Home Invasion Read Free Page B

did he mean? Kathy wondered. Had he been in her house before? When? Did she know him? Her mind began to race. Where did she know the man from?
    Could this young man be one of Lisa’s friends? Could Lisa somehow be involved? Lisa was a smart girl, much smarter than either of these guys. Had Lisa planned everything, thenstayed away during the actual break-in? Did she leave the young men to do the dirty work? Does Lisa hate me that much? Kathy wondered.
    “Hey, who’s the babe?” Steve asked suddenly. He lifted a framed picture of Jack’s daughter from the desk. In the photo, Lisa looked relaxed and happy. Her brown hair fell to her waist, and she was smiling.
    Lisa looks so pretty in that photo, Kathy thought. She tried to remember the last time she’d seen Lisa smile.
    “Who is she?” Steve asked again.
    “My stepdaughter,” Kathy told him.
    “Yeah? Where is she?”
    “She’s spending the night with a friend.”
    Steve laughed. “Is that what she told you?”
    Kathy said nothing. What was Steve saying? That Lisa was lying?
    “Too bad she’s not here,” Steve said. “We could have had a little party. Maybe we should stick around a while and wait for Lisa to come home.”
    “Just take what you want and get out of here,” Jack said.
    Steve took two quick strides back toward Jack. He raised his gun and pointed it at Jack’s head. “What did you say, old man?”
    “Please,” Kathy pleaded. “He didn’t mean it.”
    “You don’t give the orders here, old man. I should shoot you right now,” Steve said.
    “There’s my purse,” Kathy cried. She saw it tucked away in the far corner of the room. The drapes almost hid it.
    The thin man quickly scooped Kathy’s purse off the floor and began looking inside it. Seconds later, he pulled out Kathy’s wallet. He counted out three hundred dollars in crisp fifty- and twenty-dollar bills. He laughed. “Looks like she’s richer than you are, old man.”
    “Big deal,” Steve said. “A grand total of four hundred and forty dollars between them. Hardly worth the effort. What about credit cards?”
    “Oh, she’s got lots of those.” The thin man took five credit cards from Kathy’s wallet. “And best of all, a bank card.” He waved Kathy’s bank card in the air proudly, as if it were a flag. “This could be even better than a safe.”
    “You got a bank card, too, old man?” Steve pulled out Jack’s wallet and peeked inside. “Why,yes, you do. Looks like we’ll be needing your PIN numbers,” he said.
    “Don’t even think of lying to us,” the thin man warned. He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper off the desk. “What are your PINS?”
    “7-8-7-0,” Kathy said. The seventh day of the eighth month, 1970. Her birthday. “We use the same codes for all the cards,” she said.
    “Well, well. How nice of you. Isn’t that nice of Mrs. Brown to make it so easy for us, Steve?” the thin man asked. He started to stuff Kathy’s credit cards into the side pocket of his jeans.
    “Better give those to me,” Steve said.
    “What for?”
    “Might as well keep all the cards in the same place.” Steve held out his hand.
    The thin man slowly handed over Kathy’s credit cards.
    “The bank card, too.”
    “I thought I’d keep that one.”
    “Gimme it,” Steve ordered.
    “Why do you get to keep them?”
    Kathy could see the thin man pouting behind his ski mask.
    “Because I’m the one who’s going to get the money, that’s why,” Steve said.
    “And where am I going to be while you’re out getting the money?” the thin man asked.
    “You’re going to be here, keeping an eye on these two. Once I get my hands on the money, I’ll phone you.” Steve looked at Kathy. “If everything goes smoothly, then nobody gets hurt. If anything goes wrong, then I’m coming back here to kill you both. Do you understand?”
    Tears filled Kathy’s eyes. She nodded.
    “Tell me you understand,” Steve said.
    “I understand,” Kathy said.
    “I sure hope you