and shaking in equal measures, laying in silence in the confined space, Nicola tried to get her brain in gear. Perhaps this was just a robbery gone wrong, a second attempt like Christa had feared. But what on earth was on the tablet computer that had freaked John out so much?
CHAPTER 10
NICOLA
Nicola shook as if on vibrate. Tonight was scaring the crap out of her. Footsteps faded out of the office. The room fell silent save for humming pipes and a ticking clock.
“What now?” Nicola asked John who was squashed against her inside the window seat.
“Do you have any idea who they are?”
“No.”
Someone ran upstairs saying, “No one leaves until we find them.”
John pushed the seat lid up and climbed out. “C’mon. Quick. The windows in here are painted shut. We need another way out.”
Limbs numb, Nicola got to her feet. Shadowing John, she sprinted across the carpet and they stopped behind the door.
“This is a blind spot,” John whispered. “Stay close.”
Floorboards creaked overhead.
John inched the office door open and stuck his head out. “Follow me.” He dragged Nicola across the hall, and pressed his back against the wall opposite the office. One more glance at the screen and he raced into the coat cupboard. He parted the coats and shoved Nicola into the hidden cove on the right onto her knees. Its sloping roof went around the corner and under the stairs. “We should be safe here. I know this house better than they do.”
With her heart pounding in her ears, Nicola realigned the hanging coats. She placed some tall boots and oddments in front of them and squashed up against John in the darkness.
Pallid light from the tablet softly lit John’s creased face. He craned to look at Nicola and gulped. “I’m not sure you’re ready for this,” he whispered, then flipped the tablet around to show her the screen.
Her jaw dropped. Bombshell! Christa’s kitchen was displayed on the screen. On the floor near the splattered cake was the knife she’d dropped only moments ago.
John tapped the back button and the entire screen filled with snapshots of rooms around the house.
“Cameras?” Nicola whispered. “All over our friggin’ house?”
“I’m afraid so.” He tapped the screen and zoomed in on real-time, full colour moving footage, flipping from one room to the next, showing men searching them.
Nicola gasped. Holy crap!
“Someone’s guarding the back door,” he said. “He’s wearing a mask so I can’t see his face. Another guy’s in Sarah’s bedroom right now. Damn. That room’s our best way out.”
How’s he figure that? “Sarah’s?”
“Yep. Why are they here, Nicola?”
“I wish I knew.”
He clicked through to the home page. Beneath a vibrant red and turquoise banner were a mass of thumbnail-sized video feeds from various houses. Each screen was a frozen teaser, titled and with a brief blurb underneath. Some had flashing red borders showing current activity or perhaps popular feeds. “Whoa. This isn’t the only house they have cameras in,” John explained. “This is a website full of them.”
“My God! Perverted... peeping Toms.” Nicola flushed in anger as she read the title of her and Christa’s video link: Hot Mansion Girls.
“It’s sick.”
Nicola shuddered and hugged herself. Countless strangers had undoubtedly watched her undressing, bathing, and at bedtime had probably witnessed her... “Oh, Lord. This can’t be true.” She cushioned her face with her hands. Had every private moment in this house in fact been public? And for how long?
“From the angle, I’d say a few look like webcams,” John explained, tutting and shaking his head in disgust. “But the rest, well... these monsters have actually installed fixed cameras into people’s bedrooms, bathrooms... See? Just like in here.”
“But
CHAPTER 10
NICOLA
Nicola shook as if on vibrate. Tonight was scaring the crap out of her. Footsteps faded out of the office. The room fell silent save for humming pipes and a ticking clock.
“What now?” Nicola asked John who was squashed against her inside the window seat.
“Do you have any idea who they are?”
“No.”
Someone ran upstairs saying, “No one leaves until we find them.”
John pushed the seat lid up and climbed out. “C’mon. Quick. The windows in here are painted shut. We need another way out.”
Limbs numb, Nicola got to her feet. Shadowing John, she sprinted across the carpet and they stopped behind the door.
“This is a blind spot,” John whispered. “Stay close.”
Floorboards creaked overhead.
John inched the office door open and stuck his head out. “Follow me.” He dragged Nicola across the hall, and pressed his back against the wall opposite the office. One more glance at the screen and he raced into the coat cupboard. He parted the coats and shoved Nicola into the hidden cove on the right onto her knees. Its sloping roof went around the corner and under the stairs. “We should be safe here. I know this house better than they do.”
With her heart pounding in her ears, Nicola realigned the hanging coats. She placed some tall boots and oddments in front of them and squashed up against John in the darkness.
Pallid light from the tablet softly lit John’s creased face. He craned to look at Nicola and gulped. “I’m not sure you’re ready for this,” he whispered, then flipped the tablet around to show her the screen.
Her jaw dropped. Bombshell! Christa’s kitchen was displayed on the screen. On the floor near the splattered cake was the knife she’d dropped only moments ago.
John tapped the back button and the entire screen filled with snapshots of rooms around the house.
“Cameras?” Nicola whispered. “All over our friggin’ house?”
“I’m afraid so.” He tapped the screen and zoomed in on real-time, full colour moving footage, flipping from one room to the next, showing men searching them.
Nicola gasped. Holy crap!
“Someone’s guarding the back door,” he said. “He’s wearing a mask so I can’t see his face. Another guy’s in Sarah’s bedroom right now. Damn. That room’s our best way out.”
How’s he figure that? “Sarah’s?”
“Yep. Why are they here, Nicola?”
“I wish I knew.”
He clicked through to the home page. Beneath a vibrant red and turquoise banner were a mass of thumbnail-sized video feeds from various houses. Each screen was a frozen teaser, titled and with a brief blurb underneath. Some had flashing red borders showing current activity or perhaps popular feeds. “Whoa. This isn’t the only house they have cameras in,” John explained. “This is a website full of them.”
“My God! Perverted... peeping Toms.” Nicola flushed in anger as she read the title of her and Christa’s video link: Hot Mansion Girls.
“It’s sick.”
Nicola shuddered and hugged herself. Countless strangers had undoubtedly watched her undressing, bathing, and at bedtime had probably witnessed her... “Oh, Lord. This can’t be true.” She cushioned her face with her hands. Had every private moment in this house in fact been public? And for how long?
“From the angle, I’d say a few look like webcams,” John explained, tutting and shaking his head in disgust. “But the rest, well... these monsters have actually installed fixed cameras into people’s bedrooms, bathrooms... See? Just like in here.”
“But
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