Chapter 34
Susan
Sunday
For a tiny fraction of a second, I freeze.
Then I’m running—out of the living room and up the stairs.
I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get there, only that I’d barrel through anyone to get her, to grab her out of her cot, to keep her safe.
I barge into the bedroom, not stopping to turn on the light.
It’s too dark to see him, to see anything, but it doesn’t matter, I just need to get to her.
And then she’s in my arms and I’m running again, back out of the bedroom, down the stairs and out the front door.
Only then, when I’m in the driveway, does it feel safe to stop.
If he’s inside, we’re OK, the outside world has neighbors and streetlights and video doorbells.
Out of breath, I lean against the garden wall, confused about what to do next.
Someone is trying to hurt me, hurt Bella.
Someone is in our house, and maybe the same person was in the supermarket today.
My breath starts to slow. Nothing stirs inside the house.
From behind me comes the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.
Jon. And whatever else is going on, right now I’m just glad to see him.
Worry creases his brow when he gets out of the car and sees me standing there, Bella in my arms. In gulpy breaths, I explain, and now he’s pulling me into a hug, Bella sandwiched between us. A delay, he’s saying. Something about a delay. It takes me a moment to tune in.
“There’s a delay in the feed. You saw yourself on the screen.”
“What?”
“I noticed it the other night when I checked on Bella and came back down and looked at the monitor. I could see myself in the video feed. For a second, I thought it was someone else, but then I saw the figure lean in and adjust the camera, which is what I’d just done, and I realized my mistake.
Sorry, I meant to say it to you but we’ve… you’ve…”
But you’ve been avoiding me is what he wants to say.
A shaky laugh. “I’m such an idiot. Standing in the driveway at half ten at night over a glitchy baby monitor. Why didn’t Leesa say it does that? I feel like that’s pretty relevant information.”
“She did, on Friday night when they were over. Maybe you didn’t hear her.”
Maybe I was distracted by a rose-gold bracelet.