All Lost Things
Book 3 of the Killian Kendall Mysteries
By Josh Aterovis
Copyright 2026
Chapter 19
The next morning, I was glad to find Novak in the office when I arrived. I tapped on his door frame and stuck my head into his office.
“Do you have a minute? I have something important that I need to talk to you about.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of that. Come on in.”
We took our usual places, and I quickly jumped into my prepared presentation. “Okay, here’s the thing. You know I don’t believe Caleb is innocent. I just don’t have any evidence to prove he did it.”
“Right, but we’re done investigating. You did what you were ‘hired’ to do.”
“What if someone hired me to find the killer?”
“We’re already working for one client. We couldn’t take on another client with a conflicting agenda.”
“Technically, it's the same client. Asher asked me to help free Caleb. Now, he wants to know who killed Ira Cohen.”
Novak rubbed his chin. “Let me guess. This will be more pro bono work.”
“Sort of.”
“And he’s trying to get you to keep investigating?”
“Ever since Caleb got out of jail, Asher’s had a bad feeling about him. He thinks something is off.”
“That makes three of us. I’m just not sure you need to get involved at this point. Didn’t Sergeant Kaplan tell you to drop the case?”
“He asked me to back off, and I did. But— Hold up. You think Caleb is guilty too?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. I agree with Asher’s sentiment that something is off. I’ve said from the beginning that Caleb’s story was fishy.”
“But if you think something is fishy—”
“Killian, we’re not superheroes. We’re not out to save the world from injustice. We do what we’re hired to do.”
“I told you, Asher asked me to keep investigating.”
“Sorry, we only accept so many free cases a month, and our quota has been met.”
“Technically, it’s the same client and case.”
Novak shook his head. “Why do I have the feeling that you’ll do this whether or not I agree?”
“I won’t if you tell me not to. I’ll respect that.”
Novak rolled his eyes. “And it would eat you alive.” He leaned back in his chair. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
“I just want to ask a few more questions, talk to a few more people, specifically Travis and Paige Haynes. And maybe Finn. To me, they’re the only other possible suspects — Paige and Travis because of their attachment to Caleb and the loss of their child, and Finn because he was involved with Caleb and provided him with a shaky alibi.”
"Why shaky?"
"He admitted he wasn't with Caleb all night. He left Caleb alone in his bedroom while he hung out with his parents so they wouldn't know Caleb was there. Caleb came and went through the bedroom window. Finn's house and Caleb's house are actually really close as the crow flies. It's a relatively short walk through the woods."
“And what about the boy who hanged himself? How does he fit into this?”
“Caleb suggested that Marco may have killed Ira and hanged himself out of remorse.”
“Judas Iscariot syndrome?”
I shrugged. “I don’t buy it. I suppose it’s possible, but something about it doesn’t sit right with me.”
“For the record, the police don’t buy it either.”
“Really? How do you know?”
“I grabbed a beer with Hank over the weekend. He said they suspect foul play. Although their chief suspect in Ira’s murder was behind bars at the time, they still find it a bit of a stretch to accept that the two deaths are unconnected.”
I started thinking out loud. “What if...what if Caleb and Marco were working together?”
“That still doesn’t explain who killed Marco.”
“Maybe it really was suicide. Maybe it spooked him when I talked to him. Did Kaplan say why he suspects foul play?”
“He didn’t go into details, and I thought we were out of it, so I didn’t push.”
“That would have been helpful, but I don’t think it’s necessary for what I want to do.”
Novak studied me carefully. “You need to be very careful you don’t make this a witch hunt.”
“I’m not following you.”
“I’m starting to get the impression that you’re out to prove Caleb guilty more than to find the real killer.”
“What if Caleb is the real killer?”
“Then that’s all well and good, but your only focus should be to find the murderer, not dig up evidence against one particular person. If you develop tunnel vision, you’re only going to see what you want to see, which means you could easily miss — or misinterpret — an important detail.”
“I said I was going to talk to Paige, Travis and Finn because they’re all suspects.”
“Yes, but you believe Caleb is guilty.”
“So?”
“Let me play devil’s advocate for a minute. Didn’t you find out that Social Services believes Caleb made up the abuse?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s Caleb motive for killing his father?”
“What was his motive for making up stories about abuse?”
“That could be a cry for attention,” Novak suggested.
“What if the Social Services psychiatrist was wrong about the abuse? It wouldn’t be the first time.”
He shook his head. “See, you’re trying to twist the facts to fit your perception of the situation.”
“How? Isn’t it possible that the psychiatrist was wrong?”
“Theoretically...”
“I got the impression that the main reason they dismissed the allegations of abuse was because Caleb lied about other stuff. Just because he lied about some things doesn’t mean he lied about everything. I saw bruises myself.”
“They could have been self-inflicted.”
“In which case, he’s even crazier than I thought, so maybe he killed his father for the fun of it.”
Novak threw his hands in the air. “I can’t win with you. You’ve already made up your mind. Go. Do what you have to do. I’m not wasting any more of my breath arguing with you.”
I stood up and started for the door, but turned back before leaving. “I’m sorry. I can’t explain why, but I can’t walk away from this. I promise I’m not just being stubborn. I have a feeling in my gut...”
He waved me away. “You’re young and idealistic. Don’t listen to a cynical old grouch like me. Follow your gut. But for God’s sake, kiddo, be careful.”
I nodded and let myself out.
Paige Haynes must have heard me pull up, because she was standing at the front door as I climbed out of my car. “Are you here for Caleb?”
“Actually, I’d like to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Talk to me? Why? Caleb is out of jail. Isn’t this all over?”
“We still don’t know who killed Ira Cohen.”
“Who gives a damn? We’re all better off without him. Why do we have to dredge it up again?”
“Because no matter how terrible a person Ira Cohen was, no one had the right to be his self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner. That’s murder. Besides, I’m pretty sure someone lied to me in the course of my investigation, and I don’t like being lied to.”
“Are you saying I lied?”
“Did you?”
“I don’t have to stand here and listen to this.”
“Did you kill Ira Cohen because he was abusing Caleb?”
“This is insane! I would never kill anyone!”
“Mrs. Haynes, I know about your son.” She froze, and all expression left her face. I felt horrible, but I forced myself to go on. “It couldn’t have been easy, moving in next door to an abusive father and his helpless son.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you’d better leave.”
“Maybe witnessing Caleb’s abuse day in and day out got to be too much for you. I know you tried reporting it, but nothing ever happened. Maybe you finally decided to do something about it yourself.”
“Get the hell off my property.” Her voice was ragged and raw.
“I don’t even know if I could really blame you. You would have been doing it for Caleb, after all.”
She suddenly snapped. Tears began to flow down her cheeks and she clutched her shaking hands against her chest.
“I didn’t do anything for Caleb! That was the problem. I didn’t do anything. We even saw Ira beating Caleb once in the backyard. You know what I did? I turned away. I went inside and cried. I didn’t get out of bed for two days. How’s that for doing something about it? I didn’t even call Social Services. Travis did. Not only did I do nothing to help, I never confronted Ira. Maybe if I had done something, none of this would have happened.”
“There was nothing you could have done,” someone said from behind her. She spun around, and I caught sight of Caleb. His eyes locked on mine, and I could feel the anger seething just barely below the surface. “You’ve done more than anyone could have expected. You and Travis gave me a place to stay when I needed it, and you never stopped believing in me. Come on back inside and rest. I’ll talk to Killian.”
She obediently turned and disappeared into the house without so much as a backwards glance. I wondered if she was used to following orders from the men in her life.
Caleb took her place in the doorway, then, after thinking about it, stepped out and shut the door behind him. His eyes were blazing with rage
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m trying to find out who killed your father.”
“No, you’re harassing Paige. I heard what you were saying to her. It’s bullshit, and you know it. Paige couldn’t hurt a fly. As for who did kill my father, I don’t care. The only reason I would possibly want to know is so I could give the killer a medal. Whoever offed him did the world a favor.”
“I can understand why you would feel that way, but we have to find out who committed the murder.”
“No. We don’t. All Asher asked you to do was prove I didn’t do it, and you did that. Thanks. Now just drop it and let us get on with our lives.”
“Actually, Asher is the one who asked me to keep investigating.”
That seemed to catch him off guard. “What?”
“Asher asked me to find the killer.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Why would he do that?”
“Ask him. He said it’s the only way he can move on.”
“So, what? He doesn’t trust me?”
“He doesn’t know who to trust right now, and you only have yourself to blame. You haven’t exactly been honest with him. You can earn his trust again, though. All you have to do is answer my questions truthfully.”
Caleb scowled. I’d backed him into a corner, and he knew it. If he refused to answer my questions, he’d be giving Asher more ammunition against him. “Fine. Ask.”
I suppressed the urge to gloat and asked the question that was at the forefront of my mind. “Did your dad really abuse you?”
The question seemed to catch him by surprise, but he quickly recovered. “You’ve been talking to the assholes at the group home, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” I stared at him expectantly.
He sighed in frustration. “You saw my bruises yourself. How do you think I got them? Oh, wait, maybe I walked into a doorknob or fell down the steps.”
“Just answer my question. Did your dad abuse you?”
“Yes! Paige just told you she saw my dad hit me in the backyard. He hit me almost every fucking day of my life since I was in elementary school. Those jerks at the group home wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them in their fat, lazy asses. They didn’t even believe me when I told them their precious golden boy was knocking me around whenever they weren’t looking.”
Golden boy? “Deon?”
“Right on the first guess. They held him up as some shining example of the system. He was a product of the system, all right. He knew all the ways around it. As long as he didn’t leave any bruises where they could see them and kept me quiet while he worked me over, he could get away with anything. He had all the other kids under his thumb, but I refused to do his bidding so he beat the shit out of me. I’m everybody’s punching bag — Dad, Deon, those assholes in jail. God, I’m so sick of it!”
I was actually starting to feel sorry for him, assuming he was telling the truth. “What happened the night you ran away?”
“You talked to Samson, right?” I nodded. “I bet he didn’t tell you about how he dragged me into his office to inform me they were sending me back home to dear old dad, did he?”
“He didn’t, but Deon did.”
“Yeah, well, that about sums it up. I wasn’t about to let them ship me back for more ‘tough love,’ so I took off. I’d been thinking about running anyway.”
“Did you know where you were going when you left?”
“I had an idea. Like I said, I’d been thinking about it before.”
“What happened when you got to Finn’s house?”
“I knocked on his window, and luckily, he was in his room. He let me in, and I spent the night there.”
“Did he stay with you the whole night?”
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t leave at all?”
“Nope. We hung out, watched a movie on TV, then fell asleep.”
“What movie did you watch?”
“Ugh. Some stupid horror flick. I don’t remember the name. I’d never heard of it.”
“And the next morning you heard the police were looking for you, so you had Finn drive you to the boardwalk?”
“Yep. You know the rest. Are we finished?”
“I suppose so.”
“Good. Now maybe you can leave me the hell alone.” He frowned again. “Oh, and be sure to tell Asher I answered all your stupid questions.” He turned and went back in the house.
I walked slowly back to my car, mulling over everything Caleb had said. His story didn’t align with Finn’s, but he’d been more open with me than ever before. Granted, most of what he shared was information I already knew, so it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking. Still, it left me wondering whose version of events was closer to the truth. Looked like another visit to my eccentric, kilt-wearing friend was in order.
While Caleb and Finn lived within walking distance by foot, it was much longer by road. I was halfway to Finn’s when my cell phone rang.
It was Asher.
“Caleb just called me.” Asher sounded agitated. “I didn’t answer, but he left a voicemail. He said you just left his house and he needs to talk to me. He wants me to meet him at the barn. What did you tell him?”
“I told him you’d asked me to keep investigating, and if he wanted to regain your trust, he had to be honest with me.”
“And was he?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m on my way to Finn’s now. I may have some answers after that.”
“What should I do about meeting Caleb?”
“Wait until I talk to Finn. Afterwards I’ll call you, and you can set it up to meet with Caleb.”
“Why do I have to wait?”
“Because I’d like to be there when you talk to him.”
“Oh yeah. I’m sure Caleb will love that.”
“He won’t know.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll park somewhere else and sneak into the barn before you get there.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Consider it insurance.”
“Against what? Do you really believe Caleb would hurt me?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think we should take unnecessary chances.”
Asher was quiet for several seconds. “Okay. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
I pulled into Finn’s driveway just as he was coming out of the door. He was wearing cargo pants, an old band tee with the arms cut off and heavy combat boots.
He stopped and frowned when he saw me. “What are you doing here?”
“I have another question for you, so I can clear up a minor point.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have time. I was on my way out.”
“It won’t take long.”
He sighed. “Fine, but make it quick.”
“The night Caleb showed up at your house, were you with him the whole time?”
“Didn’t you ask me that before?”
“Yeah, but I need to clarify your answer.”
“It wasn’t clear enough last time? No, I wasn’t with him the whole time. I didn’t want my parents to know he was there, so I tried to act as normal as possible.”
“What did you do while you were in the room with him?”
“Huh?”
“Did you just talk? Listen to music? Watch a movie?”
“We just hung out. We talked. We may have listened to music. I don’t remember.”
“No movie?”
He was starting to look suspicious. “We may have watched a movie. Like I said, I don’t really remember. Is that all?”
“Yeah, that’s all. Except, just out of curiosity, how did your parents react when they found out about Caleb?”
“They were pissed that I’d let a suspected murderer stay in our house, but that was about it.”
“So they don’t know you two were lovers?”
He shot a quick glance over his shoulder, then turned a glare on me. “No, they don’t. And I’d like to keep it that way, so shut your big mouth and get the hell out of here.”
I nodded. “Okay. Thanks for answering my questions. You were very helpful.” I turned and started to get into my car.
"Wait. What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
I simply smiled and gave him a cheery wave as I shut the door. As I drove away, I phoned Asher and told him to call Caleb and set up the meeting.
I drove back toward the Cohen property but pulled off the road, parking out of sight of the barn. Moving quickly and as quietly as I could, I made my way on foot to the building. After a quick sweep to make sure the coast was clear, I slipped inside and tucked myself into one of the old stalls, hidden from view.
I’d barely settled in before I heard someone entering the barn through the window. A moment later, I risked peeking through a crack and saw Caleb struggling to close the door more completely. He threw his weight against it and managed to force it shut. He stepped back, cast a quick look around, then started pacing.
It seemed as if we waited for hours before a car drove up outside, but my watch insisted it had only been fifteen minutes. A few seconds later, I heard Asher call out, “Caleb?”
“In here,” Caleb responded. “Come around the side. You’ll have to climb through the window.”
Once inside, Asher looked around nervously. “This is really creepy. Why did we have to meet here?”
“Because it’s private. Don’t tell me you’re scared just because Marco strung himself up in here.”
Asher gave Caleb a dirty look. “You said you needed to talk to me, so talk. What was so important that I had to drop everything and rush right over?”
“Did you really ask Killian to keep investigating my dad’s murder?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think, Caleb? You’ve lied to me over and over, or, at the very least, conveniently left out the truth. I need to know who the real killer is, for my own peace of mind, if nothing else.”
“In other words, you think I did it.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. You can’t even look me in my eyes anymore.” He took a step towards Asher, and Asher backed away. “See? You’re scared of me.”
“I am not! You’re just freaking me out.”
Caleb shook his head sadly. “You know, I really liked you, Asher. I thought you were different. I thought I could count on you. I guess I was wrong.”
Asher cast a desperate glance toward the window, from which he’d moved quite far away from by that point. “I shouldn’t have come. You’re twisting my words. I just need to know for sure. That’s all.” He started inching his way closer to his only escape route.
“Is that really all?”
Caleb took another step in Asher’s direction.
Asher stopped and stared at Caleb. His fear was palpable. “What do you mean?”
“Would you really be satisfied if you knew who killed my father?”
Another step.
“I...I don’t understand what you mean.”
“What if you didn’t like the answer?”
Another step.
I tensed for action.
Asher suddenly realized Caleb was getting closer and spun towards the window, but Caleb lunged for him, taking him to the ground with a thud.
I leapt to my feet, but before I could burst out of the stall, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and ducked back out of sight. Finn was descending the loft ladder as quickly as he could. He jumped off the last few rungs and rushed to help Caleb subdue Asher.
My stomach sank as I realized Finn had been there the whole time. How could I have been so stupid? I should have known Caleb had called him as well as Asher. He’d been on his way to the barn when I arrived at his house.
Did he know I was there? If he knew, he wasn’t worried about it. Maybe he’d somehow missed my entrance. I’d been pretty quiet when I slipped in.
I weighed my options. I could probably take Caleb, especially with Asher's help, but Caleb and Finn together were a different story. Despite Asher's fierce struggle, they were easily overpowering him. I wasn’t much of a fighter, and while both Caleb and Finn were on the smaller side, so was I.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text to Novak: “Send the police to the Cohen barn immediately. It’s a matter of life and death.” I could only hope he’d see the message in time.
Then I opened my voice recording app and propped my phone where I hoped it would catch any conversation.
When I turned my attention back to Asher, Caleb, and Finn, Asher had gone limp. For a panicked second, I thought they’d killed him, but then Caleb grabbed a coil of rope hanging on the wall and tossed it to Finn. “You’re the expert with knots. Tie him up.”
Finn frowned. “What the hell are you doing?”
Caleb nonchalantly brushed the dirt off his clothes. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you were only going to talk to him, not attack him. Now what are you going to do with him?”
“You mean, what are we going to do with him?”
“Fuck that! I don’t want to be involved in this.”
“You’re already involved, dumbass.”
“Not with this.” He pointed angrily at Asher’s prone form. “I had nothing to do with him.”
“Didn’t you just help me knock him out a minute ago?”
“I...I acted before I had time to think. Why did you jump him? You should have just let him leave.”
“He suspected something. He wasn’t going to leave me alone until he knew the truth.”
“So now what? What the hell are you going to do with him?”
“Get rid of him.”
“How?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m thinking. Give me a minute. Tie him up.”
Finn threw down the rope. “This is insane. I’m leaving.” He started for the window.
Caleb grabbed the rope and threw it at Finn’s retreating back. “You can’t just walk away, damn it! I need your help.”
Finn whirled around. “Maybe you should have asked for it before you involved me in more of your stupid plots. Why couldn’t you just leave well enough alone? There was no way they could have proved anything against you. You were going to get away with it, and now you’ve gone and screwed everything up. You’re not taking me down with you.”
“I already can.”
Finn turned his back and walked away. “Just try.”
Caleb stared after Finn as he climbed through the window and disappeared. With his accomplice gone, Caleb turned his attention back to Asher. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. He retrieved the rope, returned to Asher’s side, and clumsily started tying him up.
I decided the time had come to make my move. I stepped out of the stall and cleared my throat.
Caleb was so startled he fell backwards onto the ground. His eyes darkened with fury as he scrambled to his feet. “Wha....What?” he sputtered.
“You’re busted, Caleb.” If I sounded pleased with myself, that’s because I was. I’d outwitted him at last. There was no way he could explain his way out of this one.
“How long were you—?”
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
He glanced down at Asher then back up at me. “He attacked me. I was just defending myself.”
“Hello? I just said I was here the whole time. I heard everything. I know you attacked him. I also know you killed your father, possibly with Finn’s help.”
Caleb shook his head vehemently. “I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then what did Finn mean when he said he wasn’t going to be involved in any more of your plots? And what couldn’t they prove against you? What were you going to get away with?”
“I...I don’t know.”
“Why did you attack Asher?”
“I told you, Asher attacked me. I was only defending myself.”
“You know, you’re a better liar when you have time to plan it out.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Give it up, Caleb. I know you’re lying. All you do is lie. I don’t think you’ve told me the truth once since I met you.”
“You can believe what you want. It’s my word against yours, and Finn will back me up.”
“Finn walked out on you. He made it clear that he’s sick of your lies.”
“You keep saying I’m lying, but you have no proof of anything.”
I took a slow, deliberate step in his direction. “You’re right. I can’t prove anything — yet — but I know you killed your father. And I know how you did it, too.”
Caleb was beginning to look nervous. “What are you talking about?”
“You took an ax and attacked him while he was asleep in a recliner.”
He froze. “How did you know he was asleep in the recliner?”
“Maybe I’m psychic.”
“I don’t believe you.” He was definitely unnerved. “How do you know?”
“I was there, inside your head. I just didn’t know it was you until now. I saw the look in his eyes when he woke up and realized what was happening. I tasted his blood when it splashed in your mouth. I smelled the death mixed with gasoline.”
“Stop!”
“What’s wrong, Caleb? Can’t handle the truth?”
“You want to know the truth? Fine! Yes, I did kill the son of a bitch. They were trying to send me back here. Do you think I wanted to get beat on for three more years before I could move out? I was sick and tired of being his punching bag. It was only a matter of time until he killed me. I didn’t have a choice. It was him or me.”
“Did you plan it out ahead of time, or was it spur of the moment?”
“I hated his guts. I’d thought about killing him for years. It was my favorite fantasy. All I had to do was pick a method.”
“And you chose an ax?”
He shrugged. He seemed to be calming down. “I didn’t have a gun, and a knife didn’t seem...violent enough. I wanted him to suffer, to feel how I felt all those years. The ax felt right.”
I shivered at the cold, matter-of-fact tone in his voice. Images from my dream flashed through my mind. “But it was messy. All that blood... You were covered.”
He gave me a funny look. “I wore one of Finn’s wetsuits. I took it off before I left and burned it up with the rest of the house. All I had to do was wash my face and hands.”
I felt as if I was going to throw up. “So Finn was in on it?”
“He knew what I was doing, if that’s what you mean. He understood that it was the only way for me to be free of my father.”
“What about Marco?”
“What about him?”
“What part did he play in all this?”
He shrugged. “None that I know of.”
“Then why did he hang himself in your barn?”
“Beats me. I was in jail when that happened, remember? Maybe you should ask Finn.”
“What do you mean by that?”
He cocked his head to one side and smiled. “Let’s just say Finn has many talents, one of which is roping.”
“Are you saying Finn killed Marco?”
He gave an exaggerated shrug. “Like I said, I wouldn’t know. I’m just pointing out some interesting facts. Make of them what you will.”
“You’re a manipulative bastard.”
His lips twisted into a sick smile. “Maybe so, but look where it’s gotten me. I don’t have to worry about my dad beating the shit out of me for no reason, I’m living with two great people who actually care about me, and you got me out of jail. I did thank you for that, right?”
“I’m going to make sure you go back to jail.”
His smirk was gone in a flash. “Oh come on, Killian. I killed the bastard in self-defense.”
“You hacked him to pieces with an axe while he was asleep in his recliner. How is that self-defense? That’s cold-blooded murder. I don’t care how much you hated your father or even if he deserved it — I can’t just look the other way.”
“Yes, you can. You can drop this stupid investigation and walk away. We can both pretend this never happened.”
“And what about Asher? Shall we pretend that never happened, either?”
He looked down at Asher with an expression that almost seemed surprised, as if he’d forgotten Asher was there.
“I heard you say you had to get rid of him. You can’t expect me to just walk away from that.”
He finally seemed to register that he wasn’t going to be able to talk his way out of this one. In a flash, he launched himself at me, but I was ready for him. I slammed my fist into his face. I’d never punched anyone before, and I was shocked at how much it hurt. I didn’t have time to dwell on the pain. While Caleb was stunned by my blow, I shoved him aside and made a break for the window.
Caleb wasn’t letting me go that easily, however. He caught up to me just before I reached the opening and tackled me from behind. My chin hit the windowsill on my way down, and, for a few seconds, I saw stars. I blinked my vision clear as the taste of blood filled my mouth. Meanwhile, Caleb was trying to choke me.
I flipped over with Caleb still on my back, planted my feet against the wall, and shoved off, breaking his grip. Then I spun back around and drove the heel of my hand into his face. He reeled back, and I quickly followed up with a kick to the groin. While Caleb was doubled over, I jumped for the window.
I was halfway out when Finn suddenly appeared in front of me, his eyes wide with fear. He shoved me back inside. Since I already had one leg out the window, I lost my balance and fell hard on my back.
I looked up just in time to see a shovel descending toward my face.
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