Witness (Love Inspired Suspense Series)

Light and movement coming from the back of the house across from hers caught Petra Wilson's attention. In the cool, May dusk, the lights in the family room of the big brick house flooded through the sliding glass doors. Inside, a woman gestured with one hand as she shouted and with the other held a colorful object against her dark blouse.Petra froze on her back deck, no longer aware of the rubber bone in her hand or her golden retriever, Mason, waiting eagerly below for her to throw it. The woman's profile was framed by the patio door, and Petra couldn't see her neighbor's face clearly, but it must be the woman who lived there. Dull brown hair hid her face, but the slightly dumpy figure seemed right for--what was her name? Mrs....Hall? Howard?"Starts with an H," Petra whispered to herself. The couple had moved into the roomy house last fall, and Petra had only seen the woman up close a few times. She knew almost nothing about them, but the homes on the next street were bigger, with generous lots and priced twice as high as those on Petra's street. Last month she had exchanged pleasantries over the fence about the balmy April weather with the woman. Of course, then there was that time Mason got loose and ran into their backyard. Petra preferred not to remember the husband's anger on that day.A man stepped into her view inside the other house, and she recognized the tall, lank homeowner. She saw him more often than she did his wife, when he did yard work on weekends. He approached the woman and appeared to be reaching for the thing she clutched. They grappled over the object, and Petra caught her breath. The woman pushed the man away, but he came back at her. She slapped him this time, and he seized her.The man grabbed her red scarf and pulled it tight. He was choking the woman. Petra gasped and squeezed the rubber bone.Mason let out a little woof, but Petra couldn't look away from the riveting scene in the other house."Hush, Mason!" What should she do? She couldn't run over there, jump across the fence and confront her neighbor. But she had to do something. Maybe she could scream or toss a rock toward the glass patio doors as a warning that his actions were observed. Then she would call the police. Her mouth went dry at the thought.She started to move toward the steps, but suddenly it was over. The woman collapsed in a fluid heap on the carpet, and the man bent over her. When he straightened, he held the object they had fought over and walked to the shelves at the side of the room. Petra gaped as he lifted the thing and placed it on a shelf at eye level and then stood back. He turned toward the sprawled woman, then looked out the patio doors. Petra could tell the exact moment he spotted her. Even from the distance across both their backyards, the expression in his eyes chilled her.She gulped and ducked below her deck railing, dropping the dog's toy. Oh, no, what do I do now?Mason came over and stood at the bottom of the steps whining."Good dog," she whispered. "Just wait."She looked between the boards that formed the railing and saw the man close the drapes across the glass doors.Petra took a deep, shaky breath and stood. Her legs wobbled as she dove toward her own double doors."Come, Mason!"The dog bounded up the steps and glided past her into her living room. She closed the door and locked it, then hurried to the kitchen, grabbed her purse off the counter and pulled out her cell phone. Her hands trembled. The last time she'd called the police, her world had gone to pieces. But she had to. She couldn't ignore what she'd just seen. Mason woofed softly and rubbed against her leg as she punched the buttons."What is your emergency?" a woman's calm voice asked in her ear."I--" Petra gulped for air. She looked over her shoulder, back toward the living room doorway. "I want to report a crime.""What sort of crime?""I think..." She swallowed hard. "I thDavis, Susan Page is the author of 'Witness (Love Inspired Suspense Series)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373442881 and ISBN 0373442882.