Getting out of the car, I tried to think of an excuse as I crossed the street.
There was a mailbox next to the door. I lifted the lid and saw the name John Hill on one of the envelopes. I had another name,which was helpful, except I still didn’t know what to say to John when he came to the door.
I rang the doorbell anyway.
Except the door didn’t open. I rang the bell again, expecting at least a voice through the camera-doorbell combo demanding to know why I was there, but nothing.
Out of desperation, I tried the doorknob.
“No, not possible,” I muttered when the knob turned and the door swung open. The sight that met my eyes made me suck in a startled breath. I slapped both hands over my mouth to keep from screaming.
There were three dead bodies lying on the ground just inside the front door. Two looked like they'd been hugging when they were struck down and the other was standing close and had knocked over a table as he went down.
I didn't bother getting close to check for pulses, they were most definitely dead. While I didn't see any blood, it was clear they couldn't be saved.
How did I know?
That was easy. Because they looked like mummies wearing modern clothes!
It wasn’t only the clothing that clued me in, but one of them was clutching a cell phone in his withered hand.
Then the smell hit me. I could only describe it as death.
Pulling my shirt up over my nose, I crouched down to pull the phone free. The lock screen was the same picture Gale showed me of Leif and Hugo wearing matching shirts. Damn, they both looked so happy. It made me think I should've questioned Gale more.
The body half propped up against the overturned table suddenly fell all the way to the floor with a dry papery sound. It reminded me of a pile of dried leaves being poured into a trash can.
It startled me bad enough that I dropped the phone and jumped back. The mummy’s corpse stared up at me with empty, sightless eyes, and I finally realized I could be in danger.
These deaths had to be a result of some powerful creature, right?
That meant I needed to get out of here before the creature came back. Wait, what if they were still here, hiding in the house and waiting to suck the life out of an innocent amateur investigator?
I noticed the mail I’d sent, among other items scattered on the floor. Panic made me grab the three envelopes with the trackers and shove them in my back pocket.
I was about to turn and run when I heard little nails on hardwood. I looked over to see a French Bulldog in a Hawaiian shirt peek out from behind a wall.
“Hugo!” I cried.
Hearing his name made the little dog charge at me with a whine. I knelt, and he jumped into my arms, trembling violently. Whatever happened here, he’d witnessed it and was freaked out. I couldn’t blame him!
Hugging Hugo to my chest, I ran back to my car. I sat him on the passenger seat and pressed the start button. My hand was shaking so badly it took two tries.
“It’s going to be okay, Hugo,” I said, pulling away from the curb without even looking. Thankfully, it was a quiet street. Hugo responded by standing up with his front feet on the armrest and slurping his tongue up the side of my face. It was such a normal doggie thing to do that I laughed.
When I was about halfway home, I remembered Gale. I hated to think this way, but the sooner I got rid of Hugo, the sooner I could distance myself from what I’d just seen.
Gale probably didn't have anything to do with what happened in that house. Those three people could've simply been in thewrong place at the wrong time and gotten hit by a stray spell. Or maybe they’d made a deal with a powerful creature and hadn’t kept up their end. Whatever the reason, I didn’t want to have anything to do with them or Gale any longer.
I pulled off the freeway and found a shady place to park. I tried to call her, but it went right to voicemail, so I sent a text. Still nothing. Not even anI’m busy right now but will contact you when I'm freeautomated text message.
I stared at my phone for a few minutes, letting my heart calm down and my hands stop shaking. Finally, I looked up at Hugo. He was still perched on the armrest, watching me intensely.
“I guess it’s you and me for a while,” I said.
His answer was to leap into my lap, do a circle, and settle down with a happyharrumph.
“I guess I'm a good interim human,” I joked. I gently put him back into the seat. He wasn't pleased. “Sorry, buddy, but it's too dangerous to drive with you in my lap.”
