by Jon Gerrard
* * *
Bobby had begun pacing nervously inside the generator shed. As long as Rabine’s wife and the chauffeur were outside he was trapped in here. There was no place to hide and there was no way he could slip out without them seeing him. He tried furiously to come up with some way out of his predicament but nothing came to mind.
Then he heard a raised voice speaking quickly from the other side of the door. Had they come already? When the door didn’t open Bobby chinned himself up to the window to steal another look outside. The chauffeur had pulled away from Mrs. Rabine. He had a finger to his earpiece and was speaking rapidly into his phone. He said something briefly to her then dashed off along the gravel path—away from the generator shed!
Mrs. Rabine stayed behind briefly, adjusting her clothes and patting her hair into place before she also turned and started away, but at a more sedate pace. The lady of the house would not run in an undignified manner.
The instant she was out of sight Bobby burst from the building. He scaled the fence in virtually a single bound and dove into the forest. He stopped, looked around quickly to orient himself, and took off in a different direction. He had been gone way too long. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.