John stopped at the door. Locked, if the guy had any sense at all. Noticing a window three feet left of the door, he smashed it in with his elbow. Didn’t really matter if it was heard or not. Bastard was dead either way.

A thought occured to John as he crawled through the window into the house that made him freeze.The guy might not live alone. Cursing himself for being so incredibly stupid, John, reached into his coat pocket and drew his concealed handgun. Praying that the neighboors in the next-door houses were heavy sleepers, he held the weapon out in front of him as he began to ascend the stairs.

When he put his foot down on the first step, the entire stairwell creaked abominably. Wincing, John paused and listened for any movement on the second floor. When he was sure that the rustling sound was only the wind and the trees, he continued on up. Upon ascending to the second floor, he spied a door that was slightly ajar at the end of the long hallway. Master bedroom? Only one way to find out.