It held a sure promise of rain, heavy rain, and the air was cold and damp. She hugged her pretty cream-colored sweater around herself. She had unpacked the last of her ‘weapons’ and had them scattered throughout the house where she could easily and readily get a hold of each. She had laid out all her wiring and various other materials the day before when she returned from her walk with the squire but hadn’t set them all. She looked at what was left and sighed. Traps—she needed them at every window, although she did not believe any vamps were even in the area of Stockton. She was setting an alarm at the kitchen window when the cell phone rang and made her jump. Frowning, she looked in its direction. It was still on the brown leather sofa where she had thrown it the other day. Off—she was sure it was shut down. It shouldn’t be ringing. She hesitated, but curiosity got the better of her, and she moved to pick it up. She flipped it open—yup, it was off. The next ring jingled right through her, and her fingers trembled.
