Isolated

Начало книги

Officer William Brandt of the Jameson Police Department unlocked his front door and stepped into a cozy living room furnished with a plain couch, a small flat-screen television and a glass coffee table. Ordinarily at the end of the work day he would relish the peace and quiet of the evening’s final hours. Then he would head to bed, alone. Just as he had for the last year, ever since he and Georgia had parted ways. Ready to repeat the process the next day.

But tonight was different.

An hour ago he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to.

With a pounding heart he crossed to the kitchen, small and white and decorated just as sparsely as the living room. He snatched the landline phone off its cradle and held it in a sweating palm. Usually the silence of the empty house had a calming effect. Now it unnerved him.

He stood staring into space for what felt like an eternity, listening to the sounds of the forest outside. The eerie chirping of crickets. The pine branches rustling in the mountain breeze. Jameson was a small town buried in the never-ending woods of the Australian countryside, far from the twenty-four hour bustle of the city. The isolation gave Brandt room to breathe. At least, that’s what he told people.

Читать дальше →