Chapter 6 - The Back Door Intruder
The real-time audio from the kitchen camera chimed through my tablet's speakers, crisp and clear.
"Target acquired," the intruder muttered into a Bluetooth earpiece as he closed the back door behind him.
"I'm inside the house. Securing the office now."
I watched the screen as he navigated the hallway with disturbing familiarity, heading straight for the home office doors.
He didn't bother checking the living room or the dining area; he knew the layout because Evelyn had drawn him a map.
He walked into the office, pulled out a crowbar from his jacket, and stepped directly up to the shelf behind the desk.
He grabbed the blue binder, unzipped his duffel bag, and shoved the binder inside alongside our emergency fireproof document box.
Then, he moved swiftly toward the hallway stairs leading up to the master bedroom closet where my jewelry box was kept.
That was the exact moment I pressed the red button on my security app, triggering the high-decibel commercial panic alarm.
A deafening, ear-splitting siren began wailing throughout the entire house, flashing red emergency strobe lights in every room.
The intruder froze on the stairs, dropping his crowbar onto the hardwood floor as sheer panic crossed his face.
"Code red! The alarm is active!" he screamed into his earpiece, spinning around and sprinting back toward the rear kitchen door.
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He shoved the door open, practically falling down the back patio steps as he sprinted toward his truck parked down the street.
He didn't realize that three Harris County Sheriff patrol cruisers were already turning onto our street with their sirens roaring.
