Chapter 6
The beam of the heavy metal flashlight cut a stark, pale tunnel through the darkness of the side alley. Arthur stepped onto the damp concrete path, his blue jeans brushing against the dew-soaked stems of overgrown ferns lining the neighbor's fence. The air was dead silent save for the distant hum of traffic from the interstate two blocks away.
"Hello?" Arthur called out, his voice echoing sharply off the brick exterior of the house. "I know you're out here. I see you on the cameras."
Nothing moved. The shadows cast by the wooden fence stretched long and distorted under the pale glow of the newly installed floodlight. Arthur swept the light beam systematically from the base of the foundation to the overhanging oak branches above. There was no footprint in the soft mulch, no rustle of a coat against the foliage.
He checked his smartphone screen. The motion alert had stopped, but the recording log indicated movement had crossed the camera's lower frame precisely four seconds before he opened the door.
Frustrated and unsettled, Arthur walked back inside, locking the heavy door behind him with two definitive turns of the key. He leaned against the wooden panel for a moment, letting out a long, shuddering breath.
"Did you find him?" Maya asked, stepping out from the kitchen with a tense expression. Leo remained asleep in his rocker, undisturbed by the tension in the room.
"Nothing," Arthur said, shaking his head. He dropped his phone onto the kitchen counter. "Just an empty yard. But the app logged it. Something triggered the sensor. A stray cat, a raccoon... or someone fast enough to slip behind the detached garage before I could clear the corner."
Maya walked over to the kitchen window, pressing her palms against the cool glass and staring out into the illuminated perimeter. "He's playing with us, Dad. He wants us to look. He wants us to know he's watching every move we make."
May you like
"Let him watch," Arthur said, his voice hardening with a resolve that surprised even himself. He placed a hand on Maya's shoulder, feeling the tension locked in her muscles. "We have the footage stored in the cloud now. Even if he breaks in or destroys the cameras, the data is already transmitted off-site. We are building a case against him, piece by piece."
Despite his confident words, a cold knot of dread remained in his chest. A man who enjoyed playing cat-and-mouse games in the dark was rarely deterred by technology. Cameras recorded crimes; they rarely prevented them.
