The man started after her mother. He was about twenty feet away from Nikki, who was holding the shotgun at her waist. She had her left hand around the barrel and her right hand around the stock. Her finger was on the trigger.
The intruder turned briefly to face Nikki as he walked, then did a double take. He started to raise his gun in her direction. Nikki closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the blast from the shotgun was horrendous in the narrow hallway. The recoil knocked Nikki over backward, yet she stubbornly held onto the shotgun. Regaining her balance enough to sit up, she used all her strength to cock the gun. Her ears were ringing so much, she couldn’t hear the mechanical click the shotgun made as a fresh shell was rammed into position and the spent cartridge ejected.
Angela suddenly appeared out of the smoky haze, coming from the direction of the kitchen. Immediately following the blast she’d run from the living room into the kitchen, doubling around and back up the main corridor. She took the shotgun from Nikki who was only too glad to give it up.
From the family room they heard the sound of a door banging open, then stillness.
“Are you all right?” Angela whispered to Nikki.
“I think so,” Nikki said.
Angela helped Nikki to her feet, then motioned for her to follow her. Slowly they advanced toward the foyer. They inched past the archway leading into the living room, catching sight of the damage caused by Nikki’s shotgun blast. A portion of the pellets were embedded in the side of the arch. The rest of the charge had carried away another four panes of glass from the living room’s bay window, the same window damaged by the brick.
Next they rounded the base of the stairs, trying to avoid the shards of broken glass. As they approached the archway leading into the family room, they felt a draft of cold air. Angela kept the shotgun trained ahead. Edging along together, Angela and Nikki spotted the source of the draft: one of the French doors leading to the terrace hung open and was gently swinging back and forth with the evening breeze.
With Nikki clutching one of Angela’s belt loops, they advanced toward the open door. They gazed out at the dark line of trees bordering their property. For a few moments they stood absolutely still, listening for any sounds. All they heard was the distant bark of a dog, followed by Rusty’s rebuttal from out in the barn. No one was in sight.
Angela closed the door and locked it. Still gripping the gun in one hand, she bent down and hugged Nikki with all her might.
“You’re a hero,” she said. “Wait until I tell your father.”
“I didn’t know what to do,” Nikki said. “I didn’t mean to hit the window.”
“The window doesn’t matter,” Angela said. “You did splendidly.” Angela went over to the phone. She was surprised to find it was dead.
“The one in your bedroom’s not working either,” Nikki said.
Angela shuddered. The intruder had gone to the trouble of cutting their lines first. Had it not been for Nikki, Angela hated to think what might have happened.
“We have to make sure the man is not still here,” Angela said. “Come on, let’s search the house.”
Together they went through the dining room into the kitchen. They checked the mud room and the two small storage rooms. Returning to the kitchen they walked down the central corridor back to the foyer.
While Angela was debating whether to check upstairs, the door chimes rang. Both she and Nikki jumped.
Looking out the side lights on either side of the door, Angela and Nikki saw a group of children dressed as witches and ghosts standing on their stoop.
David pulled into the driveway. He was surprised to see that every light in the house was on. Then he saw a group of teenagers leap from the porch, dash across the lawn, and disappear into the trees lining the property.
David stopped the car. He could see that his front door was plastered with raw eggs. The windows had been soaped, and the jack o’ lantern smashed. He had half a mind to give chase to the kids but decided that the chances of finding them in the dark were pretty slim. “Damn kids,” he said aloud. Then he noticed that more of the living-room bay window had been broken.