Another bubble of text appeared.
We should meet to talk about last night. Free for dinner?
Wait. Was this the fire marshal? Was this Calla? Michael didn’t move.
Another bubble.
It’s in your best interest. I’m not sure I could limit a fire to five apartments.
Michael was on his feet in a heartbeat, letting the blanket fall. He sent power into the ground, seeking information. He needed to wake his brothers. They needed to move. They needed to move now.
The phone vibrated again.
Good idea. Run. One truck is definitely a more convenient target.
Michael couldn’t catch his breath. He searched the trees for movement, for anything out of the ordinary.
Nothing. The air was still and cold. The earth warned him of nothing.
Another message.
Relax. I’m not your enemy. But I could be.
Michael slid his fingers across the phone.
Who is this?
No message appeared, but instead, a photo.
Michael, sitting on the back porch of the Merrick house. Last night, before the fire.
Then another photo, taken from a distance.
Of him standing right here, looking at his phone.
Michael looked up, searching the trees on the other side of the pond. He begged the ground for information, but the earth returned nothing but contented vibes.
His phone vibrated with another message.
Dinner. Yes or no?
Michael wanted to punch his phone into the side of the building. He started forward, ready to search the woods himself. A new message appeared.
Don’t go too far, Michael Merrick. Wouldn’t want to leave your brothers alone, would you?
He froze. He had no idea if this was one person or several. If he walked away from this apartment building, would it go up in smoke like the house had last night?
New awareness shot off a flare in his head. Wasn’t that exactly what had happened? He’d walked away, leaving them vulnerable?
He typed back with shaking fingers.
This isn’t a game. What do you want?
I just told you what I want. Let’s say 7 p.m.?
Who are you? Is this Calla?
No. Bring her if you like. I think she’ll appreciate what I have to say.
Michael couldn’t think. Lack of sleep and an abundance of adrenaline didn’t help.
He looked out at the trees, then slowly slid his fingers across the face of his phone again.
You’re obviously here. Why don’t you come talk to me right now?
I think a crowded environment would be better for this meeting.
Interesting. Something about that statement dialed Michael’s anxiety back a notch and fed him confidence. Photos taken from a distance weren’t half as intimidating when you considered that it meant someone wasn’t drawing close.
Was this mystery texter afraid of him?
Should I come alone?
Your choice.
What if I choose to bring the cops?
Go ahead.
Michael frowned.
Another message appeared.
As I said, I am not your enemy. Bring anyone who makes you feel comfortable.
And what if I don’t come?
I’ll be forced to make my point another way.
More pictures appeared, in frighteningly rapid succession. Homes on fire. Car crashes. Tornado damage. A bloated body, floating in murky water. Terrible images, but nothing personally terrifying.
Then more photos: Hannah in her fire gear, kneeling over him last night, her face exhausted but focused. Another of Nick, stopping the CPR efforts. Another photo of an ambulance in the cul-de-sac, Chris sitting on the bumper.
Michael clenched his jaw. His hands gripped the phone so tightly that he worried the case would snap.
Then another photo appeared. Hannah on the front steps of Southgate Elementary, James bouncing along beside her, his backpack hanging askew.
Michael felt his heart give a jerk. He made a sound before he could stop himself. His fingers wouldn’t type, but his voice wasn’t broken.
“You leave them alone!” he yelled, shouting at the trees, at the distance, at the very air. The earth rumbled and split, forming a crack that led from his feet to the fence around the drainage pond. “You hear me? You leave them alone!”
The phone vibrated.
You meet me, and I’ll leave them alone.
Michael couldn’t catch his breath. He stared out at the trees, then back at the series of photos.
Then back at the trees.
Nothing.
Sweat had collected on his neck. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. He wasn’t cold now.
He forced his fingers to work.
Fine. Where?
Another text, this time a link to the web page of a little bar and grill on the outskirts of town.
7 p.m. I’ll be in the bar.
Eventually, Michael couldn’t take the quiet stillness. Seven o’clock was almost half a day away, and he had to do something.
So he walked. Not far, just a short walk along the fence blocking the drainage ditch. At first, he’d been ready for a chastising text. A warning, a threat, something.
Nothing.
As his brothers slept and no danger presented itself, Michael gained confidence. That picture of him on the patio had to have been taken from the woods, and even if no one remained, he should at least be able to seek information from the ground.
If nothing else, the movement would do him good.
But the woods didn’t offer any answers, and they didn’t offer enough space to walk and think, either. The dense trees barely covered half an acre before giving way to Ritchie Highway; they were more to give the illusion of nature than any real attempt to preserve the land. The air was still brisk, reminding him that he didn’t have a sweatshirt, keeping his steps quick.
Every time his bare feet touched the earth, he asked for information.
Was someone here? Did someone cross this path?
Is someone here now?
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
He checked his phone a few times, examining the picture of himself, aiming his own phone at the now-empty patio. The photo was grainy—no surprise since it had been taken from a pretty good distance. He could estimate the angle, but now that he was out here using his own phone to try to recreate it, he realized that the picture hadn’t been taken from the ground.
It had to have been taken from high up in a tree.
All of a sudden, Michael felt too exposed.
He