Page 94 of Don't Look Now (Ariana Jones)

Ari crept over. Pulled on the knob.

Creak!

She froze. Held her breath. Waited.

After a moment, she glanced into the dim space.

Stairs. Going down.

The lit second floor would be much less daunting. But everything pointed to the basement.

Ariana yanked the door open quickly.

Squeak!

If Ryan didn’t know he had a visitor, he probably did now.

Too late to turn back.

She stepped onto the first stair, half expecting it to crumble under her weight.

Creak!

Noisy, but it held.

She tested the next one, pressing slightly. It groaned. She tapped another spot.

Nothing.

Ari repeated the process for each step. It felt like an eternity by the time she reached the bottom. At least her eyes had adjusted to the dark. She could see the outline of items, but couldn’t tell what anything was. The room smelled musty, and dampness clung to her skin.

The stench tickled her nose. A sneeze threatened.

She covered her nose. Held her breath. Ducked.

Like any of that would help.

Couldn’t stop the sneeze. Pressed her lips closed. Kept her hand over her nose.

She managed to muffle the sound, but if anyone was close they would’ve heard it.

The basement remained still.

Ariana squinted and looked around, not finding that it helped her vision much. Everything was still dark. She inched toward the stairs again and listened.

Nothing upstairs.

Hadn’t anyone followed her into the house? Or were they managing to be quieter than her?

Ari waited a little longer. It could’ve been ten minutes or thirty seconds. No way to tell.

She was wasting time. Either or both of the twins could be in this house. There was no telling when or if any police were coming.

This was up to her.

Their lives depended on it.

Ari shined her flashlight around slowly. The room was filled with all the things anyone staying near a lake in the mountains would want — jet skis, snow and water skis, hiking gear, and more. Plus countless cardboard boxes lined the walls.

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