Behind Closed Doors by Carla Cassidy

Author:Carla Cassidy [Cassidy, Carla]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-09-21T11:37:21+00:00

Chapter 10

Silence can be as terrifying as a scream, Ann thought over the next couple of days. There were no calls, no notes, nothing from her tormentor. Just silence...and a dreadful anticipation of what might come next.

Thursday morning she lay in bed, listening to the sound of raindrops pinging against the window. The rain had begun sometime in the night, a welcome relief after the hot spell of the last several weeks.

Maybe he’s gone away, a small voice spoke inside her head, bringing with it a burst of hope. Maybe the ordeal was finally over. Three days of utter silence.

Perhaps the poisoning of Twilight had been the final act of a madman who’d now turned his demented sights to somebody else. Although she hated the thought of another woman having to deal with the madness, she wanted it out of her own life.

A faint scratching sound came from under her bed, and she knew Twilight was waking up. Since she’d brought him home on Tuesday, he’d spent most of his time hiding beneath the bed, obviously traumatized by his ordeal.

It would take time and love to bring him back, to teach him to trust once again. In the meantime Ann had infinite patience when it came to her furry friend.

As she showered and dressed for her day of classes, she remembered it was Tina’s day to clean. She’d need to leave a note for the young woman, explaining about Twilight and telling her not to worry about vacuuming beneath her bed.

Driving to the college, the burst of optimism that had greeted her first thing that morning renewed itself, warming her like meeting a long lost friend.

She didn’t know whether it was the three days of silence or the sweet, fresh rain that rejuvenated her feeling that perhaps it was all finally over. The rain had brought with it a pleasant drop in temperature, and the scent of a world washed anew.

It was hard to hold on to terror, hang on to fear for an extended period of time. The human spirit could only sustain fright for so long before rebelling. She steadfastly refused to dwell on fear today, instead embracing her feeling of optimism and pulling it into her soul.

Her students seemed to respond positively to the cooler weather and soothing rain. Classes seemed more relaxed, the students in good spirits despite the dreariness of the skies outside.

She let the students of her last class before her dinner break go fifteen minutes early. It was an English Lit class and they had all done their work and turned in their papers. As they left the classroom, she gathered up her things, eager to grab something to eat before her creative writing class began.

“Ms. Carson?”

“Yes?” She looked up to see that the room had emptied and Barry Namath had entered. “Barry.” She tried to still the sudden rapidity of her heartbeats. She hadn’t seen him since the scene at her house. He hadn’t come to class on Tuesday night.

“Can I talk with you for a minute?” he asked, advancing toward her.

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