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I remembered his big cigarette lighter with a dragon on the front of it. The smell of it fascinated me. He said it was butane, whatever that is.
    I saw a glow near some trees at the side of the house. It grew orange, then died, then grew orange again.
    Whoever was out there was smoking, and whoever it was had his eyes on us.

Chapter 24
    Gavin Winkler peered inside the cabin. He had watched the twins play their games and laugh with their father. He tried to remember doing the same thing with his dad when he was a kid, but he couldn’t come up with a single memory. His father had gone to prison when Gavin was 10, and they hadn’t seen each other since. The scene inside the cabin turned his stomach.
    He wished they’d get to bed. He had work to do. Get in, get that camera and its memory stick, and get out.
    Gavin took another puff of his cigarette as the kids moved to the basement. When the TV flicked on, Gavin cursed. He was tempted to go in while they were downstairs, but he couldn’t be sure the father would be asleep yet. He’d found a security system on the cabin and easily disarmed it. He’d be in and out in a couple of minutes.
    If they would just get out of the way.

Chapter 25

    Bryce and I raced upstairs and woke Sam, trying not to disturb Dylan.
    Sam bolted out of bed in his pajamas and rushed downstairs. I was going to show him where I thought the prowler was, but he immediately threw his coat on, slipped on his shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and headed outside.
    “What if he gets jumped?” Bryce said.
    I peeked out the window. Sam traipsed through the brush and trees, where we had seen the glowing cigarette, his flashlight casting a wide beam. I held my breath.
    He stopped and bent over, then continued around the house. Bryce and I followed him from window to window. Bryce grabbed the phone, obviously ready to dial 911. I wondered if they even had that service out here in the woods and how long it would take the police to come.
    When Sam made it all the way around the house, he sprinted down the long driveway. All we could see was the flashlight beam bouncing off trees and rocks and snow.
    Bryce gave me a look. “You think he saw something?”
    I shrugged, but I knew one thing: we were alone. Whoever was out there could have been hoping that Sam would go outside.
    “Is the downstairs door locked?” Bryce said.
    “You were the last one in—”
    “No way, you were!”
    We argued, then crept downstairs. As we passed the spooky picture of the woman dressed in red, it took all the nerve I had to check the lock. Then we rushed back upstairs, and I tripped over something and banged my knee. The pinball machine went wild, beeping and buzzing and lighting the darkness.
    Something banged above us. Bryce helped me up.
    “Sam?” I yelled.
    “It’s me,” he called. “Everything’s okay.”
    He dusted the snow from his pants and kicked off his shoes. “You two playing pinball while I was gone?” He smiled.
    I held my knee. “Why did you run down the driveway?”
    “Thought I heard a car, but I couldn’t find any tracks.” Sam showed us a cigarette butt. “But I did find this at the side of the house near a window. Still fresh.”

Chapter 26

    The cigarette proved we were right. Ashley and I knew someone had been watching the cabin. But why?
    Sam carried Dylan to Ashley’s room, the one with the bunk beds, while Ashley and I turned on every light in the house. The three of us slept in the bunk room, while Sam slept just outside on the couch he pulled near the door. I had a hard time getting to sleep, listening to the wind whistle through the trees. Twice I thought I saw something outside our window and Sam came in. It was just snow.
    The next morning a good 8 to 10 inches of new snow lay on the ground. Any footprints or tire tracks had been covered.
    Sam called the sheriff, but someone put him on hold. Finally, a deputy took the information.
    After a few minutes, Sam hung up, and I could tell he was