He nodded and crept up the stairs, making as little noise as possible. Every muscle in his body tensed as he gripped the doorknob and gave a tentative tug. It was indeed stuck—and probably had been ever since they’d left for the game. He relaxed and pulled the door open.
The condo was quiet and peaceful—which was wrong. Where were the dogs? He walked in, scanning the floor and furniture. “Cody? Marley?” He stopped when he reached the kitchen. Two furry lumps lay on the floor. “Cody!”
He knelt by the still dogs, but before he could touch them, a cold male voice spoke behind him. “Don’t get up. Take your phone out slowly and slide it across the floor. Then lie down with your hands behind the back of your neck and close your eyes.”
Hez froze. The intruder was smart. He’d waited until Hez was distracted and in a vulnerable position before making his move. Hez had no choice but to comply. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and tossed it on the floor.
Steps rang on the metal staircase. “Uncle Hez!”
Hez turned to see Simon in the doorway, with Savannah hurrying up behind him. A man clothed in black crouched to pick up Hez’s phone. He wore a ski mask and a small backpack, and he held a gun in his free hand, but he had turned toward the door—and away from Hez.
Hez scrambled to his feet and launched himself at the intruder. The man reacted fast, jumping to the side and deflecting the force of Hez’s bull rush. Before the burglar could regain his balance, Hez kicked his feet out from under him.
The intruder crashed to the floor as Savannah raced into the room and grabbed a butcher knife. But before she could use it, the burglar rolled to his knees and leveled his gun at her.
Hez jumped in front of her, bracing himself to feel a bullet tear into his body.
The burglar cursed and got to his feet, keeping the gun on the two of them. “Move a muscle and you’re both dead.” He shot a glance toward the door, where Simon still stood frozen. “Get out of the way, kid.”
Eyes round and face pale, Simon nodded and walked over to the couch.
“Now you freeze too.” The intruder backed toward the doorway, alternately training the gun on the Websters and Simon. Then he vanished through the door and slammed it. His steps clattered down the stairs.
Chapter 4
The ice in Savannah’s veins dissolved when the man in the ski mask yanked the door closed behind him. Hez crouched by the inert forms of the dogs, and she and Simon rushed to join him. Her tongue was too dry to speak, and she was afraid to touch the dogs and find them as cold as the shudders coursing down her spine.
Simon threw himself down beside Hez and Cody. “Cody!” He touched the dog’s cowlick. “He’s still warm and breathing. He’s going to be okay, isn’t he, Uncle Hez?”
“I hope so, buddy. We’d better not move them. Can I use your phone, babe? I saw Blake and Paradise at the game. I’ll ask them to come right away.” Paradise was the vet in Nova Cambridge.
Savannah dug her phone out of her purse and gave it to him with a shaky hand. Marley’s back legs twitched, and she touched his ears. “I’m here, Marley.” She was barely aware of Hez’s terse voice asking Blake for help. Were both dogs going to die? Marley had been her solace through so much. How could someone mistreat their dogs like this?
Simon was crying hysterically, and she moved to embrace him. He buried his face against her, and his chest heaved withhis sobs. His tears soaked her neck and blouse, and she pressed her lips against his hair, which smelled of Hez’s sage soap and little boy sweat. She shot up a prayer for God to spare them another loss. Simon needed Cody right now.
“They’ll be here in five minutes. Both dogs are starting to move. I suspect the guy gave them something to knock them out.” He handed back her phone and touched her hair. “You okay? Can you call the police while I see if there’s anything missing?”
Savannah smoothed Simon’s damp hair and nodded. His touch calmed her erratic heartbeat. “What was he doing here, Hez? Do you think he was just a burglar?”
“He wanted my phone.” Hez’s voice was grim. “I’ll see if anything else is missing.”
She dialed 911 as Hez’s footsteps went down the hall to his office. The operator said they’d have someone there as soon as possible. She wanted Savannah to stay on the line, so she put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter.
Simon’s sobs finally subsided, and the boy pulled away to crouch beside his beloved dog again. Her gaze fell on the butcher knife lying on the floor beside Marley. She must have put it there when she knelt beside her dog. She’d been about to kill a man or die trying—and he’d been about to try to kill her. She shivered. What would have happened if Hez hadn’t jumped in front of her?
His expression was hard when he returned to the kitchen. “My laptop is gone too. I’ll bet it was in his backpack.” He tossed a nod toward the living room.
Simon seemed calm, so she rose and followed Hez so they could talk privately. He took her hand and led her to thebathroom, where he pointed to the trash. “Look there. An empty hamburger package. The burglar must have fed it to the dogs.”
She gasped and bent to examine the package. “Poison?”
“I hope he just drugged them with a sedative, but Paradise will probably be able to tell.”
A thousand what-ifs rolled through her mind. “The second Simon heard you call out Cody’s name like that, he bolted past me up the steps. I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen and went charging in. The burglar could have shot him. You too.”
“And you.” Hez took her in his arms and held her tight. “I can’t lose you.”
They embraced for a long moment. The trauma of the last few minutes played in her head like a video she couldn’t turn off. And she noticed something odd. “Why didn’t he shoot you? As soon as you got in front of me, he swore and backed away.”
