The Aftermath

20

Tom pulled the SUV into his mom's driveway. This was not his childhood home. It wasn't even the home after that one. He believed it was the fifth home since his childhood abode. There were no memories in this place at all. He had never been inside, or driven past this place. Tom said as much to Teri, who rode with him from the Oceanside Police Station.

"Mom was sort of a gypsy then?" She asked.

"No, mom was sort of a greedy opportunist." Tom admitted. "She was always climbing over people to climb ladders. I don't think she ever remained in one place because she kept burning bridges in neighborhoods."

"Ah." Teri nodded. "I know the type. Shall we go in?"

"I'm hoping it is open, so I don't have to break a window or something." Tom muttered.

The house was a white single-story ranch, with brown trim, which sat back off the street behind a long front yard. A single orange tree shaded the front windows, its branches heavy with old fruit.

They got out together and found the front-door was not just unlocked, but ajar. Tom drew his gun and chambered a round. Teri stood well behind him as he nudged the wooden door fully open. It swung slowly and smoothly on the hinges, giving him a full view of the living-room and most of the dining room. Tom could hear an electric fan moving inside. He walked in, gun in a two handed grip, pointed down and to his left, ready.

There was no sign of struggle, no blood on the tile of the entry way. The door jamb was not broken or splintered. Light from the afternoon sun came in the back windows giving the house an open, warm feeling. It was calm, peaceful even. It wasn't the house of a tortured dead woman.

Tom went down the long hallway surprised to find the house was a three bedroom. He opened the first door and found a guest bathroom. The second was a fully furnished child's room, with football posters on the walls and baseball equipment in the corner. The closet was empty, but had new plastic hangers on the bar.

The next room was a furnished girl's room, complete with a Hello Kitty radio sitting on a small vanity. The room was clean... waiting. Tom felt a chill in his neck.

The third room was the master bedroom. It was decorated in easy colorings of blues and yellows. A large quilt covered the bed. It had not been slept in. Tom checked the bathroom and the closet for unwanted guests and then moved back down the hallway to the common areas.

There were dishes in the sink from a meal of chicken and rice. A half-pot of coffee was still in the brewer beside the stove. The evening cleaning hadn't been accomplished before she was taken. From what he remembered his mother went to bed around ten or eleven o'clock.

Lastly he checked the garage, and found his mom's car, a blue Taurus, last year's model. There was also a washer and drier set, which looked new. No lurking men or monsters however. Tom went back inside and re-holstered his 9mm Beretta as he nodded to Teri who had waited at the front door.

Teri came inside and started taking pictures with a digital camera. "Not much sign of violence." She commented. "Nice house though."

She moved down the hall, retracing Tom's steps. "I thought she didn't have any more kids." She called.

"She didn't and didn't have much contact with her grandkids either – no contact with Angie at all for the last seven years." Tom told her.

Teri looked at him from down the hall and then back at the little girl's room. "Looks like she was expecting them."

"Looks that way. Yes." Tom agreed.

"Sounds like a story." Teri pried.

Tom answered with silence, and turned his attention to his mom's phone book, which he spotted by the wall phone in the kitchen.