Chapter 15 - THE SHADOW IN THE YARD
I dropped the phone.
"Dad!" I screamed.
My father jumped up, gripping the baseball bat.
I ran to the front window and peered through the blinds.
The street was dark.
The streetlights cast long, eerie shadows across the lawn.
The police cruiser was parked at the curb, just like Mitchell promised.
But the officer inside wasn't moving.
His head was slumped forward against the steering wheel.
"Call 911!" I yelled to my dad.
"Something's wrong with the officer!"
I didn't wait for Dad to dial.
I ran to the front door and threw the deadbolt.
I made sure the chain was secured.
I ran to the back door.
Locked.
I pulled the heavy curtains closed.
"Emma, the police are on their way," Dad said, his voice trembling.
"They said three minutes."
Three minutes.
An eternity when a predator is hunting you.
Suddenly, the power went out.
The house plunged into absolute darkness.
Noah woke up and started crying.
"Mommy? It's dark."
"I'm here, baby," I said, rushing to the sofa and scooping him up.
I carried him into the hallway closet, the most central room in the house.
"Dad, get in here," I whispered loudly.
Dad stepped into the closet with us, holding the bat ready.
We sat in the suffocating darkness.
Listening.
Waiting.
Then we heard it.
The sound of breaking glass from the kitchen.
Someone had smashed the back door window.
Heavy footsteps crunched on the broken glass.
Noah whimpered.
I clamped my hand gently over his mouth.
"Shh, baby, we're playing a quiet game," I whispered in his ear.
Tears were streaming down my face.
The footsteps moved slowly from the kitchen into the living room.
Marcus wasn't rushing.
He knew he had trapped us.
"Emma..." his voice echoed through the dark house.
"You can't hide."
"Ethan is going to prison for the rest of his life."
"My life is over."
"I have nothing left to lose."
He was getting closer to the hallway.
I closed my eyes, silently praying for the sirens.
"I know you're in here," Marcus taunted.
The closet door handle jiggled.
He had found us.
Dad raised the baseball bat, ready to swing.
The door ripped open.
A flashlight beam blinded us.
But before Marcus could take a step inside...
"FREEZE! POLICE! DROP THE WEAPON!"
Red and blue lights suddenly flashed through the front windows.
Three officers had breached the front door.
Marcus turned toward them, raising a handgun.
The sound of three gunshots echoed through the house.
I screamed and covered Noah's body with my own.
When I opened my eyes, the flashlight was rolling on the floor.
Marcus was lying motionless in the hallway.
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The police rushed forward, kicking the gun out of his hand.
It was finally over.
