Where She Lies

Chapter 10: Just Like Dominos

"Hey Quinn," I speak up as we're sitting in the car about five minutes from Heather's house, "I forgot to mention something."

"Oh yeah?" He glances at me but then goes back to looking at the road.

"Yeah. If you're going to help me I have two conditions for you."

"That's funny, considering that I'm the one helping you." Quinn snorts in amusement.

"Well," I cross my arms and huff, "I don't exactly trust you too much."

"Clearly you do."

"Excuse me?" I stare at him with surprise written all over my face.

"I said, clearly you do."

"I don't trust people." I purse my lips together tightly and stare straight out the front window.

Even though I'm not looking at him I can practically feel his gaze burning into me.

"Kimb-"

"Keep your eyes on the road." I snap.

He sighs and complies with my order. We spend the rest of the drive in utter silence up until we pull over in an alleyway beside Heather's house. After Quinn takes the key out of the ignition he turns to stare at me.

"So, what are these conditions of yours?" He asks me whilst running a hand through his hair.

"First off," I look him straight in the eyes, "No trying to sneak away. I don't want you running off and never coming back."

"What," An emotion flickers in his eyes, "Afraid you'll miss me?"

"Hardly," I roll my eyes, "I just can't have you disappearing."

"Okay, okay. What's your second condition?"

"No funny business." I smirk at him.

"Darn." Quinn flashes a genuine smile my way.

We climb out of the vehicle and the sound of me slamming the door shut echoes throughout the evening. The sun is just starting to set on the horizon, causing the sky to be painted a beautiful pinkish-orange. We approach Heather's grim looking house and find Trevor standing at the side of the house beside a window.

"Hey guys," Trevor whispers and waves us over, "There was some other person here earlier. I was scanning the area to see if there was a way in when suddenly I saw some guy running out the front door. I thought about following him but I figured that I probably shouldn't. Either way, I jogged over here, ya know, since you stole my car. When I reached the side of her house I found that her window was broken and that must've been how he got in."

"Okay, so if he left through the front door why don't we just go through it like any rational person would?" Quinn asks.

"I was just hanging around here because I didn't want to be seen while I waited for you guys to arrive." Trevor shrugs.

"Yeah," Quinn rolls his eyes, "We'll go with that. It's not like you can easily be spotted from five different spots in this neighborhood but whatever."

Quinn brushes past us and circles around to the front of the house. Both Trevor and I follow him, after a bit of hesitation. Trevor twists the door knob and slowly pushes the door open. The door opens to reveal what looks like a pristine house, despite just being broken into by a stranger and having a murder happen in it. My eyes scan the hardwood floors and yellow painted walls for any signs of damage, but I can't find any.

"It's too clean. It's as if someone were trying to hide something." I say.

"You're right," Quinn walks into the house, "Unless of course the person came back after everything happened and the police were gone. Then they cleaned it up even more to make it look like a brand new house inside, knowing that I'd find a way out of prison and that I'd come here. They probably tried to clean the place up even more, but they just made it look more suspicious instead."

I stare in awe at Quinn and blink a few times.

"That seems a little far fetched, don't you think?" Trevor frowns.

"No," Quinn slides his finger across a desk and when he shows it to us there's no dust on it, "It doesn't."

"Who on earth would think of that thought?" I ask.

"I don't know..." Quinn says softly.

I study his face carefully and due to my knowledge on people, I suspect that he's lying. Quinn may be able to fool others, but he can't fool me. Even in the short time that I've known him I've learned how he acts. And the expression that just passed over his face, that was one of pain, anger, sorrow, and knowing all at once. I'll just add this to my mental list of things that I have to interrogate him about.

"We aren't going to find anything here," Quinn speaks up again, "We should leave."

"But-" Trevor attempts to protest.

"I said we should leave." Quinn's voice is sharp and full of warning this time.

"Well," Trevor scratches the side of his head, "Okay then."

Trevor spins around on his heel in the doorway and walks outside to get in the car. Reluctantly, I almost turn to leave too, but I step on a balled up piece of paper. I bend down, well knowing that Quinn's gaze is focused on me, and pick up the paper.

"Kimberly, leave it." Quinn sighs as he walks past me and outside.

"Fine." I frown.

I secretly shove the paper in my back pocket when Quinn isn't watching before following him out to the car. The drive to Trevor's home is a boring one. I mention that I'll eventually have to stop by my house to pick up my belongings, which in return gets me a series of 'whatevers'. We pull into Trevor's driveway and walk into his house. Trevor goes into the kitchen to grab a slice of left-over pizza while Quinn and I sit on the couch and turn on the TV. By the time that Trevor come and sits down with us it's time for the six O'clock news.

"It seems that another young woman has fallen victim to a murder. Twenty-two year old Andi Layne was found lying dead in her college dorm today. Could this be a pattern all linked to one killer? We give our condolences to her friends and family as they grieve over their loss. More details will be released as soon as we know more. Sadly, the security footage was erased and the camera itself that is positioned in her room was destroyed. Please, if you have any information about..." Shay, the evening news lady, continues to talk.

"Andi..." Trevor drops his pizza onto his paper plate and sorrow washes over his face.

I suspect that now won't be the best time to tell either of them what I overheard, especially Trevor. I lost my sister, Trevor lost his cousin, Quinn's older brother hates him, things are getting very personal. And the worst thing is, everyone's dropping left and right. It's kind of like when you knock down one domino, the rest fall with it. I just hope we can stop the chain before it's too late.