He again pounded on the door. “Caitlin! Piper!”
Still no one came to answer. His heart was racing. He hurried over to his left in front of a window on the opposite end of the porch. The lights were on in the living room, but he couldn’t make out anyone inside the house. Another scream. His adrenaline hit another level. Without even thinking twice, Jake reared back and punched his jacket-covered elbow right through the glass window. It shattered. He quickly cleared glass shards away as best he could without cutting himself and then managed to climb through the opening over the top of a white sofa. He scrambled toward the back of the house, the source of the commotion.
Spinning around a corner, Jake spotted his niece lying on her back on the hardwood floor in the kitchen, clutching her stomach with both hands and gasping for air. It looked like her hands were covered in blood. He could see dark liquid collecting beneath Caitlin. Jake dropped to his knees next to his niece, feeling more and more panic grip him. Blood was flowing out of her stomach, so he instinctively put his own hands on top of hers to try to somehow stop it. It wasn’t working. Blood was everywhere.
“Caitlin? What happened?”
“P-p-p-iper,” she said, coughing up more blood.
“She did this to you?” Jake said, horrified.
“N-n-no. He . . . he did it.”
“Who? Is he here?”
“She knows, Uncle Jake. What happened wasn’t an accident.”
“What . . . Who knows?”
Caitlin began coughing up more blood. “Piper knows the truth.”
“Where is she?”
“Help her, Uncle Jake! Please!”
Jake reached his trembling hand into his pocket to find his phone. He had to call 911. He had to get paramedics here for Caitlin. She was in awful condition. But then he heard another scream come from right outside the house. One he’d recognize anywhere. Pressing off the floor, Jake raced for a back kitchen door that led out to the side driveway. He flung it open, spilled outside, frantically searching everywhere. He didn’t see anything in a small backyard to his left, so he sprinted forward around to the front of the house again.
Where was Piper? God, please! he kept thinking, fear gripping his whole body. Squinting up the dark street, Jake thought he saw a man push someone into the front seat of the black tow truck he’d noticed parked along the curb earlier. Piper! A second later, the man pulled the truck door shut behind him.
The engine roared to life. Jake took off running after it. The tires squealed on the pavement, and the tow truck roared away from him, taking a swift right at the next cross street. Jake had to somehow get to the truck before it got away.
He ran up the same street as the truck, pumping his legs as hard as possible, but he was quickly losing ground. He had to find another way. The truck skidded around a corner up ahead of him. Peering to his right, Jake decided his only chance was to cut up a side street, hoping he might be able to intercept the truck. He heard the truck’s tires squeal again. At the next cross street, Jake cut through a yard on the corner. But then he found himself approaching a waist-high picket fence. Without slowing, Jake tried to hurtle the fence with one explosive leap but caught his front left foot instead. He toppled over the fence and landed square on his face on the opposite sidewalk. He thought he felt something crack in his jaw. Pushing himself up, he stumbled forward, back into the street, kept on running. But the tow truck was already in the distance. Within seconds, he could no longer see the taillights. Whoever had his daughter was long gone.
Jake fell to his knees, gasping for breath. God, no! Then he heard police sirens swiftly approaching. Caitlin!
FOUR
A police car with lights flashing was already parked in front of Caitlin’s house when Jake raced back down the sidewalk. He could hear more sirens approaching from nearby streets. A neighbor must’ve heard the gunshot and called the police. Thank God. Jake was desperate for help. He tried hard to not think about Piper being inside that truck, frightened out of her mind. But it was impossible for him. Had she been in the kitchen when Caitlin had been shot? Had she seen it happen right in front of her? Was Piper also hurt? Jake felt a swirling of panic inside and could hardly think or breathe. He was so confused. What had happened? Who had taken Piper?
Jake rushed up to the front of the house, searching for a police officer to help him. As he did, a uniformed officer suddenly stepped out of the front door. Spotting Jake’s swift approach, the officer drew his gun, yelled, “Stop right there!” Jake immediately put his hands up, which he now noticed were completely covered in blood. He looked down and saw that blood was all over his jacket, too. He must’ve wiped his hands on his jacket while he hovered over Caitlin.