B005EMAYWS EBOK by Lorraine Kennedy Page B

Warren. As much as she tried to concentrate on the task at hand, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was still watching her.
    Ignoring the eerie feeling, Summer started sorting through her files, looking for more evidence that what Anton said was true. What clues pointed to the murderer really being a vampire? There had been little blood left in the bodies, but that could simply be because of loss of blood. Both of the current victims had been killed somewhere else, so there was no telling what the murder scene looked like. It could have been completely covered in blood.
    With Penny it was different. There had been some blood, but not a lot. If the Medical Examiner also found that she had been drained of blood, it could easily point to a vampire killing.
    Summer jumped at the sound of her mobile. Wondering who could possibly be calling her at such an early hour, she reached toward her handbag to grab her phone.
    Her hands began to tremble when she saw the reading on the caller ID. The message was from Penny’s number. Of course that was impossible, unless the killer took the phone when he’d murdered her friend.
    Summer was shaking so badly that it was difficult to read the text. Once she was able to focus, Summer’s stomach started to churn.
Get out now!
    The message was short and sweet, but terrifying. She had little time to contemplate her next move when she heard movement outside of the office window. Someone was out there watching her.
    Wasting no more time, Summer grabbed her purse and made a dash for the door. She was sprinting down the dark hall when she heard the glass shatter in her office. Picking up speed, she didn’t even bother to look over her shoulder. She could sense him behind her, and getting closer.
    Summer started to pray. She prayed to God, and anyone else in that plane of existence that might help her in her hour of need. She called out to the Gatekeeper of Outerlands to intervene on her behalf. The Gatekeeper was a being from a higher dimension that protected the portals to Outerlands . Though he rarely interfered with the natural order of things, once in a while he would.
    As soon as she reached the exit, she hit the lock release bar with both hands. Summer burst through the door and right into someone’s arms. Screaming, she struggled to free herself, until she realized it was Anton.
    “What’s wrong?”
    Breathless from terror, Summer stumbled on her words as she tried to explain to him what had happened. “Someone … someone broke through the window.”
    Anton stared at her, his features marred with a mixture of anger and fear. “I told you it was not safe!”
    “But why? You haven’t told me that part. Why is it after me?” Summer wanted to know.
    “Let’s get out of here,” he said, without answering her question.
    “I left everything on in there. Don’t you think I should call the police? The window is broken?”
    “Call your boss and have him inform the police. We’ll just go in there and shut the place up.” Anton grabbed her arm to lead her back to the door.
    “What if he’s still in there?” Summer jerked away from him.
    “He’s not. He will wait until you are alone to come after you.”
    “How do you know all of this?” Summer stood her ground, refusing to budge until he answered her question.
    “That is what the pattern appears to be. All of the victims were alone when they were murdered … right?” Anton reasoned.
    Satisfied with his answer for the moment, Summer grabbed the keys from her purse and unlocked the door. Inside, she found the office exactly how she’d left it, except that the window was shattered. Pieces of glass had sprayed half way across the room. Whoever it was that had chased her, had burst through the window with tremendous force. Looking at the mess that was left behind was enough to make her think that going back to her parents might not be such a bad idea.
    Summer switched off the computer.
    “Let’s get going. You can