Sarah
jumped as the silence of the room was shattered by the whine of a
zipper. She glanced over toward Rob and watched as his hand, which
grasped the silver pull tab, guided the slider along its chain. She
felt a chill race down her spine as the zipper clambered its way up
the sack.
“What
a shame,” she heard him say as Aura’s pale complexion disappeared
behind the heavy black cloth.
She
took a deep breath and winced at the pain that rushed through her
chest, a memento which kept her thoughts locked on the chaos that had
filled the house in the moments after Aura’s death. She wasn’t
sure exactly how she had gone from being underneath Aura's body to
the hunched over stance she had assumed moments later while she tried
to regain her breath. She had a vague memory of Roger helping her to
her feet, but the memory was enveloped by an impenetrable haze.
“How’s
Emma holding up?” Rob asked in a hushed tone.
Sarah
glanced over at Emma. Emma's two brothers hovered over their sister
as a paramedic tended to her. She sat clutching an icepack to the
side of her head. “Well, it looks like she’s at least conscious
now.”
Sarah
thought back to the moment when Emma had rushed into the mudroom to
investigate the racket. Emma opened her mouth as though she was
going to lecture the four of them for being so loud. However,
instead of a lecture came an ear-piercing shriek. Her complexion
grew pale as the air escaped her lungs, turning the woman into a
marble statue. Emma’s screams were cut short as she tottered over
and smacked her head on the doorframe.
“You
okay?” Rob asked as he put a hand on Sarah’s shoulder.
“Ya,
still just a little shook up, I guess.”
“We’ll
take the knife down to the medical examiner’s office and see if it
matches the one used in either of the murders,” Rob said as he
looked over the knife in the evidence bag.
Sarah
watched as Rob helped the coroner load the body onto the gurney. The
coroner, who was holding the end of the gurney where Aura's covered
head lay, opened the front door of the house. Red light strobed
through the entryway. Sarah squinted and followed the pair out the
door and into the pre-dawn morning. Three patrol cars sat crammed
along the road next to the house, their lights intermingling with
those of the ambulances. A pair of officers leaned against the hood
of one of the cruisers, smoking cigarettes. The officers rose to
their feet and walked toward Sarah, Rob, and the coroner. A heavy
trail of smoke followed the officers as they reached the trio.
“We
just finished up out here Brady,” said one of the men.
“Ya,
we looked around for any sign of forced entry but we came up with
diddly-squat,” chimed in the second. “No ropes, ladders, or
rocket packs as far as we can tell.”
The
first officer elbowed the second. “Rocket packs, Jim? You’ve
been watching too much of that god-awful rocket man movie, bud.”
“I
tolds ya before Kevin, it’s called The Rocketeer, and it’s not
possible to watch it too many times.”
“Enough
you two,” interjected Rob. “I’m heading up to the station to
drop the knife off with forensics. See to it that our friends here
are taken care of before heading out.”
The
pair nodded in unison.
“Oh
and Sarah,” Rob said, turning his gaze to her. “After you all
are rested up, be sure to drop by the station to give statements.”
Sarah
nodded at Rob and they exchanged their goodbyes. Her eyes followed
Rob as he climbed into the cruiser. The thud of the cruiser door
resonated through her body, sending a fresh shiver down her spine.
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