Chapter 8 - Someone Across the Street
I looked up so fast my neck hurt.
The street was quiet.
A pickup truck sat under a maple tree two houses down. No headlights. No movement.
Daniel pulled me inside and locked the door.
Mom came from the kitchen. “What happened?”
“Someone’s watching the house.”
She didn’t panic.
She walked straight to a drawer and pulled out a small security monitor.
“You installed cameras?” I asked.
“After the photograph appeared.”
Four exterior views filled the screen.
The pickup was visible on Camera Two.
Then the driver’s door opened.
A man in a dark jacket stepped out.
Daniel swore under his breath.
“You know him?”
“That’s Rick Dalton. He works security for my mother.”
Rick didn’t approach the house. He crossed the street, looked toward the porch, then lifted his phone.
The police arrived nine minutes later. By then, the truck was gone.
But Mom’s cameras had captured the license plate.
The detective called me after midnight.
“Rick Dalton has no active security license.”
“What does he have?”
“A record. Harassment, unlawful surveillance, and an old assault charge.”
“Margaret hired him?”
“That’s what we’re looking into.”
I sat on the edge of the guest bed beside Ellie.
She slept with one hand wrapped around my sleeve.
I wanted to believe the police would handle it.
I also knew Margaret had money, lawyers, and decades of practice making ugly things look respectable.
At 2:14 a.m., Ellie woke up crying.
“Mommy?”
“I’m here.”
She stared at the dark doorway.
“Aunt Vanessa said if I told you, Grandma would make you go away.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“When did she say that?”
“At the red room.”
“What red room?”
She rubbed her eyes. “At Grandma’s house.”
I had been to Margaret’s house hundreds of times.
There was no red room.
“Where is it?”
“Downstairs behind the shelves.”
I reached for my phone.
Ellie caught my hand.
“Mommy, don’t go there.”
“Why?”
May you like
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because that’s where Grandma keeps the videos.”
