Read Online Instinct by Ike Hamill - Free Book Online Page B

me,” Tim said to the dog as they turned down Sunset Point Road. It was a wide expanse of asphalt that was in better shape than the main road. Cedric stuck very close to Tim’s thigh.
    The grass was high, but he saw no weeds in the lawn. Tim and Cedric walked down the middle of the road. They were flanked by two perfect rows of maple trees. One tree had a sign that read, “Private Drive.”
    Their footsteps flushed some birds from the grass. Cedric turned his head and perked his ears, but he didn’t leave Tim.
    The road ended in a circular drive at the entrance of the long building. A nice breeze blew across the narrow peninsula. They stood for several seconds, regarding the house from the circular drive. Tim tried to imagine someone looking out from those tall windows.  
    He approached as the hot lump of anticipation returned to his chest. His leg muscles were still twitching from his run, and it felt like he was walking on springs. He climbed the stairs and the shadow from the porch roof covered him and the dog. The porch ran the length of the house and the breeze swept through the space. It would be a great place to cool off on a hot day.
    Tim walked to the front door.
    The big black door was hidden behind a thin wooden frame that held a screen. Tim opened the screen and knocked. He waited and then knocked again. The sound was swept away by the wind.  
    His imagination took over. He pictured a dim, dusty room where a lifeless woman was laying on a bare mattress. He imagined her eyes flying open at the sound of his knock.
    Tim shook away the vision.
    “Let’s walk around back,” he said to Cedric.
    They followed the south side of the house and walked down the length of the building. A row of tall lilac bushes flanked the building. The white paint was peeling away where the leaves were closest to the building’s siding.
    They passed a picnic table and a swing suspended from the branch of another maple. They finally came around the final corner and saw the clothesline. The sheets were nearly horizontal in the breeze.
    Hanging from the line was a homemade bucket. It was the bottom half of a bleach container. A clothes hangar was hooked through each side and served as the handle. Tim took it down and saw it contained clothespins. There were no old leaves in the bucket. It didn’t have rainwater in the bottom. It hadn’t been there long. Tim hung it back up and spun around in a slow circle.
    “Hello?” he yelled. Cedric turned with him and barked once, like he was trying to help call.
    Tim looked up at the sky. It was still pretty clear, but there were thick clouds hanging on the western horizon.
    “I thought we’d find out the sheets had been here forever,” Tim said. “I figured there was about a ten percent chance that we’d find someone here. I never considered that the sheets would be recent, but the place would be empty.”
    He looked out over the water. The wind kicked up little ripples on the surface. It was a beautiful day on this private point. Tim looked at the grass. It wasn’t long here. Someone was keeping this lawn mowed. It was yet more proof that someone should be here.
    “We have to go inside,” he said.
    They walked over to a side door on the back part of the house. Tim looked through the window and saw a big room with a bar at one end and chairs along the wall. He knocked on the glass and waited. Cedric was right at his side.
    He reached for the handle.  
    The voice called out as soon as his hand touched the brass knob.
    “Can we help you?”
    Tim turned around. Cedric, who had been panting with his tongue to the side, in his carefree way, closed his mouth. The young couple was standing about a dozen paces away with the water at their backs.
    “Sorry,” Tim said. He felt the blood rising to his face. “We were just looking to see if anyone was here.”
    Cedric sat down at Tim’s side.
    “This is our house,” the young woman said. Tim guessed that they were, at the most, twenty