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“No? What does it need?”
Chesney shrugged, his whole body moving, radiating disappointment. One of his knees bumped against the glove compartment, making Gracie clutch the steering wheel.
“My teenage self would have been ecstatic to learn that he grew up to become the editor of Attitude. I used to pour over every issue, practically memorizing the articles. It was for kids, but it spoke to us like we were adults. And there’s still a market for that. Teenagers still want the same thing, to be treated with respect, not spoken down to and also to have things explained clearly.”
“Well, then it sounds like Attitude will be around for a long time to come.”
Chesney shook his head, sighing wistfully.
“It’s that yellow house up ahead...”
In the dark, the house didn't look yellow, just a pale color, but Gracie understood. Most of the houses on Eastleigh were practically mansions, with long driveways and some even had wrought-iron gateways. Chesney's house was different though, and it stuck out like a sore thumb in a neighborhood where every other house looked like it belonged in a glossy magazine.
Chesney’s house looked like it had been transported from some quaint mountain top village, with red tiles on the roof and a flowering plant growing up the side of it. The yard was neatly mowed and there was an archway that must lead to the backyard, with purple flowers hanging elegantly down.
Gracie smiled at the incongruity of the place. It was a side to Chesney’s personality that she would never have predicted. And it was her job to predict people.
“Are you coming in?”
Gracie turned, and Chesney was right there. A bolt of pure yearning went through her. It would be the easiest thing in the world to just forget her scruples and reach over and kiss him.
But what would happen afterward?
He’d call her by the wrong name, her fake name.
“No,” she said softly, not moving away. “Not tonight.”
His eyes were intense as he drank her in and Gracie knew that they both felt this pull between them, this tension, and that she couldn’t act on.
“Andy,” she whispered. The sound of her voice snapped both of them out of it and the moment ended, the bubble of their passion suddenly bursting. He opened the car door with a grimace. “Night, Greta. See you tomorrow!”
"Night!" she called after him as Chesney walked up the path to his front door. He raised a hand to wave an acknowledgment, but didn't turn back around. Gracie slumped down in her seat. What were the odds that the one guy she actually started to like would end up being a suspect in a case?
Biting her lip, she watched as Chesney unlocked his front door. His shoulders were wide and his shirt fluttered in the evening’s gentle breeze.
There was, Gracie thought with sudden awareness, something dreadfully wrong with this scene. A professional instinct kicked in, her senses heightening. The flowers in the archway waved delicately in the wind, the sweet scent of them reaching Gracie in her car.
Chesney closed his front door behind him, but Gracie was sitting stock still, trying to work out what her subconscious had picked up on.
There! Through the archway, a shadow moved. It wasn’t the random movement back and forth of some plant caught in the breeze. It was far too big. Too big to be a neighborhood pet. No, that was the steady movement of a person, trying to move through the shadows. There was someone in Chesney’s backyard, someone who obviously didn’t want to be seen.
Acting without thought or pause, Gracie lurched over, grabbing open the glove compartment and getting out Klarov’s taser.
There wasn’t time to try and be quiet, to try and take the intruder unawares, he’d already had too much of a head start. Gracie sprinted from the car, though to the backyard, the taser in front of her and ready to be used.
The shadow heard her coming, turning to face her, ready for an attack. It was too dark back here to make out the figure clearly, but they were wearing a balaclava to cover their face.
Gracie sneered, “Put your hands up! Where I can see them!”
“Make me!” the intruder growled, his voice dampened to a harsh whisper that made it difficult to make out his words. He took a threatening step towards Gracie. She stood her ground, feeling confident. But before the intruder could get any closer, the back door of the house swung open and Chesney came rushing out, heading straight for the intruder.
Chesney met him with a swing of his fist, the impact making the intruder stumble backward just managing to keep on his feet. He retaliated with a punch to Chesney’s chin, but Gracie saw a glint of something else as he moved. Something sharp and metal that glittered in the dim light, held tight in the intruder’s hand.
Chesney was holding his own in the fight, but Gracie wasn't going to let him get stabbed! As the two men focused on each other, Gracie circled around, staying out of the intruder's sightline, trying to find a clear shot to use the taser on him.
“Greta! Run!” Chesney yelled, as the intruder stepped back, brandishing his knife at Chesney. But Chesney’s yell seemed to have confused the guy. He half-looked around, unwilling to take his eyes off Chesney, but unable to see where Gracie was.
In the split second of confusion, the intruder rushed at Chesney, taking him by surprise and pushing him to the ground. Gracie screamed, not able to see where the knife was. Had he just stabbed it into Chesney’s stomach? Chesney let out a low pained noise, as the intruder ran past him, out of the back yard.
