Night Owls

Jerry glanced down at the photograph in his hand, then back up again at the woman sitting alone at the back of the cafe.

He couldn’t tell if she was a match because her head was covered with a scarf and, of course, she was wearing a mask.

All at once a blinding light coursed through the space. Jerry and the woman froze. And then a creature appeared, seemingly from the air itself.

Jerry felt his heart thump wildly. The woman jerked, sprang up, and stepped backwards, bumping into the chair behind hers.