Page 158 of Show Me

Jake slows it down. I’m already leaning closer. Something’s off. I don’t see it yet, but I feel it.

“There,” I say.

Jake pauses. “Where?”

Son of a bitch. I point to the bottom edge of the screen. “Right there.”

At first, it’s nothing. Just shadow. Then it moves. Low. Wrong. Not crossing the frame, skirting it.

Bella leans forward. “What’s that?”

Jake zooms in. The image distorts, but the movement holds. Someone. Keeping low. Staying out of center view.

Ruby’s voice is lower now. “They knew where the cameras were.”

“Looks like it.” Jake’s face remains expressionless. He skips backward. Plays it again.

This time, I track it all the way from where it disappears to where it reappears. Where it never fully comes into frame. “They’re using the edge.” I step closer, pointing again, jaw working in anger. “Bottom corner. That strip isn’t covered.”

He leans in, eyes narrowing. “Damn.”

The angle’s off. Just enough. Leaves a narrow slice of ground out of view. If someone stays low, they move through the yard without ever fully showing up. That shouldn’t have happened. What if something had happened to Ruby? I block the thought as fast as it swept in.

Emily crosses her arms. “That’s creepy as fuck.”

Jake shakes his head. “No. That’s planned.”

Ruby’s grip tightens on the blanket. “They’ve been watching.”

No one argues with that.

“We need to fix that,” Jake mutters.

I’m already moving before he finishes the sentence. The back door swings open again, cold air cutting through the room as I grab the ladder and head for the corner of the house. I’ve got it up before Jake even steps outside.

“You see the angle?” Jake looks up.

“I see it.” I climb, loosen the bracket, tilt the camera down.

“Lower it,” Jake calls. I adjust again. “Now left.” Another shift. I lock it in place.

I climb down, grab the laptop, check the feed. Better. No gap. No easy path through. I scan the yard again: tree line, fence, driveway, running it through in my head.

Entry points. Blind spots. Timing. How could I’ve been so blind? I should’ve accounted for someone staying low.

Bella glances toward the woods. “You think they were out there when you came outside?”

“Probably. I don’t see why not. They wanted to see our reaction.” Closer than I thought. Way fucking closer than I thought.

Emily shivers. “That’s terrifying.”

It is. But that’s not what sticks. It’s how they moved, how they knew. The ladder comes down with a dull thud, and no one says anything.

The porch creaks behind us. I turn. Ruby steps out despite the girls telling her not to. She stops near the edge of the steps, eyes moving over the yard. The pen. The truck. The camera.

“How long?” Ruby’s knuckles are white as she grips the blanket. “How long have they been watching?” Tears spring to her eyes. “And when are they going to fucking stop?”

Her tears are like a punch to the gut because I can’t answer any of those questions.