Page 34 of Little Bitter Truths
Me:I did.Is everything all right?
Mia:Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?
Me:I just want to make sure you’re safe.
Mia:I’m fine.Is this about your theory again?Can we just drop it for now?
Me:Sorry I called so late.I hope you can get some sleep.
I setmy phone on the dashboard, and Giovanni said, “What would you like to do now?”
“Would it be okay if we sit here for a while?I’m not sure if Whitlock was able to speak to Foley about having a couple of officers patrol the neighborhood, but
I can’t shake this feeling I’m having.”
“We can stay as long as you like.”
Ten minutes passed and then thirty, and nothing changed.
An hour in, Giovanni yawned and shifted in his seat, looking at me.“Are you feeling any better?”
“I’m starting to second-guess myself.”
“I’ve seen how accurate your instincts can be.I know better than to ignore them.”
Another fifteen minutes passed and then I saw something I didn’t expect … movement.
“Do you see that?”I whispered.
Giovanni followed my line of sight.
Several houses down, I spotted someone dressed in black, a hood pulled low to conceal their face.They moved along the sidewalk with deliberate caution, pausing every few steps to watch the surrounding homes.A moment later, they stopped and turned, scanning the street.
“That doesn’t look like someone out for a late-night stroll,” Giovanni said.
I agreed.
As the figure walked toward Mia’s house, we slid lower in our seats.
Three houses away.
Then two.
Then one.
I moved a hand to the door handle, ready to make a move, and the figure stopped.Then they did something I didn’t expect.They turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, disappearing around the corner.
“What the hell?”I whispered.
We jumped out of the car and hurried toward the end of the street.By the time we rounded the corner, the person was gone.The road stretched empty in both directions.Giovanni and I stood there for a moment, both of us struggling to understand what had just happened.
“He must be around here somewhere,” Giovanni said.
“If the person we’re looking for is a ‘he,’ we’ve lost him, for now.”
Disappointed, we headed back the way we came.As we neared Mia’s house, I saw something disturbing, and I looked at Giovanni, pointing.“I swear I just saw a shadowy figure moving inside Mia’s house.”
A feeling of unease coursed through me, and we ran toward Mia’s home, guns raised.
