With only the moonlight to guide her, Jess carefully maneuvered up the walkway to the porch, and slipped her key into the lock. The door pushed inward without her turning the knob. It struck her as odd that Owen would have left without shutting the door completely.
“Owen?” She flipped on the light and staggered back in horror. The sight that greeted her would forever be burned into her brain. Behind the sofa, scrawled in bold, red letters across the wall, were the words: GET OUT.
Jessica stumbled back onto the porch and scrambled to her SUV. She dug out her phone with trembling fingers and dialed 911.
“911 what’s your emergency?”
“Send help. Someone’s in my home!”
“What is your name and address, ma’am?”
Jessica couldn’t think, so great was her fear. It took her a minute to remember her address. “Jessica Nobles. I live at 221 Meadowbrook Circle. Please hurry!”
“Stay on the line with me, ma’am. The police are on the way, okay?”
“Okay,” Jessica breathed, her gaze darting around the darkness of her yard.
The dispatcher spoke again, her voice startling Jess. “Is the subject still in the house?”
“I don’t know. I ran out as soon as I saw the words on the wall.”
“Jessica? I need you to get some place safe. Do you have a neighbor’s house you can go to until the officers arrive?”
Not knowing which one of her neighbors was responsible for the break in, Jess decided to stay put. “No. But I’m locked in my car.”
“Back out of the drive, Jessica. Move your car into the street under the lights.”
Jessica cranked her SUV, jerked the gearshift into reverse, and backed into the street. “Okay, I’m in the street now.”
“Alright, Jessica, make sure your car doors are locked and do not leave that vehicle for any reason before the officers get there. I’m going to stay on the line with you, alright?”
“Okay,” Jess whispered.
The sounds of typing and low speaking voices could be heard coming through the phone.
“Jessica?”
“Yes?”
“You mentioned some words on a wall. Can you tell me what they were?”
Jessica swallowed hard. “It said, GET OUT. And I think it was written in blood.”
“You’re doing good, Jessica. The officers are almost there.”
The sound of sirens could be heard turning the corner off the main road. “They’re close. I can hear them now.”
“Do you see them?”
Jess glanced in the rearview mirror in time to see blue and red flashing lights turning on to her street. “Yes, they’re here.”
“I’m going to disconnect with you now.”
Once the call ended, Jessica gripped her phone in her hand and jumped from the vehicle. She waited for the two patrol cars to stop next to her before approaching the closest one.
The officer spoke something into the mic attached to his shoulder and got out. “Mrs. Nobles?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me what’s going on.”
Jessica told him step-by-step everything that had happened from the time she’d pulled into the drive, ending with, “…and that’s when I saw the writing on the wall.”
“Did you see anyone inside the home?” He slipped his gun free of its holster while the other office joined him.
Jessica shook her head. “No, I immediately ran.”
“Get back inside your vehicle while we check it out.”
Rushing around the side of her SUV, Jessica climbed back in and dialed Owen. She got his voicemail. “Owen, it’s me. Something has happened at the house. I need you to come home as soon as you get this message.”
A knock sounded on her window, nearly startling a scream from Jessica. She pressed the automatic button and lowered the glass to face Mrs. Hawthorn.
“What are the police doing here?” Marge breathed, her eyes huge in her face.
“We’ve had a break in.”
Marge slapped a hand over her mouth, her gaze darting toward Jessica’s house. She pulled her hand away. “Were you hurt?”
“I’m fine, it just scared the shit out of me.”
“Was anything taken?”
Jess shook her head. “I don’t know. I came home to find some words written on the wall. I haven’t been back inside to check for a possible theft.”
The officers picked that moment to step back outside. One of them spoke into his mic while the other approached Jessica’s SUV. “We need to take some pictures and dust for fingerprints before you can go inside. Do you have somewhere you can wait? It’s going to be a while.”
“She can wait at my place,” Marge offered, opening the door to the SUV. “I just live right there in the white house trimmed in black.”
The officer nodded his understanding and then met Jessica’s gaze. “Do you live here alone, ma’am?”
“No. My husband lives here with me.”
“Where is he tonight?”
Jessica didn’t know. “I’m not sure. I left him a message.”
“Alright. I’ll come get you when we’re done here so that you can do a walk through and make sure nothing’s missing.”
Jess watched him walk away, her stomach in knots. She glanced over at Mrs. Hawthorn. “I’m ready when you are.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Owen listened to Jessica’s message again as he turned onto Meadowbrook Circle. It took him a moment to make out her words and another to see the flashing lights coming from his front yard.
“Shit,” he whispered, his heart in his throat. Something had happened to Jess.
He stepped on the gas, speeding the rest of the way to the cul-de-sac. Throwing open his car door, he jumped out and sprinted up the drive. “Jess!”
A police officer quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his entrance into the house. “Whoa. Stand back, sir.”
“Where’s my wife?” Owen attempted to see around the officer.
“You live here?”
Owen met the officer’s gaze. “Yes, this is my home. Where is my wife?”
“She’s across the street at the neighbor’s house. We suggested she wait there until we finish processing the scene.”
Continuing to peer around the officer, Owen’s gaze landed on the words written on the wall. “What the hell?”
“Go wait with your wife, sir. We’ll be finished here shortly and then you can return home. She’s in the white house trimmed in black.”
Spinning around, Owen jogged back down the drive, across the street and into Mrs. Hawthorn’s yard. He rang the bell.
Marge Hawthorn opened the door, her face full of concern. “She’s in the kitchen. Come on in. I’ll put on some coffee.”
Owen thanked her and hurried inside.
A heavy-set man with graying hair sat at the kitchen table speaking to Jessica in a soothing tone. He stood when Owen entered the room. “I’ll just give y’all some time alone.”
“Thank you.” Owen immediately rushed to Jessica’s side, pulled her from her chair, and wrapped her tightly in his arms. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you. God, Jess, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Did you see what was written on the wall?”
Kissing the top of her head, Owen pulled back enough to look into her beautiful eyes. “I saw. Who the hell would do such a thing?”
“I’ll tell you who,” Marge piped in, stepping into the kitchen. She moved to the counter and picked up the coffee pot. “That Eustice Martin is who.”
Fury and helplessness warred inside Owen. He ambled to the opposite side of the counter to face Marge. “Did you see something?”
“No, but I didn’t need to. That Eustice is a snake in the grass. The whole neighborhood knows it.”
Owen glanced at his wife’s pale face before returning his attention to Marge. “But what would Eustice have to gain from breaking into our home?”
Marge shrugged. “Have you stepped on his toes in some way?”
“We called the police on him for knocking his wife around.”
“Well, there you have it,” Marge stated in a matter-of-fact way.
Owen inhaled the smell of the coffee that began brewing beneath his nose. “What about the people that previously owned our home? Did they ever have trouble with the Martins?”
“The Lovejoys? Not that I recall. Of course, they worked a lot, and so they weren’t home during the day much.”
Owen watched as Jessica eased over to the window and parted the blinds enough to see out. It tore at his heart to see her so fragile and afraid.