Read Finding Susan for Free Online Page B

tumbled down along the ground and rolled underneath the small dresser, tapping against the wall as it landed.  
    Kate bit her lip at the tiny noise.   The sounds of the outside seemed to have drowned away.   The only things that stuck were the cold that clung to her like a child and the intruder downstairs, moving as carelessly and noisily as a pig in slop—as though he had no idea anyone might be there. Another terrifying sound--like a high-pitched gibbering or squeal.   Then a loud SMASH, and the squealing stopped.  
    Kate opened her cell phone and powered it on.   It came to life with a loud beep which stopped her heart for an instant.   She was sure the man downstairs had heard it.   He was quiet too - there was no noise in the house at all.   Then she heard metal clang, and something heavy was whumped down on the ground.  
    Kate dialed 911 and cupped her hand around the speaker, directing all the sound into her ear.   The other end was picked up, and a drowsy voice came on the line.   “Hello?”
    Great, I’m going to get killed and this cop just woke up .   “There’s somebody in my house, I can hear them from upstairs.”
    “Alright, ma’am, stay calm.   Don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself, and do not attempt to apprehend the intruder yourself.   Can I have your address?”
    She gave it to him and waited, heart beating a mile a minute.   After a few seconds of silence on the other line, there came a sigh.  
    “Kate, is this a joke?”  
    Of course, Kate thought, almost collapsing.   Blake.
    “A joke? What are you talking about? There’s someone in my house!” Kate whisper-shouted into her phone.   She heard some noise from the downstairs, and footsteps.   Another door was opened, and the low hum of the refrigerator.   Kate stood stock still, her heart a painful flutter of fear.
    “Kate? Kate, are you there? Look, don’t do anything, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” The other end went dead.  
    If it had been Sheriff Duffy, Kate would know that help was on the way.   But it was Blake, and he probably thought she was trying to pull one over on him.   Oh no! He wouldn’t be ready when he came because of his damned certainty that she wasn’t much more than the girl he knew in high school.   What if he never came at all?  
    Just thinking about it got Kate so steamed she was determined not to give in.   She flipped the switch on the taser, held it out in front of her, and crept down the stairs.  
    A yellow light was streaming in from the kitchen, and the refrigerator was humming along.   I wasn’t sure that thing worked , Kate thought incongruously.   She moved down the stairs with a quiet that surprised even her - they were a squeaky lot, but she knew them well.   She remembered times when she’d known that playtime was over upon hearing her aunt make the stairs groan and squeal under her weight, coming to demand some service right away.  
    Kate reached the ground floor and stepped on loose mail and bits of carpeting every chance she got.   The light was shifting and shadows stretched from the kitchen to the back wall of the living room.   There was an animal squeaking sound, like the squeal she’d heard earlier but softer and more pitiful.   She took a quick step and peered into the kitchen.  
    It was a large man, covered in a hooded plastic raincoat with a wide-brim hat sticking out from under that.   She couldn’t see his face, but tied on a rope just behind him was a string of dead rats and squirrels.   One of them was still moving about on its line, trying to gnaw free but without the strength.
    Leaving that poor animal alive and in pain was enough for Kate.   She bounded into the room with a snarl, stomping loudly on patched linoleum flooring.   The taser was shot off the instant the intruder turned around, and the rush stopped all at once as she saw the face of Joe Bob Mortimer, giving her a smile just before the little electrodes got