Race Against Time. Christy Barritt

still raw and bruised, and wouldn’t let her forget.

       “It will get easier with time.”

       “I know.” She sighed and pulled her arms across her chest as they cruised down the road. “Any leads?”

       “Not yet. But we’re looking at what happened from every angle.”

       “I can’t believe that monster is still out there.” She shivered again. “When he finds out I survived, do you think he’ll…?” The rest of the words wouldn’t leave her lips. She didn’t want to say them aloud. Couldn’t bear to.

       Brody glanced over at her and something flickered in his eyes. What was it? Fear for her safety? The realization that Madison couldn’t avoid the truth? The thought that she was simply paranoid, perhaps in shock after yesterday’s events?

       “He’d be foolish to come back,” Brody finally said.

       Madison noticed he didn’t say that her would-be killer wouldn’t come back, though. Her head throbbed.

       “You okay?”

       She nodded and stared out the window. The thought of her attacker coming back to finish what he’d started made panic churn in her gut and rip apart every shred of peace she tried to hold on to. Her hands began to shake, tears welled in her eyes and images from yesterday began playing rapid fire in her head.

       A hand clamped down on her knee. “Hey.”

       Madison swung her head toward the voice. Brody. Just Brody.

       “I’m going to keep an eye on you, make sure you stay safe. It’s going to be okay.”

       “I wish I felt so certain.” What about Lincoln? What if the man came back and tried to harm her son? She couldn’t bear the thought of it. Perhaps she should simply take Lincoln and go somewhere, anywhere. Maybe down to see her parents in Florida? On that vacation to the Bahamas that she’d been dreaming about?

       Vacation was out. She barely had money to pay her bills. Not to mention she’d be getting another bill—a hospital bill—soon. Though her insurance would pay for most of it, how much would her portion be? How would she ever pay for that?

       She could stay with her parents, but her dad had a heart condition. If he found out what had happened, his blood pressure might rise and trigger more problems with his heart. She could never live with herself if she caused something to happen to her dad.

       “We’ll catch him, Madison.” Brody’s voice sounded confident, reassuring. It was as if he could read her mind.

       Just then they pulled up to her house.

       With each step she took toward her backdoor, nausea rumbled in her gut. Could she face this nightmare again? She swallowed as they stepped inside, trying to stay strong. Brody led her to the foyer.

       Madison grabbed the wall as the room began to sway. Or was that her swaying? She couldn’t be sure. Perhaps she should have asked a friend to be here with her, to help her walk through this.

       Instead, Brody stood at her side, and he looked as if he’d rather be waiting in line at the DMV than walking through her emotions with her.

       A huge piece of plywood was nailed where the front door used to be. Now that she stood in the place where her nightmare had begun, she soaked in all the details. Splintered, cracked wood littered the tile floor in front of her while exposed timber gaped at the door jamb. There were her keys on the table, just where she’d left them. Who knew the nightmare that she was about to encounter when she’d deposited her keys there and gone to get dressed for the day. The act had seemed so simple and ordinary, but right now, as she looked at those keys, she remembered again how quickly life could change.

       Yesterday flashed into her mind. She’d been in such a hurry to make her photography appointments. She remembered the sound of ticking. She halfway expected to hear it again. But all was quiet. So quiet she could hear her heartbeat.

       “It’s too soon for you, isn’t it? I should have told you to stay away for a while.”

       “I have to face the house sometime. It might as well be today.” If only she felt as confident as her words sounded. Her body betrayed her and sagged against the wall.

       Brody’s hand cupped her elbow. “Anytime you want to stop, you just let me know.”

       She nodded. “Do you know how he got in yet? I always lock the house up.”

       “There’s no evidence of forced entry, no jimmy marks on the windows or doors, no broken screens or locks. Is there anywhere someone might have gotten a copy of your house key?”

       She shook her head. “I keep one on my key ring and one hidden in my car.” She’d used the one in her car to get inside her home today—it had still been just where she’d left it. So apparently her attacker was a phantom who could creep through walls. The thought didn’t comfort her.

       “Do you always leave your car unlocked, like it was today?”

       Heat filled her cheeks. Locking her home seemed safe and logical, but she never even thought twice about leaving her car unlocked. “I do.”

       “Nobody else has a copy of the house key? A boyfriend or relative maybe?”

       “My parents don’t live in the area and I have no time for a boyfriend, so, no.” Her words reminded her of how much life had changed in the past three years. Her parents had decided to retire and move to Florida six months before her husband had died in an auto accident. Suddenly, there was no one. Just her and Lincoln. Life had gone from being full of love and family to being a struggle.

       “How about if we take a break? We’ll go into town and get you a new door. We’ll get the entire foyer cleaned up before we tackle anything else.”

       Madison nodded, grateful for his suggestion because she was beginning to feel suffocated in her own home.