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“What should we be doing?” she asked.
“You have a security system. Keep it armed.”
“But it doesn’t feel safe, having her stay at home. Knowing thathecould show up here at any time. Mike has to work, so he can’t be here all the time to protect us.”
“The police are ten minutes away, Mrs. Antrim.”
“What if it takes them longer? By the time they get here, he could be inside our house, attacking us. Attackingher.” She hugged herself tighter and looked over her shoulder toward the street, as if someone were watching them even now. “Until you catch this man, I want to get Amy out of here. I know where to take her.”
“Where are you thinking?”
“We have this lake house, out near Douglas State Forest. It’s in the middle of nowhere and he’d never be able to find us there. Mike agrees it’s the perfect place for us to go. He has to stay in the city to work, but he’ll join us on Saturday. Right now, I don’t want Amy here.”
Maura looked at the house, every room so glaringly exposed. How easy it is to peer into a stranger’s house at night, to observe the details of their lives. To watch them cook dinner, sit down at the table. To see what is playing on their televisions, to know what time they go upstairs and turn off their lights. At night, every house invites the gaze of strangers whose interest may or may not be benign.
“If you’re going to take her anywhere,” said Jane, “then go to a hotel or a friend’s house. But your lake house? I can’t protect her.”
“Can you protect herhere?”
“I’m just trying to keep her safe, Mrs. Antrim.”
“So am I,” said Julianne. Her face was obscured by shadow, but there was no missing the coldly metallic edge in her voice. “You do your job, Detective. And let me do mine.”
