Chapter 8

Jane pulls over at a nearby park and sits frozen in her seat. Hands gripping the steering wheel, staring straight ahead.

“Are you alright?” I ask her, knowing full well that she is not alright. I’m not alright. That was terrifying!

Jane doesn’t respond, she turns on the car and starts driving. We sit in silence as I realize we are headed towards our home.

“I’m scared Rachel” She finally speaks. “We need to tell someone what we saw. Mom, dad, the police, anyone!”

“But how will we explain what we saw? Are we just going to tell them that we broke into her home?”

“We can’t just not tell anyone! Mrs. Wheeler is in danger and the longer we wait the worse it gets. What in the world is he doing here?!”

Pulling up to our home, we see Steve sitting on the doorstep.

Jane parks the car and as we get out Steve runs towards her.

“Where were you? You missed practice; Mr. Whitmore was pissed that you guys were gone.”

“You’ll never believe what just happened Steve” Jane says as she gives him a big hug.

“Hurry let’s get inside” I make my way towards the door, checking the street, half expecting to see someone running towards us.

“Mom! Dad?” I yell out, but no one answers. I check the rooms, but it seems we are alone.

Jane and Steve are sitting in the kitchen.

“Something terrible has happened to Mrs. Wheeler” I hear Jane explain. “We went to her house and found blood on her floor. Rachel said she saw her attacked by a man.”

Steve looks from Jane to me, then back at Jane. He bursts out laughing, “you’re kidding right?”

“No, we’re not kidding!” Jane looks taken back. “Something terrible has happened to her! Someone broke into her house, there was glass everywhere from the broken window.”

“The same way you two broke in? What’s to stop the cops from thinking that it was you two that smashed the window?”

“But there was blood everywhere!” I’m frustrated he doesn’t seem as upset as us.

“Then call the cops. But you better come up with a good enough story to explain what you were doing in her home.”

“What if we don’t have to tell them we were there?” Jane chimes in.

“How Jane?! How in the world can we report this without the cops asking us how we know?”

“What if we are not the ones to call the cops?”

“How?!” I ask, completely confused.

“What if we got someone else to report the break in?”

I think about it for a minute, “but the back window has been broken for more than a day now. If someone else were to see it, they would have reported it by now. No one can see it unless they go in her backyard.”

“I know what we have to do” Steve says getting up from the table. He walks over to the kitchen window and peers out, towards Mrs. Wheelers house. “Someone needs to smash another window. One in the front that will be seen. We need to give the neighbors a reason to worry.”

“Genius.” Jane agrees, getting up from her seat to join Steve at the window.

I look at them as if they are crazy. “You guys want to waltz over there right now and throw some rocks at the window? When it’s bright out and everyone can see us?”

“No, not right now. It’s too risky.” Steve looks at Jane “You should break it in the middle of the night. Someone will notice in the morning and call the police. With the snow falling overnight your tracks will be covered.”

“We just need to not be seen!”

Jane is excited. I have to admit, the plan is not half bad. Police will be notified and there will be nothing to trace it back to us if we do it right.

“Okay let’s do it Jane. Tonight, we’ll break her front window. There’s no way the neighbors will be able to ignore that!”

Relieved that we have a plan, I look out the window towards Mrs. Wheeler’s home. There is no sign of movement, no lights on anywhere. Just the curtains blowing in the breeze in the upstairs window.