Chapter 43
11:19 p.m.
Queen Anne’s County, Maryland - Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay
The tall man was done. He writhed on the floor in agony.
He wasn’t getting up again.
Becca took Gunner by the hand. She led him to the window and pushed the screen out. It clattered away and slid down the tiles. Behind her, heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs.
She crouched in front of Gunner. “Honey, climb out, run to the other side, carefully, and shimmy down the drainpipe. Just like we do in fire drills, okay? I’m right behind you. When you hit that grass, you run. Run to the Thompsons’ house as fast as you can. Okay?”
She thought of the Thompsons, an old couple who were eighty-five if they were a day.
“Who is that man, Mom?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Now go!”
Gunner climbed head fir
