Don’t Blink

Chapter 70

I HAD THOUGHT about going to Courtney’s apartment, but that was somewhere they might come looking for me. So I went someplace else, someplace safer.

“How much did the taxi cost?” asked my sister, Kate, cradling her mug of chamomile tea at the head of her kitchen table. At one a.m., it was the only decaf she had had in the cupboard.

“One hundred and seventy-six dollars,” I told her. “Plus tip.”

Kate shook her head in disbelief. “You know, you could’ve negotiated a flat fee with the driver up front. Saved yourself some money, Nicky.”

I started to laugh. It felt good, but only for a moment.

“What’s so fu

“No, that’s not it,” I said. “I still can’t get used to you being the frugal one in the family.”

Of course, truth be told, I wasn’t surprised in the least. When Kate’s husband had been alive, they’d had lots of money, thanks to his job as an oil trader. After he died, she had even more from his insurance policy. But gone forever was her sense of security. In its place was a newfound appreciation for the value of everything, starting with life itself. Somewhere down the list was the true meaning of a dollar.

Kate took a sip of her tea. “Life is just one big curveball, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” I said.

A sleepy voice suddenly chimed in from the door to the kitchen. “You can say that again. Life is one big, nasty curveball.”

We both turned to see Elizabeth standing there in her pink pajamas.

“What are you doing up, young lady?” asked Kate. “You have school.”

Elizabeth flashed her great smile, the one she’d inherited from her mother and father. “The blind have a heightened sense of hearing, remember?”

“How are you, sweetheart?” I said.

“I knew it was you, Uncle Nick.”

“Let me guess… was it my cologne?”

She laughed. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

“No, you don’t. You’ve got school tomorrow,” said her mother again. “You need to get to bed.”

“Actually, that makes two of us,” I said, standing up from the table. “Walk me to the guest room, Lizzy, okay?”

“Certainly. Be my pleasure.”

I followed my niece toward the stairs to the second floor, marveling at how she had every step, every corner, every piece of furniture, mapped out perfectly in her mind. She didn’t need to reach out for anything, including my hand.

“Will you be here tomorrow when I get home from school?” she asked, halfway up the steps.

“I don’t know,” I answered.

She stopped, turning back to me. “Wow,” she said. “When most people say ‘I don’t know’ to a question like that, they usually do know. But I can tell in your voice. You really don’t know.”

Elizabeth was spot-on as usual. I had no idea what the next day would bring, or where it would even bring me. I was ru

Still, just to make sure, I had had the taxi driver circle around a bit before pulling into the driveway. All quiet on the Weston front. There was no one following us.

For one night at least, I was safe.

Tomorrow – probably all hell would break loose again.

Chapter 71

I PULLED THE freshly cleaned and starched sheets, the blanket, the duvet – everything – over my head in Kate’s very comfortable guest room bed at the end of the hall. For some reason I thought that would help me sleep. It didn’t exactly work out that way.

All I could see when I closed my eyes was Derrick Phalen, and no matter how much I tossed and turned, I couldn’t shake the image of him. His missing eyes.

Would I ever? I doubted it.

I was exhausted, tired beyond all belief, and yet I still couldn’t sleep a wink. Back in Manhattan I would have tried listening to certain street sounds, something I did when I needed to clear my mind. Basically, I’d count car horns instead of sheep.

Out here in the woods of Co

Frustrated, I pushed back the covers and reached blindly for my iPhone on the nightstand.

I’d turned it off in the backseat of the taxi after it had started to ring like crazy. Needless to say, some people were a little curious as to where I was, not the least of whom was surely a very ticked-off David Sorren.

But it was only Courtney I felt bad about. Really bad. Although I had texted her to let her know I was all right, I hadn’t responded when she’d written back “Where R U?” Better that she not have to lie on my behalf. Also, better that she didn’t get any more involved in my problems than she already was.

I turned on my iPhone again now. 3:04 a.m., a

Sure enough, there were a half-dozen messages from Sorren and even more from Courtney. I’d continue to ignore Sorren’s messages until morning, but I thought I’d at least listen to one from Courtney. I knew she had to be incredibly shaken up by Derrick Phalen’s murder. After all, she had been the one to send me to him and he had been her friend.

“Nick, it’s me again,” began her message. “Please call me back. Please, Nick.”

I reached for the volume because I could barely hear her, when suddenly the phone began to vibrate.

Shit! What had I pressed?

Nothing. Someone was actually calling me at three in the morning.

I was so worried I would wake up Kate and Elizabeth that I didn’t even bother to check the caller ID.

“Hello?” I whispered.

“Hello, Nick.”

“Who is this?”

I immediately knew I’d heard the voice before, but I couldn’t place it. Right away, he placed it for me.

“I warned you at the diner, Nick, but you didn’t listen,” he said. “You should’ve listened.”

I shot straight up and turned on the light beside the bed.

Jesus. It was the guy from the Sunrise Diner, the one with the gun. The one who’d told me I was in a shitload of danger.

“Do you know what time it is?” I asked.

“I sure do,” he said. “I also know what room you’re in, Nick. It’s the only one in the house with the light on.”

In the middle of the night, he was here.

Chapter 72

I RACED OVER to the small window facing the front of the house. Tearing back the closed curtain, I pressed my nose up against the glass. I didn’t care if he could see me – could I see him?

Was he really out there? It sure sounded like it. And it looked like it, too.

Even with the reflection from the light in the room, I couldn’t miss the shining headlights on the car parked outside in the driveway. But that’s all I could see. Where are you, you son of a bitch?

It was as if he could read my mind and was playing with me. The next second, he stepped out of the darkness, a creepy-as-hell silhouette right in front of his car. His elbow was bent, the phone to his ear.

“You didn’t think anyone could find you out here, huh?” he asked. Only it wasn’t a question. It was a boast. I guess he was impressed with his own skills.

“I’m calling the police,” I said.

“Yeah, just like you did at the diner.”

“This is different.”

“Why? Because you’re not alone in this nice house out here in Disturbia?”

The mere suggestion of Kate and Elizabeth sent a jolt up my spine. All at once my worst fears collided with sheer rage. My body was spilling over with adrenaline. Whoever this guy was, he was royally pissing me off.

“You listen to me,” I said, changing my grip on the phone. I squeezed it so tight I thought it would break in my hand.