Edward wanders into the bedroom, sweeping his light along the walls and floors. The bed is disturbed, and not in a ‘I just rolled out of bed and didn’t bother to make it’ kind of way. The pillows are thrown on the floor, the bedspread half off. He doesn't want to jump to conclusions, but it looks like a struggle occurred. The closet door is open, so he walks over and looks in. There’s not much there, confirming his theory that he’s standing in the guest bedroom.
Sighing, he heads back down the stairs into the kitchen. Unlocking the back door, he steps out into the darkness of the modest yard. There’s a narrow stretch of lawn, a bit of garden along the low brick wall. There’s a small shed in the back, so Edward heads down there. There’s a lock on the door, so he finds himself frowning again. He thinks about it for a second before walking around to the side and peering in the half moon window. His light hits on a shovel in the middle of the floor, covered in dirt. The rest of the tools are hanging on pegs on the wall, and are almost obsessively clean.
“Just circumstantial, Cullen,” he murmurs to himself, pushing down the building uneasiness.
Giving up for now, he walks around the house to the front yard again, nodding at the uniformed officer stringing up caution tape across the front yard. He glances at his watch, wondering if he should bug Hale again. Staring at the house makes him wish he could investigate the rest of it, but he knows it’s smarter to wait until the fire is completely cool, despite his gut telling him he shouldn’t wait until the morning to get back in there.
All houses hold secrets, and burned out houses hold more. This house, though… Edward just knows this house is hiding something sinister.
After checking on the stranger, Jane hurried to grab her cell phone from her room. She was not going to take any chances, and she knew something was not right. She dialed 911, telling them that someone had collapsed on her front porch and they showed signs of trauma. After reassurances that a cruiser was close and would be there soon, Jane went back to the guest bedroom.
She looked at the girl objectively; a little younger, probably prettier when not in this state. Curvier, from what she’d seen in the bathroom. Jane had a stick figure, and she knew her value came from her parents’ money and not her looks. Still, she felt foolish. She and Caius had never had romance or even affection, but he never failed to be intimate with her once a week. A duty, she knew. In her heart, she knew, but she brutally buried it. She had hobbies, fake friends, and charities she was devoted to. She didn’t allow herself to dream of more. Maybe she needed this jolt. She would file for divorce and find some happiness. If they could get out of this current mess, that was.
An odd smell niggled at her, and she took a deep breath. Smoke! Rushing, Jane grabbed the girl’s closest arm, placing a finger over her mouth when her eyes flew open. Tugging, she managed to yank her up and they stumbled together to the doorway. Jane glanced at the stairs and saw the curl of grey smoke winding its way up. Scared beyond belief, she quickly headed the other way.
“Oh, Ja-ane,” she heard Caius sing out from somewhere down the stairs. His high-pitched voice absolutely terrified her.
Her heart was slamming into her ribs, and the other woman grappled with her, squeezing her arms tightly and clawing at her. Her eyes were wide with fear, and Jane knew there was only one choice. She leaned into her ear and whispered quietly, catching her eyes and making sure they understood each other.
“Jane!” Caius yelled impatiently.
She yelped as she realized he was closer than she’d thought. She ran, holding tight to the hand of her new comrade. There was a safe room in the closet of her bedroom, and they had to get there and get it unlocked before he caught up to them.
“Why are you running, Jane? Trying to save the life of the whore I’ve already killed once?”
The women made it to the closet, and Jane thought she heard sirens in the distance. But Caius was closer.
“Belllllaaaaa!” he called, long and low.
Jane’s eyes snapped to Bella’s as the woman trembled so hard her knees almost gave out. Jane’s fingers flew over the keypad and the door clicked. She pulled hard, and as it opened, she shoved Bella inside before spotting Caius standing in the doorway to the walk-in closet. His face was twisted in fury, pure evil in his eyes. Tears streamed down Jane’s face as she backed into the safe room, pulling the door behind her.
“Fuck you, Caius!” she hissed as it closed.
Jane breathed a sigh of relief as the door clicked closed, and she pushed the button to set the lock. They both jumped as there was loud banging on the other side.
Jane dropped her head to the door, her throat dry and her heartbeat rapid. She turned to Bella, finding her huddled on the floor. She went and sat next to her, wrapping her arms around her and bursting into hysterical sobs.
Edward has to wait until the morning to ensure the house is completely cooled down. There’s an officer stationed in front of the house to prevent anyone from messing with the crime scene. Hale agreed that there was at least enough evidence to consider it such. He’s had no new information about the whereabouts of Jane Volturi, and Edward is extremely worried about her fate at this point.
Unable to sleep, Edward sits in his kitchen nursing a bottle of whiskey. He stares at the liquid in his glass as though it contains the answers to life before throwing it back and slamming the glass down. There is something about the owner that doesn't settle well, and his gut is tied in knots over the wife. Then there’s the phone call that the police attributed to a mistake in addresses. What do people set fires to cover? Other crimes, from fraud to murder. It’s the thought of murder that worries Edward. What if Caius murdered Jane, and Edward is sitting here drinking instead of finding her body? What if Caius leaves the hospital and makes a run for it, getting away scot-free?
Frustrated, he stands from the table and heads to the shower. He cleans up, puts on fresh clothes, and goes back out into the darkness. It’s around four in the morning, so he finds a fast food joint that never closes and orders a coffee. Not surprisingly, it tastes like shit, but he figures it's better than being buzzed when he goes back to do what he knows he’s not supposed to do. He was told to wait until seven and meet Hale at the house, but he just can't wait any longer.
There's a cruiser parked on the street, and Edward figures his first obstacle is to sweet talk his way past the officer. Approaching the driver’s window, he sees the last thing he ever expected to find.
Blood and what can only be brain matter are splattered all over the window and inside of the car. Afraid that the whiskey will make a reappearance, he crosses the street and climbs back in his truck to make the call. He drops his forehead to the steering wheel as he tries to get the images of the bashed in face of the cop out of his mind. The phone rings incessantly, and he curses loudly when he gets kicked into voicemail.
“Hale, this is a fucking emergency. The cop stationed outside the house appears to have had his head smashed in. Why aren’t you answering your phone? Call me back when you get this, after you send emergency personnel of all kinds.”
He throws his cell on the passenger seat, debating if he should call 911 himself. There’s nothing to be done for the cop, so he opens the glove compartment and takes out his personal gun, checking the chamber and the magazine before tucking it in his waistband. He exits the truck, standing there in the street and staring at the house.
“What the fuck are you hiding?”
Jane is too terrified to open the door. There’s no telling what’s happened outside. The second coming, an apocalypse, or merely Caius lying in wait, are all a possibility. Bella still hasn't spoken, nor does Jane expect her to. Even without Caius admitting he thought he’d killed her, it's obvious now what happened. Bella found the watch that Jane gave to Caius and confronted him. Caius strangled her, assumed her dead, and buried her. Near their house? There is a new house going up down the street, and the cement truck is due in the next two days. He would know that; they’d discussed the prospect of new neighbors and the fact that the old house on the lot had been torn down.
Shivering, Jane huddles closer to Bella, who’s asleep for the time being. Jane finds herself watching her breathe to ensure she hasn’t died. She feels oddly responsible for the young woman, who shares the same fault as Jane; trusting Caius. It’s probably ridiculous to care about the woman that had been sleeping with her husband, but it’s painfully clear that he’d mislead her, too. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to try to kill her. This is not someone having a good laugh at Jane’s expense. This is a victim.
She jumps out of her skin at the thump on the other side of the door. She hears it again, so she untangles from Bella and gets up, going to the door.
Thump.
Thump.
Her breathing becomes choppy with her uncertainty. What if it’s the police? What if it’s fire rescue?
What if it’s Caius come to finish what he started?
I love this!!! Thanks Lara!!! Can't wait for the final chapters!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You're awesome.
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