Read Online Whispers in the Dark by Chris Eboch - Free Book Online Page A

dialed, and I clutched the receiver so hard my fingers hurt. I heard myself give my name and our location as if listening to someone else from a distance.
    Someone pounded on the door. We all jumped, and the woman screamed.
    Outside, a man yelled and swore, demanding to be let in.
    “Robert was trying to slow him down,” Lily said. “Oh God, Robert—” She looked gray, and I hoped she wasn’t going to faint with the child still in her arms.
    “You’d better send an ambulance, too,” I said into the phone. “Yes, I’ll stay on the line.” I put my hand over the receiver. “Lily. Lily!”
    She slowly turned her head to look at me.
    “Take them into the back room. Make some tea. There might be cocoa for the children.”
    She took a deep breath and gave a little shake, then nodded briskly and headed for the back room. “Come on.” The other woman trailed after her, dragging the older boy. He glared at me as he passed, as if this were somehow my fault, or maybe he just didn’t like a stranger seeing his family’s problems.
    The pounding on the door stopped. I waited, darting glances between the windows. Would he try them next?
    Something slammed against the door with an astounding crash. I gasped and dropped the phone. He must have either thrown himself against the door or tried to kick it down. It held, but for how long?
    I looked around for anything to brace the door. I grabbed a rack of brochures and wedged it under the door handle, but I didn’t think the flimsy wire would do much good. I needed a weapon. I ran back to the counter and searched the shelves underneath. Brochures, papers, office supplies, T-shirts. I got down on hands and knees and ducked my head under the bottom shelf to check the back corners. Nothing more dangerous than a heavy book or a ballpoint pen.
    The man crashed against the door again. I jerked back, cracking my head on the underside of the counter.
    I rubbed my head as I stood and darted to the back room. The thin woman and the children were huddled on the couch. Lily stood solidly in the middle of the room, holding a toilet plunger like a baseball bat. I let out a half hysterical gasp.
    “It’s the best thing I could find,” Lily said.
    Another crash was followed by the tinkle of shattered glass hitting the floor. I whipped around and looked into the front room. A face loomed at one of the windows and I shied back. “How big is this guy?” I asked.
    Lily stepped up beside me. “Too big to get through one of those windows.”
    I nodded but closed the door between the rooms, just in case.
    “You got the police?” Lily asked.
    “Yes. Damn! The phone.” It still lay on the counter, and I didn’t want to go back to the other room. “It doesn’t matter. They know we’re here and we’re in trouble. And they’re probably listening to that.” I bobbed my head toward the door and the sounds of the man’s curses.
    “It’ll take time,” Lily murmured, too soft for the others to hear.
    I nodded. Unless a police car happened to be already on the road out here, we wouldn’t get help for twenty or thirty minutes. I took a deep breath. “Then I guess we’d better be ready.”
    We shoved a file cabinet in front of the door. Fortunately, this back room had no windows. The water Lily had put in the microwave was hot, so I made tea for the adults and cocoa for the children. I hoped that this simple task would help me stay steady and a warm drink might comfort them.
    Plus, hot liquid and a heavy mug made tolerable weapons.
    I seemed to be watching myself from a distance, mildly surprised that I was acting calmly and sensibly—that I was acting at all. Had I really improved so much in the last six months? Or was it because this wasn’t directly my problem? Because it was easier to help someone else than myself?
    When I handed the woman a mug of tea, she was shaking so badly she splashed some in her lap. She kept her gaze down, avoiding my eyes. I cupped my hand under hers and