AllFreeNovel
Share Us
David paused as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “I never said the word spooky.”
Cassie licked her lips and tried to shake some of the nerves out of her arms. “Well, that’s the general idea, right?”
“I guess.” He grunted as he opened the door and got out of the sedan. “But I think we can come up with something better than spooky.”
“Ominous? Macabre? Lurid?”
“Exsanguinous?” David looked proud of himself.
“You’ve been doing your crosswords. Ghosts do sometimes have blood, though.”
“Let’s stick with macabre, then.”
“You got it, boss.”
Cassie followed him up the front steps of a tiny beige house with no more than four or five rooms. It had a small backyard cordoned off with a wooden fence. Some pickets were made of different types of wood, like they’d been broken and replaced over the years without too much care. She dragged her fingertips across the brick façade surrounding a support post for the patio roof. It was rough, like sandpaper, but crumbled under her delicate touch.
David knocked on the door, and there was a shout from the back. About thirty seconds later, a man Cassie’s age answered. He wore a black Slipknot t-shirt. Their music was too hard for her, but she once found their costumes entertaining. No longer. Too close to the things she saw. The guy had one earbud in and a scowl on his face. She could hear the music pumping out of the earbud.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Detective David Klein. I’m with the—”
Before David could finish, Marcus Valencia took off running through his living room and out the backdoor. David didn’t hesitate, and neither did Cassie. She was right on David’s heels as he sprinted through the house and across the backyard. Marcus tried to launch himself over the picket fence, but David was too close. He grabbed the man’s ankles and yanked him to the ground.
Barking erupted from the other end of the yard, and a massive German Shepherd emerged from a doghouse a size too small. He wore a chain around his neck, but Cassie couldn’t tell how long a leash it was. She heard Marcus yelling, and the dog ran straight for them.
Cassie didn’t think. She just moved. She was close enough that when she jumped in between the Shepherd and David, the dog had no choice but to either crash into her or come to a complete stop. Luckily for her, he chose the latter.
She stood as tall as she could and squared up her shoulders. She stared deep into his eyes until she had his absolute attention. The barest tingle of connection tickled the back of her neck. “Sit.”
The dog looked confused, like he wasn’t sure why this crazy lady was telling him what to do. He looked to Marcus, but Cassie drew his attention back to her.
“I said sit.” The dog bent his legs, but his butt still hovered above the ground. Cassie lowered her voice. “All the way. Sit.”
The Shepherd obeyed. Then he cocked his head to one side.
Cassie changed the pitch of her voice. “Good boy! You’re such a good boy.” She moved forward and stuck her hand out so he could smell it. When he gave a tentative lick, she used that as her cue to give him all her love. “You’re so good. What’s your name?”
She looked over at Marcus and David, who had identical expressions of shock on to their faces. She made eye contact with their suspect.
“Uh, Bear?” Marcus said.
“Bear.” She turned her attention back to the dog and scratched behind his ears. “You’re such a big fluffy teddy bear, aren’t you?”
“What the hell?” Marcus said. “You broke my dog!”
“Gave him some discipline.” She let Bear lick her face. “Then let him feel some love.”
“Cassie, what were you thinking?” David sounded scared and astonished at the same time. “He could’ve torn you to shreds.”
“No way. Dogs love me. Never been bit. Not even once. It’s like we have a connection.”
“You still shouldn’t have done that.” David turned back to Marcus. “And you’re under arrest.”
“For what? I didn’t do nothin’.”
“You know, they always say that.” David handcuffed him and sat him up against the fence. “If you didn’t do anything, then why’d you run?”
