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“I promise we’ll talk about it when I get back,” Grant said. “We won’t be gone long. Will you be okay with Trey?”
“I will, but I’m going to hold you to your promise.”
Just how bad had it been that the sheriff didn’t even want her in the house? What had gone on last night? Mike couldn’t remember, and she wasn’t allowed at the crime scene.
And all of this was probably her damn fault.
Her best friend was dead because of her.
How was she supposed to live with that?
22
Trey had promised to take good care of Mia when they’d dropped her off. Grant had spent a few minutes with her, assuring that he would tell her everything that he found out from the sheriff. He still didn’t know what had happened or how Lane had been killed either. Sheriff Wallace hadn’t given anything away at all, seemingly determined to wait until they went to the house.
A big part of Grant hadn’t wanted to leave Mia at all. She was pale and exhausted, her day an emotional minefield and it didn’t look like it would be improving anytime soon. She had, however, told him to go find out all the details as quickly as he could and then come back home. He’d vowed to hurry and keep this brief.
The house was wrapped in yellow crime scene tape, but Wallace tore it off the door and unlocked it.
“Forensics has finished what they needed to do. They took fingerprints and dozens of samples from the home, especially the living room and bedroom. Those were the two main sites that Ellers described.”
“What did Mike tell you?”
Wallace pointed to the back of the house and upstairs where the main bedroom was located. The home was the same layout as Mia’s. All the homes in the neighborhood were pretty much the same.
“Ellers and his wife were asleep. He said they’d gone to bed early because they’d worked in the backyard all day and were tired. He said that he woke up abruptly to a sound, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He sat up and listened and it sounded like someone trying to open the front door. Then the alarm went off.”
“What did he do then?”
“He said he got up to check and Lane also woke up. He told her that he was going to check the house and that she should stay there. He walked down the stairs and into the living room and that’s when he ran into two men dressed in dark clothes. They were brandishing knives and one cut Ellers on the arm. The men were trying to get past Ellers, so he fought with them, receiving various scratches and cuts, plus a bump on the head when they pushed him into the coffee table. When he was down that’s when one of them stabbed him in the side. The blade glanced off his ribs, so no major organs were injured.”
Grant’s gaze instantly went to the wood and glass coffee table that sat in front of the couch. From where he was standing it didn’t appear damaged, but he was only seeing one side.
“Did forensics clean up the living room when they were done?”
“No.”
“Interesting.”
“Since he was fighting two men and there was only one of him, they managed to get by him and got to Lane Ellers.” Wallace gestured Grant to follow him upstairs. “She was killed in the bedroom. Looks like an arterial strike. She probably died quickly. She didn’t have any defensive wounds on her hands or arms. No bruising. She must have been asleep or not seen it coming, but I’m not sure how as the alarm was going off. Now, I warn you, it’s pretty grisly back here. Mrs. Ellers bled out and it’s not for the squeamish.”
Wallace hadn’t exaggerated. It was a bloody scene that greeted Grant when he walked into the bedroom. He was sure as hell glad that Mia wasn’t here to see this. She was already walking an emotional tightrope. This would have sent her over the edge. He’d seen worse in his job, but even he was queasy at the scene before him.
“He was in the living room while they were attacking Lane?”
“Yes, he said he passed out for a few minutes. When he regained consciousness, he came back here to find his wife dead and the men gone.”
“Did they steal anything?”
“No.”
“And he described them to you?”
“He did. Black sweatpants and hoodie. White and black Nike tennis shoes. One of the men was blond with shoulder-length scraggly hair. The other had dark hair shot with gray and a beard. He also had a scar on his cheek.”
“That sounds…oddly specific. He saw all of that? At night?”
Grant was beginning to realize why Wallace wanted to bring him here. Mike’s story…
