Morning opened just like the days before. Cole and Elara arrived separately and unlocked the store following their exact order and pace. But right away they noticed something different. The person who used to stand clearly near the corner was gone. There was no obvious figure watching from across the street or lingering by the entrance.
Elara glanced over the sidewalk while she unlocked the glass door. At first it felt like relief. Then she remembered what they had talked about many times before. When the watchers become less visible it usually means they have changed method not that they have left.
Cole stepped past her at a safe distance and spoke in a normal voice as he reached for the light switch. “No one standing out in plain sight today. That means we look twice as hard everywhere
