The woman looked at him. Let her gaze bounce up and down, as if assessing whether he would be stupid enough to dive for the weapon. “And you’re Connor Rye.”

Yeah, just as scary when she did it to him. “Want to tell us how you know who we are?”

“No.”

“Why are you here?” Maddie asked.

“Also not your business.”

“Call Ben,” Connor said to Maddie without taking his eyes off that gun.

The woman smiled. “Yes, call Ben.”

Maddie made a strange sound. “You know Ben?”

“You can tell him about your trespassing.”

“He knows we’re here.”

“I doubt that, Maddie.” The woman used the tip of the gun to point toward the front door. “Call him and wait outside. This time on the other side of the locked door.”

Ben got to the house ten minutes after the call. Maddie wasn’t sure where he had been or how fast he drove, but he had to break records. She appreciated the urgency. She hadn’t stopped shaking since that woman appeared on the stairs.

Now she was inside and they were outside and that didn’t work for Maddie at all. Not that they had a choice. In a verbal battle the person holding the gun tended to win. She’d stepped outside at the other woman’s command out of fear Connor might try to be a hero. She couldn’t let that happen.

All three of them stood on the front porch. Ben leaned on the buzzer for a second time after trying the knob again. He looked in the windows on either side of the door. “I don’t see anyone in there.”

“Break the door down.” That sounded like a reasonable response to Maddie, or Connor could mess with the lock again. She didn’t care which option so long as the woman didn’t sneak off before they could ask her questions.

Ben stepped away from the windows. “This isn’t a television show.”

“She knew our names,” Connor said in a firm voice.

“That’s—”

“Suspicious.” Connor nodded. “Yeah, exactly.”

Ben looked at the door, then down the lane to the gate. “I need you two to go.”

That was not happening. She didn’t come this far to turn back without talking to this woman. “Where is she?”

“I might have an answer if you hadn’t played amateur detectives and scared her away.”

“That woman didn’t scare easily.”

Ben frowned at Connor. “Do you see her now?”

Her patience expired. “This isn’t a joke, Ben.”

“No, it’s not.” Ben’s voice stayed even. “Sit this one out. That’s an order for both of you.”

Maddie usually appreciated Ben’s calm but right now it annoyed her. She needed him running and shooting . . . or whatever had to be done to end this. “She might get off Whitaker and we won’t—”