Page 18 of Faking the Pass
Besides, if the police did come out here, there’d be a report in the local newspaper about it, and my address would be printed for the world to see.
I’d done everything in my power to keep it secret up till now, and I was extremely reluctant to let it leak for no good reason.
It’s nothing. You shut the door yourself last week. Man up, chicken shit.
Only I never closed my bedroom door.
One of the joys of living alone was being able to leave all the doors open and never worry about anyone else disturbing me or being disturbedbyme.
Just in case, I went back to the living room and grabbed the baseball bat that always leaned in one corner. Gripping it in my left hand, I crept down the hall and eased open the bedroom door, alert for any sign of movement on the other side.
The room was still and dark, illuminated by only the faint glow of moonlight outside the large ocean-facing window.
I detected an unusual sound, though. Nothing loud, but something out of the ordinary.
What was that? It sounded almost like the quiet hiss of a humidifier.
Or breathing.
Spinning around, I held out the bat, ready to crack the skull of the intruder breathing down my neck.
There was no one there.
I spun again and lunged for the light switch, flipping it up to turn on the lamps placed around the room.
My own breathing slowed as I realized I was alone in the room.
It stopped altogether when I got a look at the newly illuminated bed. At the lump under the comforter.
The lump wasn’t moving.
Could have been a large pillow maybe. Could also have been the burglar, attempting to hide.
If therewasa burglar hiding under there, he was a puny one.
And a moron if that was the best hiding place he could come up with.
Tiptoeing toward the bed, I held my bat at the ready should the inept criminal spring from beneath the covers and charge me.
I reached the bedside. There was still no movement.
But there was definitely someone under the covers.
A very blonde someone with a mass of messy golden curls peeking above the sheets.
Fuck.It was a groupie after all, and she was sleeping in my bed.Perfect.
Just what I needed tonight.
I was going to have to call the Eastport Bay P.D. after all.
Suddenly the woman moved. With a soft snort, she rolled from one side to the other, dislodging the covers that had been obscuring her face.
My mouth fell open.
Is that… no it can’t be.
I knew her. Or at least I used to.
