AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lorena’s somewhat rattled gaze zeroed in on the hallway once more.
“Fuck this,” Lorena muttered as she surged forward.
At first, Brook thought she was going to be dragged to the car parked in the garage. She immediately tensed her body in response, fully prepared to seize the moment should Lorena try such a stunt. Instead, Lorena disappeared from view once more. As the sound of her footsteps faded in the distance, Brook didn’t waste a second of precious time. She brought her hands around the front of her body, unable to give the muscles in her shoulders time to acclimate she reached for the zip ties around her ankles.
Having full knowledge that heavy-duty zip ties used by the police could only withstand one hundred and twenty pounds, Brook was confident that the ones around her ankles only needed around fifty pounds of pressure before they snapped in half. She hadn’t realized just how much blood had seeped from her wrists, but her fingers were coated to the point that she needed to wipe the excess blood onto her pants. Once her skin was dry enough to grasp the zip ties, she pulled with all her might.
The zip ties snapped right before Lorena’s voice echoed throughout the house.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Graham Elliott
February 2024
Monday — 2:07 am
The brutal gusts of winds blowing the falling snow around would have made it difficult for Graham to find the correct address had it not been for the sale sign being so close to the street. Even then, it was only due to his driving at a snail’s pace that had allowed his headlights to cut through the whiteout conditions to pick up on the red and blue vibrant colors. His windshield wipers had been pulling double duty, but he turned them off before shutting down the engine.
Graham reached for the ski cap that he had made sure to bring with him before leaving the house. He should have worn a second layer underneath the dark jeans and sweater that he had changed into, but he hadn’t wanted to waste precious minutes.
Every second counted in this situation.
In his opinion, too much time had already passed since Brook’s disappearance.
After pocketing his keys and securing his ski cap, he exited his car. His breath immediately turned into mist in the frigid air. The ground was still covered with a soft blanket of snow, and his boots packed it down with each step.
Pulling up the collar of his coat, Graham made his way toward the small path leading up to the porch. Any evidence that police officers or a forensics team had been on the property had been erased with fresh snowfall over the past few hours. The wind continued to howl through the branches as he came to a stop in front of the entrance blocked by yellow crime scene tape. It was barely hanging on, one side already flapping against the siding of the house. He didn’t waste time removing it completely, crumbling it into a ball.
The lockbox attached to the door handle was open, exposing the empty compartment within. Brook would have been the one to take the key. Since she was gone, the key was obviously still with her.
Graham wasn’t even sure why he was here, other than to occupy himself with something to do until they received a break in the search. The likelihood that Lorena would have remained in an area that she knew so well was high, but there were over a thousand homes in this neighborhood alone. Given that about ten percent were for sale, that was a lot of ground to cover if one didn’t factor in homes that were empty due to business travel or vacation. Lorena had months to overhear various conversations that would provide her with such information.
Graham twisted the doorknob and found that no one had bothered to lock the entrance. He stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him. He reached for a light switch, not worried that a neighbor might notice someone inside the house. Police and federal agents had been in and out of the home since being alerted to Brook’s disappearance.
Graham slowly walked through the house, searching each room. He moved from one space to another, his mind attempting to recreate what had been going through Brook’s thoughts. She would have kept her footsteps light while listening for any sound that someone else was in the house.
Once he finished going through the main level, he stood still in the small hallway.
Brook would have chosen to go downstairs first. The door was to the left, so Graham continued on the path that he believed she would have taken in clearing the home. While they had surmised that Lorena had been upstairs in the attic, that didn’t mean Brook hadn’t discovered something else in her search. Considering the basement had been unoccupied like the main level, it wasn’t long before he was walking up the staircase.
Graham turned on the lights as he went, still not concerned about his presence being detected by the neighbors. S&E Investigations was still in charge of the investigation until he received word otherwise. Given that he owned fifty percent of the company, he had every right to be here.
The attic ladder was still unfolded, its wooden feet anchored on the floor near a smear of dried blood. Graham walked around the stain, intentionally not allowing his thoughts to go down a dark path. He continued to canvass the bedrooms and bathrooms, taking time to open every closet. He returned to the hallway before eventually coming to a stop in front of the ladder.
He knelt and studied the crimson stain.
The tinged area was far enough away from the ladder that gave the indication that Brook had fallen off the ladder at some point. Had Lorena immediately attacked Brook the moment she pulled on the small string of rope? Or had Lorena bided her time until Brook’s attention had been focused on the pile of garbage the officers had mentioned to Theo?
Graham unfolded his large frame before climbing the ladder.
There was a long string from a single lightbulb hanging from one of the wooden beams. He tugged on the cord, but it must have burnt out. It didn’t take him long to retrieve his phone from his jacket. He activated the flashlight and then slowly scanned the attic. There was a stack of boxes to the left. In the far-right corner, there were empty takeout containers, balled-up napkins, and overturned plastic cups.
Brook probably wouldn’t have climbed all the way up without first knowing the area, especially in the dark with only a penlight. Graham winced when he came to the supposition that Lorena had heard someone in the house and used the boxes as cover. If the situation had unfolded the way he thought, then the blood below had come from the side of Brook’s head.
He pulled out his phone and accessed his speed dial list. By the time that he had pressed Theo’s name, Graham was already descending the staircase.
“Anything?” Theo asked, not bothering with a greeting.
