A car honked as she raced across the road. She made it to the other side, and skidded as she jumped the curb, before turning onto the sidewalk without shedding much speed. Once pointed south, she pedalled for all she was worth. The skies opened up, and the rain soaked her to the skin. She glanced back, yet again, to see the white van turn onto Traverse a few roads back.
Her heart pounded. She reached Goulet Street. Overhead lights illuminated the wide expanse, but only a few cars whizzed by. Surely they wouldn’t try anything out in the open?
The traffic light switched to red.Effing hell,she thought as she kept going. Only one car had to swerve. She nipped alongside a small strip mall, leaned into the turn around the back of it, sped through the adjoining parking lot, and continued east along Marion Street. Within moments, she’d entered the realm of apartments. All had pathways linking them from the street to the back lane. Deking down one, she raced across the next road, and through the yard of a mechanic. Another dart across an avenue, and she was back into residential territory.
Only a sprint away from home.
Which was exactly what she did. Panting, her legs burning, she accelerated along the sidewalk. The rain almost blinded her, and she narrowly avoided getting hit by a slow-moving truck as she flew across the final thoroughfare between her and her house.
Eugenie Street had never been so welcoming.
The street in front of her house was wall-to-wall vehicles. Her young, rowdy neighbors must be having another all-nighter.
Usually, it irritated the hell out of her. Tonight, as she jumped off her bike and unlatched her gate, she was grateful for the raised voices and laughter.
She shook all over. Her job as an ER nurse required quick thinking and instant decisions. She’d never had to use those skills in such a manner. But now that she stood in her yard, doubt crept in. White vans were hardly rare. Had she imagined the entire thing?
Jessie wheeled the bike alongside the house. The neighbors on the other side had two big dogs that spent most of their time in the yard. As she neared the back of her house, the dogs began to bark.
No surprise. They sometimes did, and they likely heard her. But then their voices rose, rapidly approaching pure hysteria.
Something growled. Deep. Loud. The dogs stopped barking, and one gave a single, high-pitched whine of terror.
What the effing hell?She’d never heard those dogs be afraid of anything.
Jessie dropped her bike. Her fingers shook as she unlocked her house, slammed the door behind her, and ran to turn off the alarm. She raced through the house and flicked on all the lights on the ground floor. Then sat at her kitchen table, dripping wet and shivering. Still spooked, she tried not to think about unknown stalkers in white vans and large, hairy creatures that lurked in the night.
She worried about the dogs. The owners usually ignored them. Should she check on them? Could she do it?
Minutes passed.Dammit.Were the dogs okay?
She rose. Shoved her wet hair back off her face, grabbed a paring knife, dug the flashlight from the junk drawer, opened all the curtains that faced the backyard, and walked out the door. Leaving it ajar, she clicked on the flashlight, and stood there, heart pounding, as the beam bounced around outside.
The space was enclosed by a six-foot wooden fence. Out of sight on one side, the partiers were still going at it. Several people were laughing and talking in that boisterous way that drunk people do. The property on the other side of her stayed dark and quiet. Clutching her knife, she scanned that side of her yard with the light. As soon as it bounced above the fence, the dogs went nuts.
The depth of her relief surprised her. Their barks were normal, hey-what-the-heck-are-you-doing sounds. They contained none of the hysteria from before.
Her flashlight reflected off something on the top board. There were lighter spots against the stained wood. She crept closer, peering.
Five long rents marred the wood, and three feet over, another five. As if something had sunk its claws into the boards as it vaulted over. What could leave claw marks with a ten-inch span?
She dropped the light to the ground at the base of the fence and flinched. At first, she thought a body was lying there, its limbs horribly contorted. Then her light picked up the bark—a tree branch, snapped off in the storm
It had likely struck the wood. She’d have to check for more damage come morning. Was that what had scared the dogs?
She’d been brave enough for one night. Jessie retreated into the house and locked the door.
She shook all over. Cold. That was it. Needed a hot shower.
That much, she could handle. She headed up the stairs to a steamy oblivion.
* * *
Jessie preferred to enjoy the side streets of Winnipeg from her bike or while walking. But after her white-van-beast-in-shadows experience, she decided on the car for her next shift.
Although in the warmth of a sunny morning, the events of last night took on an element of the surreal. Surely her imagination had gotten the better of her? The storm had set her up for it. That, and a long, hard work shift.
To distract herself from the scare she’d had, Jessie plucked memorized facts from her self-help guide as she drove. The book was right. She took some things completely for granted.
