Lisa had spent the previous day visiting the house and now it was time for her all-night vigil. If Eddy had seen her message, then she was sure he would come. He wouldn’t be able to help himself. There were police everywhere nearby and all it would take was one word from her and they’d come running, yet she was terrified. Her head spun with a raw and ominous sense of dread. She couldn’t stop thinking about the smoldering cigarette butt she’d seen and who had left it. She’d seen or heard nothing at the house after her first visit, although she hadn’t dared go beyond the entry. She brought a small flashlight, but it probably wouldn’t be necessary to use it. Equal portions of moonlight and streetlight were spilling in through innumerable rents in the walls and the broken windows. She kept one hand in her pocket on the butt of the .38 and she had no intention of letting go of it. The safety was off and her finger sweated on the trigger. One slight tug was all it would take. It gave her a fleeting sense of security.
