The sound of a siren suddenly penetrated from the street. The intruder seemed to feel a sense of deep panic. He turned, stumbling back toward the door, where he paused, as if regaining his senses. Matt got ready to gather all the strength he had left and attack again.
The intruder punched numbers into the alarm in seconds flat, solving one mystery and deepening another. Then he was out the door. Matt tried to follow. He had to go after the offender, rip off his mask, had to find out who had killed him. Who meant to kill Leslie.
He hit the door. Tried to get through it. Couldn’t. He let out a groan of fury and despair.
Leslie knew she couldn’t let the intruder corner her in the basement. She hurried up the stairs to the servants’ pantry and stood there, listening. The house had grown silent. She waited, then silently shut the hatch, but still she hesitated, unsure whether to stay where she was or brave the return journey to the bedroom.
He might be out there. Standing dead still. Hovering in silence, as she was doing. Waiting, knowing he had been heard, biding his time…
Suddenly she heard the soft thudding of feminine footsteps on the stairs, followed by the sound of Nikki’s voice. “Leslie?”
“Watch out!” Leslie cried. “Nikki, be careful!”
She rushed through the kitchen and along the hall toward the entryway, determined to keep any harm from coming to Nikki. But when she reached her friend, in sight of the front door, it was closed, the alarm blinking, and there was no sign of anyone having entered.
Stunned, she came to a complete standstill, staring wildly around.
“Leslie?” Nikki asked, flicking on the light.
“What’s going on down here?” Adam called out firmly. He was already halfway down the stairs, and he was armed. It was just a small pistol, but Leslie had never seen him with a weapon before. She was sure, however, that he knew how to use it, and that he wasn’t afraid to do so.
“I could have sworn there was someone in the house,” Leslie said.
“Then we’d better take a look around,” he said.
Nikki was still frowning. “What were you doing up?” she asked Leslie.
“I…I was looking for a ghost,” she admitted. “Or something. I keep hearing the sound of sobbing.”
“Make that a really good look around,” Adam said.
Before they could take action, they heard the sound of a car pulling to a sudden halt outside.
“It’s Joe,” Leslie said in surprise, staring out the window. She saw him exit his car, looking at the house anxiously, and realized that he could see her staring out at him.
She walked over to the door, keyed in the alarm and threw it open. She was shivering, but she was also grateful to see him. She tried not to betray her sense of panic in her voice. “Didn’t I tell you to go home to bed?” she said.
“What are you doing up?” he demanded worriedly, ignoring her question.
She waved a hand vaguely. “Um…noises.”
He entered, looking from her to Nikki, and then to Adam, who somehow managed to look dignified despite being clad in a terry robe and scuffed slippers—perhaps because he was carrying a gun, Leslie thought half hysterically—and then back to Leslie. Before Joe could say anything, Adam told him, “Don’t worry. I’m licensed, and I know what I’m doing.”
Joe looked back at him. “I didn’t doubt it for a minute. But…you thought that you had an intruder?” He was clearly worried by the possibility.
“I must have been mistaken,” Leslie said.
“I say it won’t hurt to make a thorough search of the place,” Adam said. He was amazingly cheerful for someone whose sleep had been so rudely interrupted.
“We’ll take the downstairs,” Joe said, taking Leslie’s hand.
“Upstairs for us, then,” Adam said, nodding at Nikki. “You’re armed?” he asked Joe.
“Always,” Joe said quietly. Leslie gave him a shocked look, and he shrugged. “I’m always looking for the bad guys, remember?” he told her.
Adam and Nikki started back up the stairs, leaving Joe and Leslie alone in the front hall.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Joe asked, staring intently into her eyes.
“Nothing. I’m sure I imagined it all,” she said. “I mean…it’s an old house. It creaks. And…Joe.”
“Yeah?” He was opening doors as he led her down the hall, turning lights on as he went, chasing the shadows out of the corners.
“Joe, I think there’s a shaft or a tunnel near here somewhere.”
He paused, looking at her. “Yeah?”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?”
He hesitated, and she felt as if he were holding something back. “I chased a man through this neighborhood the other night. He completely disappeared. So I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he found a bolt-hole like that somewhere around here. But what makes you think so?”
“I hear…noises. And I think they’re coming from beyond the basement wall.”
“We need to look into that, then,” he said seriously.