AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In the living room, Joanne’s body had since been removed by the coroners, but the red-dyed carpet served as a reminder of what had happened here. Ella turned to her partner and said, “David Harper didn’t have any art pieces in his unit.”
“A burglary gone overboard,” Ripley suggested.
“Right?” Ella asked. “What if our unsub knew that David had some valuable pieces, so he broke into his storage unit, killed him, and took his paintings?”
Ripley eyeballed the area where Joanne’s body had once been with stern curiosity. “It’s not impossible. A storage unit is easier to penetrate than a real house. But how does that relate to this murder?”
“If our guy is some kind of murderous repo man, maybe for some predatory underground company, he might have burgled some high-value things from here too.”
Now that Ella spoke the words aloud, she suddenly doubted her own theory. But if there was one thing she’d learned during her time in the field, it was that you had to weed out the improbable to uncover the possible.
“It’s worth adding to the list,” Ripley said, “but this place doesn’t look like it’s been burgled. Look here, ornaments, laptop, TV. If he wanted money, he’d have taken these.”
Ellafelt a wave of embarrassment as she realized how ridiculous her suggestion was. “Sorry, I’m talking crap. I’ve just got murderous repo men on my mind.”
Ripley began rifling through drawers in Joanne’s living room. “Huh?”
Ella changed the topic. “Nothing. I mean, it was just a thought. I’m thinking out loud.”
“A couple of jewelry pieces here,” said Ripley as she pulled open a drawer. “Not mega bucks, but worth stealing.”
Ella closed her eyesandlet her mind driftback intime, conjuring upthe events of this murderlike a movie reel.She played it out in chronological order.
“So the back doors are locked. There’s no way in other than through the front door.”
Ripley closed the drawers and assumed the role of the killer. After looking around for any other exit points, she said, “More often than not, home invaders just walk in through the front door. I think our unsub did exactly that.”
“Then he creeps through the kitchen, blitz attacks this woman by stabbing her in the abdomen, then poses her here on this sofa.”
“Cut and dry.” Ripley checked something on her phone then said, “Autopsy report says the blade ruptured her liver. That’s usually a death sentence if the blade is removed.”
With a little more contemplation, Ella’s burglary theory seemed even more ludicrous. “Our unsub came here with the intent to kill. Abdomen wounds are only fatal if you hit the right spot.”
“And this guy hit the ultimate spot. It allowed him a few seconds with the victim before she passed out from blood loss.”
“Just like the second victim.”
“Almost a carbon copy,” Ripley said. “I’m just going to check upstairs, see if anything stands out.”
Ella stayed put and used the moment to pay her respects to the deceased. She stood in silence, offering condolences that would never be heard but needed to be paid regardless. No one should endure a premature death, and the fact was made all the more tragic when it took place where Joanne was meant to feel most safe.
Peering up and out of the living roomwindow,Ella’s heart skippedabeat asshespotteda figure at theendof the driveway.Asshesquinted forabetter look,shecould make outthesilhouetteofsomeonestandingmotionless, front and center, ogling the house with something akin to morbid curiosity. Maybe she was a local who’d heard the news of the tragedy. Usually, there were officers positioned outside to keep onlookers at bay, but in a town with so few cops, yellow crime scene tape had to suffice.
Ella went through the kitchen and out the front door. She called out, “Can I help you?”
The figure loomed closer, which Ella now saw was indeed a woman. Her raven locks were cropped close to her scalp, and her slim frame seemed almost fragile in the dim light.
“The police asked me to meet someone here,” she said nervously. “I’m the one who... found her.”
Ella excused her own judgment. “Oh, I’m sorry. Please come in.”
The womanfirmly shot downElla’s request,flappingher handswildly as if to swat awaythesuggestion. “No thank you. I can’t go in there.”
“Understood,” Ella said and so met the woman in the middle of the driveway. “What’s your name?”
“Sondra.”
“Thank you for facing this again, Sondra. I’m Agent Dark with the FBI. Can you talk me through what happened?”
