Falmouth Echoes (A Cape Cod Series Book 2)

Chapter 5

Sophia sat up in bed, drenched in sweat, with her heart hammering wildly against her chest. She touched a hand to her face and waited for her vision to clear. Her sleep-addled brain struggled to make sense of her surroundings and why a shiver of unease was racing up her spine.

When she lowered herself back onto the mattress and drew the covers up to her chest, she heard the scratching sound, now louder than before. Abruptly, she reached for her phone and dialed Ian’s number. Then she reached for the baseball bat she kept by her nightstand and gripped it with both hands. Half-blinded by the darkness, she stumbled out of bed and held the bat up over her head.

Once the door to her apartment flew open and a cloaked figure entered, dressed black from head to toe, with a mask covering half their face, fear and panic slammed into her, making a tremor race through her. She opened her mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream, and he wheeled in her direction, his movements slow and lethargic.

She tasted bile in the back of her throat, and there was a low pounding in the back of her skull, but none of it mattered.

Not when something cold and hard settled in the center of her stomach.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Sophia charged him.

It took her a few tries, but when the bat finally connected with something solid, the masked assailant let out a low wheeze of pain and jumped back. He held both hands out on either side of him, but she didn’t stop swinging, landing another hit to his stomach. The assailant made a low whimpering sound of pain and stumbled away from her.

“I’ve already called the cops,” Sophia told him, struggling to hear past the pounding in her ears. “They’re going to be here any second.”

His heavy breathing reverberated inside of her head.

When she heard her dad call out to her, Sophia panicked and swung again, hitting the back of the man’s head. She heard the sickening crunch as he darted back, knocking a few things off the table by the door. Sophia was dimly aware of the crashing sound and shards of glass flying in every direction. Then, her dad raced past her front door in pursuit of the assailant.

She dropped the bat and ran after her dad in time to see the assailant throw himself out the window and land on his feet on the pavement. Stu drew Sophia to him, and the two of them stood and watched as the assailant took off, disappearing into the night. Moments later, when Ian arrived and jumped out of the car with two more police cars in tow, Stu was rubbing Sophia’s back and murmuring something under his breath.

Ian was panting when he reached the top of the stairs, and his eyes were wild and unfocused. “What happened? Where is he? What did he look like?”

“He’s gone,” Sophia responded, her heart still racing unevenly. “I hit him a few times with the baseball bat. He’s about six feet, well-built, but he was wearing a mask and all black, so I can’t tell you much else.”

Ian pressed the radio to his mouth. “Dispatch, please be advised that our suspect is tall and well-built. Last seen headed East on Winrose Street. Suspect is wearing a mask and all black, so he’ll be hard to identify, but he’s also been hit a few times, so he’ll probably seek medical attention.”

As soon as he was done, Ian brushed past them and unholstered his gun. He flicked the lights on and scoured through every inch of my apartment, along with two other weary-looking police officers. A short while later, their street was crawling with police officers and an ambulance, and it wasn’t long before she heard the firetruck, the sound slicing through the air.

Stu draped an arm over her shoulders and led her outside, his movements jerky and unfocused. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

Sophia squeezed his hand. “I’m alright, Dad. Don’t worry.”

Together, the two of them stood on the front porch while police officers came in and out of the main house and her apartment, pausing now and again to take their statements. When Darren came up to her, his face etched in concern, Sophia’s heart gave an odd little dip.

“Are you okay?”

Sophia nodded, and her fingers moved to the blanket around her shoulders. “I honestly think he’s in worse shape than I am.”

“She hit him with the baseball bat,” Stu said with a proud lift of his chin. “It’s a good thing, too.”

Darren glanced between the two of them, the hint of a smile hovering on his lips. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to mess with Sophia either.”

With one final look in her direction, Darren disappeared into the house.

Ian came back out, his face covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his shirt on upside down, and his sweatpants looking wrinkled underneath the fluorescent lighting. “Okay, so the good news is, it doesn’t look like he took anything. Other than the damage to the window in the hallway connecting the main house to the apartment, nothing else was affected.”

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m not even sure why he broke in. We don’t have much.”

Ian took a notebook out of his pocket and clicked on his pen. “There’s been a string of robberies lately, all over the neighborhood. So far, there’s nothing connecting them, but I think you’d better keep a close eye out in case he tries to come back.”

Their father rose to his feet, his hair in tufts on top of his head and his bloodshot eyes widening slightly. “Is there anything we can do to prevent him from coming back? I don’t think he’ll be too happy once he realizes he’s wasted his time.”

Ian wrote something down and glanced up at him. “I can have an alarm system set up for you by tomorrow, and I’ll call in a favor with a buddy of mine to have a squad car keep an eye out. At least for a couple of days.”

Stu glanced over at Sophia and then back at Ian. “Okay, what else can we do?”

Ian put away his notebook and his pen. “Look, Pop, I know this is going to be hard to hear, but there’s nothing else you can do. Once we’re done sweeping the place, you two should get some sleep, and tomorrow morning, I’ll check in. In the meantime, if there’s anything else either of you can remember, that would be great.”

Stu paused, a shudder moving through him. “I didn’t get a good look at him.”

Ian nodded and squeezed his dad’s shoulders. “It’s okay. We’ll get him eventually, Pop.”

When Ian was called away, Sophia stood and drew her dad to her. She draped the blanket over both of their shoulders and tried not to dwell on what had happened. Yet, she kept replaying the scene in her mind, and the terror she’d felt at realizing she wasn’t alone lingered.

As did the realization that her mother had died under very similar circumstances—a robbery gone wrong.

Was Sophia going to suffer the same fate, or was it just a blood-chilling coincidence?

In a daze, she answered a few more questions and clung to her blanket. By the time everyone cleared out, there was a dull ringing in her ears, and the bile in the back of her throat had gotten worse. In spite of his objections, Sophia helped her father get ready for bed and went to her own apartment. After lingering outside her door and pacing the entire length of the hallway a few times, she went back into the main house.

There, she sat on the couch, threw a blanket over her legs, and stared at the empty fireplace. When she lifted her gaze up to the frames spread out over the mantle, her eyes lingered on the pictures of her mother, and she burst into tears. She clamped a hand over her mouth as her body shook, and the swell of emotion within her grew stronger.

Over and over, she replayed the robbery in her head, the sinking feeling in her stomach only growing worse as she realized how close she’d come to being another sad story on the local news. By the time she calmed down, her tears had stopped, and the tremors had subsided.

Exhausted, Sophia stumbled into her old room and flicked on the lights.

Everything looked the same, from the pink wallpaper to the posters on the wall and the lingering smell of strawberry shower gel in her bathroom. With a sniff, Sophia left the blanket in a heap on her desk chair and crawled onto the bed. She brought her arms up behind her head and studied the ceiling, smiling when she spotted a few of the glow-in-the-dark stars she’d begged her dad to hang up when she was six. A few of them even still glowed.

Gingerly, she stood up, flicked off the lights, and felt her way through the dark. After switching on the night lamp, which cast long shadows across the walls, she crawled in between the clean sheets and curled her hands into fists at her side. Then she curled into a ball on her side and stared at the window.

Was the robber still out there, plotting his revenge?

Had she hit him hard enough that she left a mark, forcing him to remember her?

A chill raced up her spine as Sophia threw the covers off and padded over to the window. Lit up beneath the soft glow of the moon, the backyard was quiet and untouched, the old swing moving gently with the night breeze. Sophia swallowed, pulled the curtains shut, and hurried back to the bed.

She spent the night tossing and turning, chasing sleep.

In the morning, when the doorbell rang, Sophia jolted awake and reached for her phone. In the living room, she grabbed the fire poker and held it up over her head. Then she pressed her face to the peephole, relief and surprise rising up within her when she recognized Darren’s back, already dressed in his firefighter uniform.

She undid the latch, threw the door open, and yawned. “What are you doing here?”

Darren spun around, revealing a medium-sized dog standing next to him with white fur, a square-shaped head, and large, almond-shaped eyes that immediately zeroed in on Sophia. The dog’s tail wagged once, twice, and he let out a loud bark.

“I went to the shelter this morning. This little guy needs to be fostered, so I thought it would be a good idea if he stayed with you for extra protection.”

Sophia glanced over at the dog, then back up at Darren’s face. “You know, most people settle for an alarm system.”

“Oh, I already talked to Ian. We’ll come by later and make sure it’s set up.”

Sophia ran a hand through her hair. “A dog is a big responsibility, and you know I haven’t had one since Bubbles.”

Darren stepped forward and scratched behind the dog’s ears. “I know, but the shelter told me he’s sweet-tempered and loyal.”

The dog thumped its tail in response.

“Fine, but this is only temporary.” Sophia took the leash out of Darren’s outstretched hand. “I don’t have time to go to the pet shop.”

“Zoe is going to pass by with a few things later,” Darren assured her with one final smile in the dog’s direction. “I’ll see you two later. Oh, and he doesn’t have a name, by the way, so give him whatever name you want.”

The dog followed her inside and up the stairs. While she showered, he sat by the door, wagging his tail. Sophia patted his head on the way past and messaged her boss to let her know about the situation. Then she picked up his leash and led him back outside in the direction of her car. When she rolled down the window, he stuck his head out, and she caught a glimpse of his large tongue.

“I really hope you’re not a licker,” Sophia grumbled as she pulled up outside the pastry shop. Inside, everyone, including Nora, fawned all over the dog and gave him treats. He lapped it all up, his hazel eyes remaining on her the whole time. As soon as Zoe stopped by, she took him outside to play, and Sophia eyed them through the windows.

At least the dog was bringing them closer together.

And it was a much better alternative than having the break-in to worry about.