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We both were walking around aimlessly. "OK. I'll just say it. I'm not willing to sleep on a dead woman's sheets." We'd both been debating who'd sleep where, and I knew we were just avoiding the real issue.
"Me either," Cassie said, "but we're in luck. I found clean sheets and extra bedding. We can change the bed so one of us can sleep in there, and the other can have the sofa bed in the living room."
Cassie decided since the cabin was now legally mine, I should sleep in the master bedroom. I was OK with that once we changed the bed and cleared off all Renee's personal stuff from the top of the dresser.
We both agreed we'd prefer to go to bed early, so we could get an early start in the morning. "I wish I could call Chance, but I'll have to settle for sending a text he probably won't see for days," I said, as I picked up my bag and headed for the bedroom.
"I know. I hate not being able to talk to Jared," Cassie said, "but I'll send a message and let him know we're staying here a few days. Of course, by the time he gets it, I'll probably be back on the ranch."
I poked around in some of the drawers in the bedroom, while Cassie was in the bathroom. After she said good night, I did my nightly routine and settled in to type a short text to Chance along with a lengthier email explaining the outcome of the will reading and that Cassie and I were staying at Renee's for a few days.
By the time my head hit the pillow, I was so exhausted I fell asleep without thinking about much of anything. That doesn't happen often. Usually my mind keeps going long after my body gives in for the night. When I first moved to Idaho, I was happy to have the low background hum of noise from Hairy's that permeates my apartment over the cafe. Lately, I've spent so much time at Chance's that I guess I've gotten used to the quiet.
I sat up in bed looking around the room. It took a minute for me to remember where I was. A noise had woken me. I thought perhaps Cassie was moving around the living room. I went to the side of the window that looked out the back of the house. I saw a light and then it disappeared. As I watched, it reappeared and disappeared again. It looked like someone moving around with a flashlight. My eyes were accustomed to the dark so I could see the outline of a building behind the house. It was dark when we arrived, so we hadn't taken the time to look around outside the cabin.
I opened the bedroom door and listened. I didn't hear any noise inside the house. Knowing Cassie’s reputation, the thought that I was sneaking up on a sniper flitted across my mind, but I didn't want to make noise and attract the attention of anyone outside. As I got close to the sofa, I dropped to my knees. "Cassie, are you awake?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Something woke me, and I saw a light outside."
I followed her to the back door. All the windows had curtains or blinds that were closed when we came in. We hadn't opened any of them since it was already dark outside. We each peeked out one side of the window in the door. "There," I said. ""Did you see that?"
"Yeah. Let's move the table in front of this door as quietly as we can."
"Should I turn off the light over the sink?"
"No. If we leave it on, they'll think it's on a timer. Maybe they don't know anyone's here."
"The two cars out front will probably clue them in."
Once that was done, we moved the sofa across the front door, and Cassie followed me into the bedroom. "I'll keep watch while you get out any weapons you have."
I laid Glenda and my knives out on the bed and moved to the window, so Cassie could get her own weapons. The light seemed to be focused on the building. I didn't hear any noise from outside. All the windows in the cabin were small by modern standards and higher off the floor. I wondered if maybe the cabin was built that way because it was remote or maybe because Renee was away a lot and didn't want to make it easy for someone to break in.
I kept my eyes glued to the building outside. "If someone is out there thinking we'll be easy targets because we're two women, they certainly misjudged us," Cassie said as she walked to the other side of the window.
The bed held an impressive array of weapons. Glenda had a lot of new friends. My surprise must have shown on my face because Cassie said, "My bags were packed for hunting Skunk Ape in Florida."
We moved a chair over so one of us could sit and watch while the other one made the rounds of the house. After a few more sightings of the light, nothing more happened. We didn't hear anything or see anything. We agree to take two-hour shifts watching while the other slept. It wasn't the quiet restful night I'd hoped for.