now, inside the house, everything around Sarah was dark and quiet with the stillness of the evening.
Good. Loretta must be sleeping.
And, if Sarah was smart, she’d remain quiet so the woman could continue sleeping.
Loretta Blanchard wasn’t the type of woman you wanted to wake up—or even look at the wrong way, for that matter. She was a force to be reckoned with, and if she didn’t like you, she would make your life miserable.
Sarah left her damp coat on a hanger by the door in order not to track any water inside. As she crept through the kitchen, she looked around for Buzz, Loretta’s emotional support dog. The husky always greeted her at the door.
Strange. Where was he?
Buzz was one of Sarah’s favorite parts about this job. She’d never met an animal with such intelligent eyes, and his wagging tail was just the welcome she needed on most days. Her muscles tightened as she wondered where the dog was.
Sarah headed through the dark house toward her bedroom so she could change out of her dress and heels. Her bag slid from her shoulder as she slipped her heels off and carried them up the massive staircase.
Her boss was a scientific genius who’d created a new medication to help people with arthritis. She’d been at the top of her game until ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, had claimed her body and weakened her muscles. However, her mind was just as sharp as ever.
Sarah stepped into her room, flipped on the light and paused.
Something felt off.
Her spine tightened, and she glanced around her room. Everything appeared in place. Her ivory quilt was neat. Her curtains were drawn. Her dresser drawers closed.
But something was different. She was sure of it.
Her mom had always said that Sarah had an eye and an ear for detail. It was probably what made her such a good artist today. She noticed things that others didn’t. Slivers of light hidden beneath barren trees. A shy bird singing among the throng of boisterous ones. The way the sky still turned different colors for nearly an hour after the sunset.
So what had alerted her senses that something was wrong right now?
Sarah’s eyes went to the closet. Was someone in there?
She grabbed the scissors from her dresser. She’d used them to trim her bangs this morning. Holding them like a knife, she stepped closer to the door.
Her lungs froze as she reached for the knob.
This was probably nothing.
Dear Lord, please don’t let this be a mistake.
After lifting the silent prayer, she jerked the door open.
Something leaped toward her. Sarah swallowed a scream and threw herself back.
An oversize ball of fur nearly knocked her off her feet.
Buzz.
Buzz?
As the dog pounced on her, Sarah rubbed his head, sensing something was wrong—desperately wrong. “Why are you in my closet, boy? And you’ve been so quiet.”
Buzz whined.
The only reason he’d be in her closet was if Loretta put him there and commanded him to stay, Sarah realized. But if Loretta, who was in a wheelchair, had gone through all of that trouble, she had to have a really good reason. There was an elevator in the house, but Loretta hated using it.
Buzz whined again, trying to tell her something.
“What is it, boy?” Sarah murmured, leaning toward the canine.
Her words seemed to give the dog permission. He charged toward her bedroom door, nuzzled it open and ran into the hallway. Still gripping the scissors, Sarah took off after him.
The dog ran down the stairs and toward the opposite wing of the house—the wing where Loretta’s bedroom was located.
“Buzz!” Sarah whispered, urgency lacing her voice.
She didn’t want the dog to wake up Loretta. Then again, maybe Buzz knew something she didn’t.
She swallowed hard at the thought.
Sarah didn’t have much time to think. No, she could barely keep up with Buzz.
She caught sight of the dog as he pushed his way into Loretta’s bedroom and disappeared.
The knot in her stomach squeezed tighter.
This wasn’t like Buzz. The dog was usually regal and reserved.
A groan emerged from the darkness, then a loud, hard crash.
Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Sarah flung herself into Loretta’s room, fully expecting to find Loretta having a medical emergency of some sort. She froze in the doorway and gasped.
A masked man stood over Loretta as she lay on the floor, her wheelchair shoved to the side.
Fear rippled through Sarah.
What was going on here?
The intruder glanced over at Sarah—but only for a second—before Buzz charged at him and knocked him off Loretta and into the wall. The man’s head hit the wall.
The man groaned before his eyes closed and his body went limp. Had he lost consciousness?
Either way, Buzz still growled on top of him.
With her heart beating out of control, Sarah’s gaze slid across the room and stopped at Loretta.
She moaned on the floor, her chest rising and falling too quickly. Rapid gasps sounded at her parted lips.
Sarah hurried toward her, kneeling at her side. Blood gushed from a puncture wound in the woman’s neck.
Tears rushed to Sarah’s eyes. That man had hurt her. She and Buzz had gotten here too late.
“Loretta, hold on,” Sarah whispered, grasping her boss’s shoulders. “I’ll call 911. Help will be here soon.”
“Sarah…” Loretta’s voice was so faint that Sarah could hardly understand it.
The woman tried to sit up, but Sarah gently pushed her back down. She was in no condition to move right now.
“It’s okay,” Sarah said. “Just stay still.”
Loretta’s sixty-year-old face wrinkled with pain that whispered across every feature, a face that had only recently developed fine lines. The woman was always so strong. Seeing her like this…
It made Sarah’s heart twist into knots.
“You’ve…got…to…go,”
