“Nothing else?” Ethan glanced up at a mother and son he suspected were coming in search of his services.
“Both. Here before. Sure. Not sure.”
“Can’t make up your mind?”
“No, I mean that’s what it says. Sure. Then Not sure. About six pages apart.”
~
Lauren crossed her legs. “There’s not a lot to tell. Somebody with an Oklahoma number keeps calling me, but they never say anything. Sometimes there’s noise, but nothing I can identify.”
“So you stopped answering.”
Lauren nodded. “Voice mail kicks in. They still don’t say anything. I just get a message of strange sounds.”
“The same number every time?”
Lauren tilted her phone’s screen toward Nicole. “See? I didn’t answer, and now there’s a notice I have a voice mail. I’m just going to delete it again.”
Nicole reached for the phone. “Put in your password and let me listen to the message.”
“I’m telling you, it’s nothing. Street noises, whistling. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s not on purpose. It’s like someone is pocket dialing me. Maybe they don’t even know it.”
“Just let me listen.” What could it hurt for Nicole to hear the message? At worst, she’d be as puzzled as Lauren. At best, she’d have an idea for how to stop the bothersome calls.
Lauren tapped a few buttons on the screen, and Nicole lifted the phone to her ear to listen to the automated voice announce one unheard voice mail.
The message began—and Nicole’s heart crashed into her throat. She screamed.
~
Under the ear-splitting siren, people dropped whatever equipment they were trying to salvage and ran for the basement doors. Cooper rounded the lawn one last time, physically turning people around and pushing them toward the building. When the lawn was almost cleared, he raced toward Lauren and Molly.
“Come on!” he yelled. “It’s time.”
Lauren cupped her hands around her mouth. “We can’t find Christopher!”
“He’ll be so frightened by the noise,” Molly screamed. “I won’t leave him out here.”
The big oaks. Lauren dashed toward the twin trees at the center of the church lawn. She had climbed them when she was younger, and now nearly every Sunday in nice weather she shooed children out of their branches. The lowest branches were higher than Christopher’s height, but what if he’d had a boost from an older child when he was hiding from his mother? Or what if he was skilled at shimmying up the trunk of a tree?
The roar really did sound like a freight train, just like everything Lauren ever read about tornados said.
~
Upcoming episodes will be available at the following eBook Retailers:
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Kobo (www.kobobooks.com)
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Hidden Falls: The Complete First Season
Episode 1: Ordinary Secrets – available now
Episode 2: Losing Quinn – available now
Episode 3: A Town in Trouble – available now
Episode 4: Unexpected Hero – available now
Episode 5: The Mayor’s Quandary – available now
Episode 6: No Time for Answers – available now
Episode 7: Yesterday’s Promise – available now
Episode 8: All You Need to Know – available now
Episode 9: A Fair Refuge – March 14, 2014
Episode 10: One Familiar Tune – March 21, 2014
Episode 11: When Memory Came – March 28, 2014
Episode 12: The Groundskeeper Remembered – April 4, 2014
Episode 13: Distinguishing Marks – April 11, 2014
Listen to each episode—All 13 exciting episodes are premiering on Audible.com.
Download it now!
Episode 1 – Ordinary Secrets – available now
Episode 2 – Losing Quinn releases – available now
Episode 3 – A Town in Trouble releases – available now
Episode 4 – Unexpected Hero releases – available now
Episode 5 – The Mayor’s Quandary – available now
Episode 6 – No Time for Answers – releasing March 7
Episode 7 – Yesterday’s Promise – releasing March 14
Episode 8 – All You Need to Know – releasing March 21 …watch for more information on digital downloads for the other episodes.
About the Author
Olivia Newport writes stories of ordinary people whose lives take a twist when intrigue descends. She has lived in several small Illinois towns and now chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.
All You Need to Know Page 6