Death Wore Brown Shorts (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 1) by Audrey Claire Page B

aside and climbed out of bed. Creeping on bare tiptoes, she made her way to her bedroom door.
    The door stood open, and Annie peered around the jam to get a view of the hall. Across and down some from her room lay her parents’ room. She just got a glimpse into it, and her heart stopped upon seeing the light.
    Annie dropped to all fours like a shot. Part of her wanted to scramble back to bed. One more look to make sure, she thought and stretched to see. The view from the floor was harder, but there was the light, bobbing.
    “Oh crud, oh crud,” she murmured.
    To call the police or defend herself? If she didn’t at least get a weapon, she might go down before the police arrived. Annie crawled across to the dresser and reached around it to the umbrella she found in the corner. She recalled putting it in that spot because she intended to pack it away at some point. Good thing she had forgotten until now.
    The gaudy promotional tool was given to Annie at a city fair two years ago. A deep purple, the umbrella lost all appeal from its size because of the gigantic golden words that read “Eat Joey’s Pizza” stamped across it. Annie should have thrown it out, but the umbrella had kept her dry one day from a nasty storm. After that, she couldn’t do it.
    She held the umbrella in one hand and climbed to her feet. Her toes caught in her nightie, and she stumbled, almost landing face first on the floor. She froze when she caught her balance, hoping she hadn’t alerted the intruder. Nothing stirred.
    Okay, I’m ready. Annie Holloway is not going down without a fight—hopefully!
    Once she made it to the hallway, she flattened herself against the wall and crept along. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet, but she steered clear of the worst ones, knowing where they were. She found it strange the intruder hadn’t made any noise as far as creaking, and the light wasn’t as bright as she thought it should be. Maybe he covered it somehow. He was good. She’d give him that.
    Annie reached her parents’ room and stood outside the door, eyes shut and fingers aching as they squeezed the umbrella.
    Go in.
    She didn’t move.
    Go in, Annie, or go back and call the police right now.
    Why was she having an argument with herself? Well, technically, she hadn’t answered herself yet.
    Sanity still present.
    She crouched, but all the subterfuge had sapped her of energy. Her legs wobbled, and she crashed down on her knees before sprawling across the opening. The umbrella went clattering over the heart pine floor.
    “Caught,” she mumbled, waiting for a gun or some other weapon to rest between her eyes.
    When nothing happened, she turned her head. The light was gone. Wait, had she been dreaming? She climbed to her feet slowly, but as soon as she did, the light appeared again. This time, Annie figured out what was going on. The light didn’t come from inside the house but just outside.
    She inched toward the uncurtained window but then stopped to scan the floor. As far as she could tell, no glass littered the surface. That part she might have dreamed, or her subconscious told her someone lurked outside her house.
    “Maybe I’m psychic now.”
    Because she didn’t have a curtain to hide behind, she ducked to the side and peeked out before hiding. Down below, a flashlight bobbed back and forth. Annie squinted to try to make out who it was, and she gasped when she realized it was Evie.
    “What is she doing?” Annie whispered.
    Evie clutched her blouse close to her throat, but Annie figured it was more nerves than anything that made her do so. She doubted the night was cold because her A/C system whirred, producing air.
    Annie raised a hand about to tap on the glass, but Evie disappeared behind a tree. The light winked out when she must have turned a corner of the house. Annie spun on her toes and ran back to her room. She yanked on the shorts and simple top she had worn earlier that day and then stumbled down the stairs to the first