“Good gravy!” David exclaimed. “That’s going way too far.” He got out of the car and went up to his front door. The place was a mess. Tomatoes as well as eggs had been thrown against the front of the house.
Not until he discovered the broken glass and candy scattered across the floor of the foyer did David become truly worried. Struck by a sudden stab of fear for his family, David cried out for Angela and Nikki.
Almost immediately Angela and Nikki appeared at the top of the stairs. Angela was holding the shotgun. Nikki started to cry and ran down the stairs into David’s arms.
“He had a gun,” Nikki managed to tell David through choking sobs.
“Who had a gun?” David asked with growing alarm. “What’s happened?”
Angela came part of the way down the stairs and sat down.
“We had a visitor,” Angela said.
“Who?” David demanded.
“I don’t know,” Angela said. “He was wearing a Halloween mask. He had a handgun.”
“My God!” David said. “I never should have left you alone here. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Angela said. “But you are later than you said you’d be when you called.”
“It took longer than expected to get copies of the medical records,” David explained. “I did try to call on my way up, but the phone was constantly busy. When I checked with the operator, I was told it was out of order.”
“I think it was deliberately cut,” Angela said. “Probably by the intruder.”
“Did you call the police?” David asked.
“How were we to call the police when we had no phone?” Angela snapped.
“I’m sorry,” David said. “I’m not thinking.”
“All we’ve done since the man bolted is huddle upstairs,” Angela said. “We’ve been terrified he’d come back.”
“Where’s Rusty?” David asked.
“I put him in the barn earlier in the day because he got so hyper with all the trick-or-treaters coming to the door.”
“I’ll get my portable phone from the car and I’ll get Rusty while I’m at it,” David said. He gave Nikki’s shoulder a final squeeze.
Outside, he saw the same group of teenagers scatter.
“You’d better stay the hell away from here,” David yelled into the night.
Angela and Nikki were waiting for him in the kitchen when he returned with the phone and Rusty.
“There’s a wolf pack of teenagers out there,” David said. “They’ve made a mess of the front porch.”
“I think it’s because we haven’t been answering the door,” Angela said. “All the trick-or-treaters have been turned away empty-handed. I’m afraid with no treats we’ve gotten our share of tricks. Believe me, compared to what we were facing, they’re nothing.”
“Not quite nothing: they’ve broken a few more window panes in the bay window,” David said.
“Nikki broke the window,” Angela said. She reached out and hugged her daughter. “She’s our hero.” Then Angela told him exactly what had happened.
David could hardly believe the peril his family had been in. When he thought of what might have happened . . . He couldn’t bear to entertain the awful possibilities. When another barrage of raw eggs splattered against the front door, David’s anger welled. Running to the foyer, he threw open the door fully intending to catch a couple of kids. Angela restrained him. Nikki held on to Rusty.
“They’re not important,” Angela said. Tears welled in her eyes.
Seeing his wife start to break down, David closed the door. He had no confusion in regard to his priorities. He consoled Angela as best he could. He knew that running after the kids would accomplish nothing; he’d just be blowing off steam in an attempt to assuage his guilt.
He drew Nikki to him as well and sat them both down on the family room couch. As soon as Angela had calmed down, David used his portable phone to call the police. While they waited for them to arrive, David cursed himself for having left Angela and Nikki.
“It’s just as much my fault,” Angela said. “I should have anticipated we’d be in danger.” Angela then conceded that the rape attempt had possibly been an attempt on her life. She said that she’d told Calhoun about it, and he tended to agree with her.