“That sounds rather sad.”
“Well, it’s because I took some time off work. You see, I was house-and dog-sitting for my parents in Portland and it seemed like a good opportunity to have a break. So I brought Ralph to the beach. I planned to stay for a week or two.”
“That must be nice.”
“What?”
“To be able to take a week or two off from work...to come to the beach whenever you like.” It sounded like a different world to Leah. One that she couldn’t help but envy.
He shrugged. “The truth is, I was thinking about quitting my job. I told my boss I needed time to think about it.”
“Didn’t you say you were an attorney? Or was that just to make Krantz worried?”
“I am an attorney. But I work in a firm that mostly practices corporate law. Not really what I’d planned to do with my life.”
“So what did you plan to do with your life?” She took a drink of water.
“I wanted to be an artist.”
She blinked as she set down the water bottle. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. That’s pretty much everyone’s reaction.” He frowned. “But I’ve always been into art. Drawing and painting and even some sculpting. My parents talked me into getting my law degree. They’re both attorneys. They figured if I finished law school, I’d have something to fall back on if my artistic abilities didn’t pay off. But between law school and working, I haven’t been able to pursue art at all. That’s why I decided to take some time away. And it was easier to do with my parents out of the country.”
“Until you got mixed up with me and Krantz.”
“Speaking of Krantz, I think I’ll slip up and see if he’s cleared out. Maybe this is our chance to go use the phone.”
“I’ll come with you,” she said quickly.
“Okay, but you wait in the hallway until I know the coast is clear.”
She listened intently as she waited in the shadowy hall, but other than the gentle sound of the surf, she could hear nothing. Was it possible that Krantz had given up on them? She didn’t think so.
“Come on,” Jon called from the kitchen. “Let’s make a break for it.”
He led her out the back door, quietly locking everything behind them. And then he took her out to where the property overlooked the ocean. “We’ll have to pick our way along the back side here,” he explained, “going through the neighbors’ yards. Too risky to be near the road.”
It didn’t take long before they reached the place where the bluff gave way to a rocky rise and Jon showed her the way to climb up to the top. “Stay low,” he warned quietly as he shielded the light from his phone with his hand. “And keep an eye on the road. You see anyone, just nudge me and I’ll stop talking. Okay?”
“Got it.” Hunched down, she stared out toward the road, which, like everything else, was blanketed in fog. She could hear the sound of his phone and then he was asking for the number of the Oregon State Police—and being connected.
Leah listened to the conversation, hearing Jon telling the dispatcher where they were located and that they were in danger. Unfortunately the dispatcher was insistent upon sending out the local police.
“No,” Jon said firmly but quietly—and for the second time. “Don’t do that. We need the state police to—”
“The protocol is to inform the local police. They can get there sooner,” she said stubbornly. “I’m going to contact them now.”
“But we don’t trust the local police,” he argued. “Please, send out a state trooper and—”
“I am already connecting to your local dispatcher,” she said. “If the local police need us for backup, we will be—”
“No, that won’t—”
Leah elbowed him sharply as the lights from a car shone from around a corner. Even in the fog, she could see the reflective paint that implied it was a police cruiser. And not far behind it came what appeared to be the unmarked car. Probably manned by Krantz. She doubted that the cops could’ve heard them—unless their windows were open—but if a cop directed a spotlight up here, they would be easy to spot. “Get your face down,” she hissed at Jon. And together they huddled against the rock, waiting for the cars to slowly move down the road.
“That dispatcher was worse than useless.” Jon pocketed his phone.
“Who else can we call?” she whispered.
Just then a searchlight came washing over their rock, sending shivers of fear through Leah as she crouched low.
“Come on,” Jon whispered, grabbing her hand. “We better beat it—fast.”
Back on the bluff, he led her farther up and they worked their way past darkened vacation houses until they came to one clear at the end of the row. “I don’t like damaging other people’s property,” Jon said as he picked up a large stone. With a crash he sent it through the front door’s window. “But hopefully they’ll understand, and I’ll pay for repairs.” He reached through the broken glass and opened the door, leaving it barely ajar. “Let’s go,” he said as he grabbed her hand, leading her down to the side of the bluff and onto the beach.
“Why did you do that?” she asked as they picked their way through a rocky area, clinging to the side of the bluff for cover.
“A smoke screen.” Still holding her hand, he was leading her down the beach—heading south again.
“Oh, yeah. To throw them off.”
“Might buy us some time. If they were distracted long enough, we might be able to make it past them and try walking to town.”
“Do you think you could make it with your leg?” She noticed that he was limping.
“It hurts, but I think I can press through. The problem is that we’d have to take the main road. It’d be too rough to go cross-country. Not with the brush and swamps that run through here.”
“Hey, what about my car?” she said suddenly. “Do you think it’s still where I parked it? Maybe we could use it to get away.” Of course, she knew this was pretty ridiculous. Her old Subaru couldn’t outrun a police car if they were pursued.
“It’s probably been towed.” He paused to listen to something up above them, and she held her breath, waiting.
“If we got my dad’s ATV running, we might make it to the jetty, then hike out on foot from there. But if we were spotted, they could easily pick us up on the other end.”
“What should we do?”
“We need a good plan.” He reached for her hand, leading her up the side of the bluff. “Let’s go home and see if we can come up with something.”
But before they could turn up the rock stairs that led to the house, they saw a pair of headlights on the beach, coming steadily toward them and sweeping a searchlight back and forth across the width of the beach as it approached.
“Come on.” Grabbing her hand, Jon pulled her behind a driftwood log, throwing her to the ground as he flopped down beside her.
With wet sand in her face, Leah felt like sobbing—would this never end? And what if they’d been spotted just now? Her heart was pounding in her ears as she saw the light sweeping the beach, going back and forth like in a prison yard. And if they’d been seen, they’d be easy pickings down here on this desolate stretch of beach. No one would hear the gunshots. No one would call the police. And if their lifeless bodies were dragged out into the ocean, there would be no sign of them by