Deadly Secrets

Chapter 3: The Break-in (Part 2)

[Revised]

Maybe it was a sign. Climbing in through the kitchen window would've been a struggle. Not only would she have needed to call the others for help—her height didn't play in her favour—but she would've been fully exposed to the neighbours.

She wouldn't have chosen that option, Zara decided, even if it had been available.

Orion came into view first when she turned the corner. He stood guard. Head swivelling from left to right, his gaze absorbed its surroundings. Aurora was crouched behind him, only her limbs were visible.

"Anything?" he mouthed. His balaclava had been pulled down under his chin, revealing his oval face. Many a time had Zara berated him for doing that, but his response was always the same:

Chill out, I'm Chinese. There are probably a million other guys that look like me. Their suspect list is a mile long.

That's racist, she would fling back.

Of course he would have something to say about that too.

I can't be racist towards Asians if I'm Asian.

Zara pursed her lips and shook her head. She walked around him and stationed herself on the other side of Aurora. Things were starting to run smoothly, a little too smoothly for Zara's liking. The longer they went without any problems, the greater the catastrophe at the end.

A click tore through the silence.

Zara and Orion both turned towards Aurora, who pushed her tools back into the pockets on her vest, and straightened. There wasn't a lock she couldn't pick—she was skilled in the manuality of the job—but even this had seemed a little too easy. 

This is it.

If the house had an alarm, it would go off now if they opened the patio doors.

Aurora wiggled her fingers and placed her hand on the handle. Slowly but surely, she turned it. The door inched open. Nothing happened. Aurora slid it open all the way, and tentatively placed a foot onto the hardwood floor. Then, after a brief pause, the other. Despite standing fully in the residence, the boogeyman hadn't lunged at her. The coast was clear. 

Orion fist-bumped Zara then pulled the balaclava back over his nose.

Showtime.

One by one, they slipped inside the residence, but they hadn't been inside for ten minutes that Orion already managed to collide with the furniture. He swore under his breath, arms flailing as he tripped over a coffee table.

After a mild heart attack, Zara shot him an irritated look. He gave her a thumbs-up. 

Although the large sliding patio doors allowed light to stream into the inside of the home, it was like a giant spotlight—it was best to keep to the shadows. They used the visibility to pick out objects and quickly stuff them in their bags, slithering between the furniture without making so much of a peep.

The three made the round of the house. Zara even went as far as venturing into the master bedroom upstairs, where the owners were sleeping.

In all honesty, she was the only one with balls big enough to do it. She was halfway across the landing, a grin on her face, when suddenly, from the corner of her eye she caught a light being flicked on.

Under the balaclava, her face drained of all colour. Her head snapped towards the top of the stairs. Then to Orion and Aurora in the living room. Back to the stairs. A lot of things went through her head in that moment. Her bag was half empty. She still hadn't ransacked the bathroom on the ground floor.