Prologue
Raines residence
Honolulu, Hawaii
Chrissy Raines pulled into the driveway at 2:35 p.m. Perfect, she thought, Sarah's bus won't be here for almost an hour yet. Maybe I can actually watch a little TV that doesn't have any animated characters.
Glancing at the house, Chrissy smiled again. The white, one-story house not too far off the North Shore of Oahu was small, but big enough for Chrissy and her eight-year-old daughter, Sarah. Although they'd only been in Hawaii for six months, it seemed like more of a home than Los Angeles had ever been. There was just something about the island air and spectacular scenery that made the tropical paradise seem familiar and comfortable.
As she strolled up the sidewalk, Chrissy thought about L.A. She wondered what had ever drawn her to that city. The only words she could think of now to describe it were all negative. Smog-infested, crime-ridden, and sleazy were all words that came to mind. After all that she'd seen in L.A., those words were tame. Chrissy should have had worse to say about L.A. It was where her life had been ruined.
The second she came through the door, Chrissy knew something was off. It felt as though she wasn't alone in the house.
She wasn't. Chrissy didn't realize it until too late, though.