Page 149 of Taken Away

She glanced toward the house again.

The house where someone had killed Mabel. The house where she’d found her. The house she now owned.

“Until we get answers,” Burke said.

Aubrey swallowed.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good.”

He stepped backward toward his truck.

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

A moment later he was gone.

Leaving her alone.

Aubrey stood there for several seconds before finally opening the door.

Moose pushed past her immediately.

The giant dog crossed the foyer and headed straight for the staircase.

“Well, apparently somebody’s got a destination.”

His tail swished once.

Aubrey followed him upstairs.

The second-floor hallway felt impossibly quiet.

Mabel’s bedroom door stood open.

Moose walked inside first. Then stopped.

The room didn’t look like Mabel’s room anymore.

The bed had been completely stripped. No quilt. No pillows. No sheets.

A bare mattress and box spring beneath the headboard.

Fingerprint powder dusted the nightstand. The lamp. The dresser handles. The window latch.

Black smudges marked places investigators had searched. Photographed. Dusted. Bagged.

The antique cedar chest at the foot of the bed wore a faint gray film of powder across the brass latch.

Evidence.

Everywhere she looked, evidence.

The room felt violated.

Not by the deputies.