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He turned and headed back toward the tree. Finally the headlights of the other man’s truck appeared on the road behind him.
33
Hannah
She headed down the slippery path, one hand trailing trees using them for balance in the slick mud, the flashlight gripped in the other. The beam bounced and the rain was just a slight drizzle.
Even as a kid, she’d loved the woods—camping with her dad, Camp Fire Girls outings where they learned to build a shelter, make a fire, find their direction. That smell of burning wood and marshmallows, the stillness, the stars. Bruce was not into camping. But she still craved that quiet, that separation from the modern world and all its noise and chatter.
But tonight it was so dark, all the lights in the house out, the moon and stars disappeared behind cloud cover. And she was intent only on getting them back home; any fantasy she had about communion with nature and disconnection from the modern world was blown to pieces. Connection to her daughter was the only thing she wanted now.
She looked in the direction where Bruce and Mako had disappeared, hoping to see them return, or to hear their voices. But no. The wind, the rain on the leaves, the distant rumble of thunder. The world felt big, and the woods a maw, an open mouth waiting.
Stop it. Pull yourself together.
There was no garage, just covered parking. The lower level was built into the natural slope of the property. The basement was finished with a comfortable bedroom and a game room.
So the electrical box and the generator had to be on the far side of the house. She moved down the slope on which the house was built, edging by the deck, feet slipping beneath her. But she kept her balance.
A fire pit surrounded by chairs sat empty waiting for light and laughter, s’mores, hot drinks. The weekend wasn’t going to go like that, Mako’s vision for it shattered.
No matter what happened next—power restored, road cleared, Liza and Mako making up, a good explanation for everything—they were out of here as soon as possible. She kept flashing on the look on Bruce’s face, his disdain, his—anger. Yes, it was anger. How had she not seen it before? And why had he never talked to her about his feelings?
Something moved in the trees and Hannah froze.
“Bruce?”
She flashed her beam around, catching wet green leaves and dark empty spaces. Had she even seen a form moving through the trees before? It seemed like a dream now. How quickly you could doubt your own eyes.
Another shuffle, something small—just an animal. A bunny or a squirrel, right?
Hannah was no girly-girl. She was tough; she was handy. Her mother had taught her how to change a tire, replace a circuit, unclog a drain.
There’s no waiting around for Prince Charming, Sophia always said.He ain’t coming. Even if he looks like a hero at first, he’ll still turn out to be more little boy than man.
Hannah cast the flashlight beam into the woods again, around her in a wide circle, heart thumping. Nothing. She was alone.
When you’re going through hell, keep going, another Sophia-ism. Her mom was a piece of work but she was right about a lot of things.
A few more steps and she was around the house.
There.
A slim covered structure attached to the siding that had to contain the electrical circuits, and a big metal box that must be the generator. She didn’t think it was going to be as easy as flipping a switch, but it never hurt to check, right? Bruce, computer geek, was famous for saying: Is the power on? Is it plugged in? Have you tried turning it off and on again? Sometimes the simplest solutions were the right ones.
She moved quickly, feet looking for purchase, wet, flashlight beam guiding her way.
The scene revealed itself in pieces.
The door to the electrical box was ajar. On the ground, deep footprints in the muck. Maybe Mako and Bruce had checked it before heading into the night. But the prints seemed smaller than Hannah’s—Bruce was a size thirteen and Mako was a size eleven—and there was only one set.
Again, she made a sweep with her beam in a circle around her. Her throat felt constricted, breath shallow. Maybe she should go back to the house.
No. She was here. She had to see if she could fix the power.
But when she opened the door, she saw that the main switch had been flipped and the wire to the box had been cut, severed sharp and clean.
The electricity had not gone out in the storm. Someone had cut the power.
