Page 4 of Forever Gone

Her father had kept trying, even if the world had never placed his books on a shelf.

Karen carried the word processor to the desk and plugged it in.

A soft mechanical hum came from inside the machine.

Green letters appeared across the screen.

SYSTEM READY.

Karen touched the edge of the keyboard.

“For both of us,” she whispered.

A creak sounded behind her.

Every muscle in her back tightened.

The noise had come from the hallway.

Karen turned in the chair.

The doorway stood empty. Beyond it, the narrow passage lay in shadow.

“Hello?”

No reply.

She waited.

A footstep sounded in the hall.

Slow. Deliberate.

Karen rose.

Another step followed.

Someone was inside the cabin.

Her purse rested on the sofa several feet away. The front door stood open, but reaching it meant crossing the room in full view of the hall.

“Hello?” she called again. “Is that you, Ms. Montgomery?”

The footsteps stopped.

Karen’s pulse thudded in her throat.

Hannah had said she would not be there. Perhaps her plans had changed. Perhaps she had entered through the back to check the plumbing and had not heard Karen arrive.

That explanation might have worked if she had answered.

Karen moved one step toward the sofa.

A board complained beneath her shoe.

Another footstep came from the hallway, closer now.

“Ms. Montgomery?”