AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If he wasn’t on his way to a murder scene, he’d stop the car and figure out what was wrong, but he didn’t have the time right now. “Marie, talk to me. What’s going on?” He returned his focus on the road and continued toward the resting place of Eddy Jones.
“I’m sorry. It’s stupid.” The breathy quality of her voice echoed with panic.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me.” He shot her what he hoped was a reassuring look, but all the turmoil boiling in his gut made it impossible to smile.
She sighed. “I was in a car accident when I was younger. My mom drove into a lake. I still get nervous around water and am jumpy in cars. It’s one of those traumas that stays with you, I guess.”
Owen slowed, not wanting to heap any more stress on Marie’s shoulders. “Is that why you asked about the flooding yesterday?”
“Yes, but my phobias are the least of our worries right now.”
He wanted to argue, to let her know any fear she had was well-founded and something he’d help her get through, but she was right. He turned onto a side street, and the flashing blue and red lights put an exclamation point on that fact. Right now, he needed to concentrate on finding out who killed Eddy and why. He maneuvered the car into the driveway behind the squad car with the flashing lights and shifted into park. He faced her. “I need you and Nora to stay in the car. I’ll be as quick as possible, and then we can concentrate on what we need to do to find Renee.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay.”
He raised his brows, expecting more of a fight. “Okay?”
“I get it. You need to go in there and do your job, and honestly, I don’t want to expose Nora to whatever’s in that house, no matter her age. I’ll call my mom and see if she’s heard anything more about my sister.”
He reached behind the seat for the bag he’d brought containing what he’d need to examine the scene. “Keep your phone out in case you need to call me. I won’t be long.”
She nodded and the whites of her eyes lit through the darkness.
Pushing open the door, he hunched his shoulders and ran through the rain to the front of the house. An officer stood guard and opened the door after recognizing Owen. He stepped inside and wiped the lingering drops of moisture from his face.
He strode to the far corner of the barren room where a white sheet draped over a corpse laid in the corner, and two officers stood hunched over notebooks. The metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air. “What do we have? Is the coroner on his way?”
The two officers glanced up from their notes with solemn eyes and grim sets to their mouths.
The younger cop, a fresh-faced man who made Tommy look old, took a step forward.
Owen racked his brain for the man’s name but couldn’t pull it forward.
“I was called to the scene. The caller claimed to be a neighbor who made a noise complaint. Said he heard screaming and what sounded like an abusive situation. When I got here, the house was quiet. I knocked and announced myself, then proceeded into the residence. The body was laying on the floor.”
Sickness settled in Owen’s stomach. “Any clue as to cause of death?”
The young man ran his tongue over his lips. “The deep slice across the victim’s neck indicates a knife wound, my guess is inflicted by someone the victim knew. The medical examiner will know more, but there don’t appear to be any defensive wounds.”
“Strange if there was fighting going on.” The complaint made didn’t add up with what was found on the scene.
Owen hoped the officer’s assessment was correct. Eddy might have made bad decisions that hurt a lot of people, but Owen wished the kid hadn’t had to die—and he definitely hoped Eddy hadn’t experienced a violent death. The only small grace would be if Eddy was asleep when it happened, none the wiser of what was to come.
He drew in a shuddering breath. “Did you clear the rest of the house?”
“Yes, sir. No sign of forced entry, and no other person on the premise.”
Owen nodded. “Okay. I want you to go over every detail of what happened once you arrived on scene, and I’d like to see your notes. Then I’ll take a look around.” He dipped his chin toward the second officer standing quietly in the background. “I want you to talk to the neighbors. Find out who made the call and ask if anyone saw anything that happened here tonight. A car parked in the driveway, people coming and going from the house. Anything unusual.”
Owen glanced down at the outline of Eddy Jones’ body. He might not have found the kid in time to save him from himself, but maybe he could still get some answers.
Marie gripped the phone in her shaking hand. Rain splashed down on the car, making it hard to see the house Owen disappeared into. Saliva pooled in her mouth as her nerves danced around her body like a sugared-up child.
She was being silly. Owen was twenty-feet away, even if she couldn’t see him.
A part of her wanted to march into the house, police protocol and grisly crime scene be damned. But the other part was afraid of what she’d find once inside. Enough gruesome images clamored in her brain—Pappy laying on the floor with a gunshot wound, Tommy passed out in the tree house, the blood-soaked carpet in the house she’d lived in for the past month—she didn’t want to add another horrible memory to the bunch.
Didn’t want Nora to absorb any of that negative energy.
