“Hey, girl,” I say, dropping my bag on the dining table. “I’ve gotta go to Tanner’s, so we won’t go for a walk –”

She barks at the mention of the W word.

“Crap, no, Lou, not tonight. I’ve got to go to Tanner’s; I’ll get you some dinner and then I need to go.”

She huffs in response, turning in a circle before plopping down on the rug.

“Yeah, I know. Hopefully things will go back to normal soon.”

Taking a leaf out of Tanner’s book, I waltz on into his house without knocking. His voice echoes loudly from somewhere within the walls, “My office – Second door on the left, past the stairs.”

“Roger that,” I say under my breath. I pass the stairs, heading down a hallway I’ve never taken notice of before.

An eerie feeling overcomes me as I enter his office and a chill runs up my spine. It’s dark and moody; there are no windows in this room; no life. A desk spans the length of the far wall where there are three PC monitors set up, each showing something different. Taking a step towards them, I focus my eyes on the first screen which is split into four and I recognise it as the live feed from The Chemist.

The second screen seems to have an assortment of documents and files he must be looking at, and the third screen is split into six — two cameras streaming both the front and back entrance of Twisted Sister, and the other four are cameras on Kinsley’s apartment; the front and back entrances, as well as her bedroom and downstairs living.

Suddenly, a firm hand clamps down on my shoulder and my whole body tenses.

“Middle screen — Sit,” Tanner demands, as he strides past me, further into the room. My exhale is long, longer than usual. How much air can I hold in my lungs and why don’t I realise when it happens? After a quick reminder to myself to continue to breathe, I sit down in the seat next to Tanner.

“You’re starting to have me worried. What’s going on?”

“Tell me what you see.” He splits the screen in two, on one side is a list of titles and descriptions, and on the other are files with the corresponding titles.

“Uh, you know I’m not very tech-savvy, man … But, I guess it looks like descriptions on one side and matching files on the other?”

He stays silent and clicks open the file titled ‘PHOTO ONE’. I shuffle closer, reading the description before allowing my eyes to flick to the image that has popped up on the other side of the screen. My heart begins to beat faster and the hairs on the back of my neck stand. What in the world have we got ourselves involved in?

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Jesse

“Jesse?” Tanner answers the phone on the second ring.