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The sheriff parked the truck next to the statue of a what looked like the mythical figure Pan. Half boy, half goat.
"Do you really think Logan Bartlett will come here?" the sheriff asked.
"I do," she answered. "He'll come for his mother. According to Abbot Collins, she's the one who put him into the Church when he was younger. Then she eventually gave up the Church and asked her son to do the same because she believed it was harmful. Logan didn't take that kindly. He had a breakdown and spent two years in a psychiatric ward."
"And then Abbot Collins took him in?" Sheriff Carter asked.
"Yes," Valerie said looking at the waterlogged darkness all around. "That's why he didn't kill anyone directly connected to that monastery. He only killed victims who had left the others."
Valerie peered at the house. "Glen, do you see something unusual?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Where are your men?" she said. "Didn't you call the Sheriff's Department and ask them to get here as quickly as possible.
"Yeah. They should have been here well before us."
Valerie looked again, and this time she could just about see the outline of a patrol car parked to the side of the mansion. "There. The patrol car doesn't have its lights on."
Now, it was Sheriff Carter's turn to notice something. He drew his gun. "One of the doors is open."
"Stay sharp, Glen," Valerie said, drawing her gun and leaving the truck behind.
The rain was torrential, covering the estate in a blanket of wet noise.
There was no point even trying to talk to each other unless they were shouting. Valerie pointed to the car, and they walked over to it, slowly.
As they neared, Valerie saw something hanging out of the driver's seat. She switched her flashlight on, and it caught something glassy and lifeless. It was the eyes of one of Glen's deputies. His throat had been cut, and Valerie could see rope marks around the cut.
"No ... Jenson," Carter said. "Dammit."
"I'm sorry Glen, but we have to keep moving," Valerie shouted in his ear.
Glen nodded with a grimace, and they moved up to the front door of the vast house. The rain was dripping into Valerie's eyes, but they had to keep going, even if the world was filled with uncertain shapes and threats.
The door was open, almost inviting them in. Inside, the house seemed to be empty, but it was hard to tell as darkness had descended on the mansion like a thick blanket of fog. Valerie tried one of the light switches. The power had been cut, and they were only able to make out shapes with their flashlights.
The entrance hall was huge, with a grand staircase leading up to the second floor. On both sides of the entrance were doors that led into what seemed like parlors or reception rooms.
Valerie and Glen moved slowly and carefully towards one of them, their guns drawn and ready for anything that might come their way.
As they approached the parlor, they noticed something strange on the floor. It looked like a blood trail that had been smeared across the marble tiles.
Valerie and Glen exchanged a glance before following it cautiously, their flashlights illuminating their way. The trail led them further into the house, past grand furniture and paintings of old family members, until finally they reached another room in which another body lay.
It was one of Glen's deputies, a kitchen knife sticking out of his eye. His throat had been cut in the same manner as Jenson's had been, and Valerie couldn't help but feel a chill as she took in this new horror. She looked at Sheriff Carter who was standing behind her and could see how shaken up he was by what he saw before him. He slowly shook his head and muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Logan".
It was then that they both heard it. A loud thump from upstairs. Sheriff Carter's eyes flashed with anger. He ran out of the room towards the central staircase
"Glen, wait!" she whispered, but he didn't respond.
The sheriff rushed up the stairs in anger, his gun drawn, and his face a mask of fury. Valerie tried to follow him, but he was faster than she was. She still hadn't fully recovered from being dazed back at the monastery.
By the time Valerie reached the foot of the staircase, the sheriff had disappeared up them onto the next floor.
Valerie stepped on the first stair, but then she heard a blood curdling gasp from up above and the sound of something smashing.
"Glen!" Valerie shouted.
