Page 44 of Cash

My hand went to the knob, and I barely stifled my verbal, Cash is King as I entered.

I did a quick scan of the kitchen—cabinets opened, shards of crockery littered the countertops and floor. Adding to the mess I needed to step over was baking paraphernalia and a crockpot.

I felt Jonas tap me on my left shoulder. He peeled off left as I went right down a hallway. The first door I came to was open, towels, sheets, blankets, toilet paper, and a vacuum spilled out blocking my path. I maneuvered around the vacuum. The rock that had lodged itself in my gut on the drive grew. Passed a bathroom—totally destroyed.

A door was opened inward. With a quick glance in and not seeing anyone, I stepped in and scanned the wreckage.

A little girl’s room. The white bedframe was all that was left of the bed Cara had slept in. The mattress was on its side sliced open. Stuffed animals torn apart. Clothes everywhere. Broken toys. Pink and purple bedding with hearts and flowers haphazardly tossed to the side.

Fuck.

I checked the closet then backed out of the room, not wanting to spend more time than necessary with the once-cherished remains.

The last door had to be Lore’s room.

I walked in without checking if there were hostiles in the room. I almost hoped there were. I wouldn’t lose sleep putting two in the skull of whoever dared to destroy a little girl’s sanctuary.

Her peace.

Lore’s room looked like Cara’s. Drawers ripped from the dresser. Clothes and shoes everywhere. Mattress decimated. Nightstands tipped over, lamps broken.

Someone was looking for something and didn’t care about making a mess.

The master bathroom was not spared. Neither was the closet.

I glanced around the room, and that something I couldn’t identify was back, wrapping around my chest, squeezing until I couldn’t breathe.

“House is clear,” Jonas said as he walked into the room.

No Lore.

The relief we didn’t find a corpse was quickly drowned out with an uneasiness that rocked me.

I needed to find Cara. I needed to get her back to Nebraska and drop her off. Then I needed to find Lore.

“Saferoom?” I asked.

“Didn’t find one.”

What the fuck?

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and called the number Cara had called me from.

“Hello?”

“Hi sweetheart. I’m here in the house but I can’t find your special room.”

“Did you look in the kitchen?”

Kitchen?

I rushed past Jonas, down the hall, and looked around, seeing nothing but a room full of broken shit.

“I’m in the kitchen, sweetheart. I still don’t⁠—”

“Where the food goes.”

I assumed she was talking about the pantry. The door was open, the shelves were bare, the contents strewed everywhere.