Read The Megiddo Mark, Part 1 for Free Online

today. He loved me in his own way. He would love you, too. You need someone to love you. And do not believe everything you hear about him.”
    “I know nothing about him.”
    Ava sighed. “That’s my fault. I should have talked about him. Showed you pictures. I was wrong, dear heart. Can you forgive me?”
    “Yes.” Malena hugged them both.
    “Remember we love you, dear.”
    “And I you.”
    “Always choose to do what’s right,” Blanche said.
    “That’s easily said. How am I to know what’s right?”
    “You’ll know. Embrace your destiny, Laney. We must go now.” Blanche started to pull away then grabbed her arm. “Wake up now. Wake up, darling!” She yanked Malena’s forearm hard. Her mother cried out in warning.
    The pain in her arm and the urgency in their voices snapped Malena awake. She sat straight up in bed, sweat beading on her forehead. She tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. Disappointment pierced through her. A dream.
    Something shattered as it hit the floor downstairs. It could have been the vase located inside the front door. Footsteps crunched the glass. She couldn’t pinpoint where the sound originated. Her breathing rushed loud in her ears as her heartbeat picked up its tempo.
    “Elizabeth? Is . . . that you?” she called out, her voice not much louder than a whisper. Her dry throat warbled.
    She clicked on the bedside light and ran into the hallway. Her bare feet on the wood floor made no sound. The frigid night air sent a chill up her spine. Elizabeth’s door remained closed. Malena turned the knob and listened. A soft snore came from the middle of Elizabeth’s room. She walked to the head of the stairs and peered over the railing into the darkness. A thin beam of light knifed the void.
    An intruder roamed the house.
    She ran back to her room, grabbed her cell phone, and dialed 999. Or was it 911. No. England. 999.
    “Dispatch, what’s the nature of your emergency?” a female operator asked.
    “I need help. Someone’s broken into my house,” Malena said, cupping her hand around the bottom of the receiver trying to speak a little louder.
    Malena heard another softer thud downstairs. She walked toward Elizabeth’s door again, opened it and ducked inside.
    “Address.”
    “Eleven Cavendish Square. Hurry.”
    “I’m sending a constable right now. Please stay on the phone, ma’am.” Silence ensued. Malena held her breath.
    “Can you get out of the house?” the dispatcher asked.
    “No, the two exits are downstairs and blocked.”
    “Then do you have somewhere you can hide?”
    “Yes.” Malena closed the door to Elizabeth’s room with a quiet click and turned the lock. She pressed her forehead against the thick Victorian door. Elizabeth continued to snore a gentle burr in the background. She’d let her sleep.
    “Wait there until help arrives, but don’t get off the line until the police are with you.”
    “Okay.” Malena was no fool. She had no weapon. For God’s sake her great-aunt’s townhouse stood in a safe suburb of London. She’d visited many times over the years, stayed entire summers. Nothing had ever happened in this quiet residential area.
    “Are you still there?”
    “Yes, I’m here,” Malena said, pressing her mouth to the shaking cell phone receiver.
    “A constable is on the way. He should be there any moment. Do you know how many intruders are in your house?”
    “No.”
    Malena heard a creak on the stairs. She held her breath, staring at the door, watching the old brass door knob turn.
    A duo-tone siren echoed outside at the curb. The flashing red light blinked in the window. Footsteps pounded the stairs. Then silence.
    Moments later, a firm tread stopped in the hallway beyond the bedroom door. “Ma’am, this is Special Constable Thompson. It’s safe to come out now.”
    “Can you slip your badge under the door?”
    “Sure. Here you go.”
    Malena scrutinized the official badge and ID he’d shoved under the door.
    “What? What’s going