turned out that I could.”
“And here I thought there was never a cop around when you needed one.”
“Never mind her,” Raye said. “She’s always like this.”
“Like what?” Jenn asked.
Raye didn’t answer. She seemed a little pale, though it was hard to tell with her Snow White skin, a shade that could have been unappealing, especially with such dark hair and eyes, but instead reminded Bobby of smooth, thick cream. He wondered if it tasted as good as it looked. He wished he had the time to find out, but he doubted he’d be here that long, and considering the size of her dad’s gun, that was probably for the best.
His neck suddenly felt cold, as if a winter wind had swirled down his collar. But it wasn’t winter, and there was no wind. He rubbed at his neck, shifted his shoulders, but that weird sense of a draft didn’t go away.
Raye shivered, as if she’d felt it too, but before he could ask what was wrong, she pushed past her friend and out the door.
Jenn bussed Mr. Larsen on the tip of his chin. She cast Bobby a considering glance then followed Raye into the dark. No one but Bobby appeared to have noticed Raye’s odd behavior or found her departure all that sudden.
The click of the door seemed loud in the silence they left behind. It felt as if all the light and air and movement had been sucked out of the place.
“She’s always been like that,” Mr. Larsen murmured.
“That’s what Raye said.”
“I meant Raye.” Her father turned and walked away.
*
The night felt warm after the chill that had come over the house. Usually I was the only one who noticed it. But tonight, I thought Bobby Doucet had too.
He’d rubbed at his neck, twitched his shoulders, glanced over one with a frown. But he hadn’t seen the man who stood right behind him. Only I had. As usual, I was the only one who heard him too.
“Tell him to look under the floor,” the fellow had said. “Under the floor in the locker.”
I’d tried to pretend I hadn’t seen, or heard, him. Maybe then he would go away. It didn’t work any better this time than any of the other times I’d tried it.
“Tell him!” the specter shouted, and I could have sworn my hair ruffled with the force of his icy breath.
I’d wanted to ask what floor? Which locker? Where? Why? And what locker has a floor that could be looked under? But I didn’t. Instead, I’d gotten out of there.
“Sheesh.” Jenn caught up. “Why are you always in such a hurry?”
“I have to work tomorrow.” I got into her car.