Chapter 3 - The Knock on the Glass
The sharp rapping sound vibrated straight through the floorboards, silencing the hallway instantly. Leo pressed his small back against the living room wall, his wide eyes fixed on the frosted glass panel of the front door. Maya buried her face in the folds of Mara's puffer jacket, letting out a muffled whimper that sounded impossibly small in the quiet house. Clara held up a single hand, signaling for absolute silence, her gaze locked on the brass doorknob as it slowly began to turn.
"Who's there?" Clara called out, her voice remarkably steady despite the adrenaline spiking in her veins.
"State your business or I'm calling the sheriff's department right this second."
The turning of the knob stopped dead. A muffled voice murmured something unintelligible from the porch, followed by the heavy scuff of a boot sole against the welcome mat. A folded piece of white paper slid slowly underneath the crack at the bottom of the door, coming to rest neatly against the baseboard.
"Don't touch it," Mara hissed, grabbing Clara’s forearm just as the older woman took a step forward to inspect the envelope.
"We don't know what's on it. It could be chemical, it could be a warning."
"I’ve lived in this house for forty years, Mara," Clara whispered back, pulling her arm free with a sharp jerk.
"Nobody slips notes under my door unless they have a death wish."
Clara dropped to her knees, her orange sweater catching the warm glow of the hallway lamp, and pinched the corner of the heavy cardstock between her thumb and forefinger. She pulled it up, unfolded the single sheet, and scanned the hastily scrawled handwriting written in thick black marker. Her breath hitched, and the paper fluttered from her trembling fingers down onto the hardwood floor.
"Read this," Clara whispered, looking up at Mara with eyes completely drained of color.
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"They aren't looking for you, Mara. They're looking inside that car seat."
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