× Highest Ranking: #42 in Horror
× 2nd Place in Horror: Angel Awards
!WARNING!
Contains:
× Explicit language
× Mild LGBT content
× Extreme violence (Blood and gore)
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A double murder leads Miles Trenton and his family to a small...
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Miles was just getting out of the parked car in the driveway when George snuck up behind and scared him.
"Boo!" the little boy said, laughing.
"Ahhhahahahaha!" Miles feigned fright and laughed when he saw his son's brilliant smile. "Kiddo, you almost gave me a heart attack," he said, picking George up.
"Hey, you're home early," Gina said, coming up the driveway.
"Yeah, I told the Chief I had a funeral to get to. Where are you guys coming from?" he asked.
"New town, new schools," Rebecca said as she walked past them and went to stand on the porch.
"You signed them up for new schools already?" Miles asked, getting upset. He set George down and told him to go wait with his sister.
"Well, yeah. You're always at work, and the kids can't stay home all the time," she replied.
"I thought we would've signed them up together?"
"I know, but the kids were bored, so I decided to take them. We discussed it, and they chose the schools that best suit their needs."
Miles sighed. "Well, I'm glad. When do they start?" He started walking towards the house.
"Both principals said that they can start tomorrow," Gina answered, walking next to him. "But we haven't gotten any new school supplies for them as yet."
"Don't worry, they can use their old school stuff, and tomorrow I'll go to one of those stationery stores and buy new supplies."
"No, I'll do that. You've already got a lot of detective work to do," she said, rubbing his shoulder. He shrugged, nodded, and then smiled.
They went up the porch and opened the door, going inside to prepare for the funeral.
Half an hour later, only Gina and Miles arrived at the church. They decided against bringing the children to the funeral and left them home. It was 12:30 p.m. when they greeted Lou and Bill at the church's entrance.
"Glad you could make it, Miles," Lou said, giving him a hug. "This means a lot to me."
"My condolences, again," Miles told him.
"This is my cousin, Bill. He's Cliff's older brother." Lou introduced the man to Miles and his wife. They shook hands, while Lou went on to say, "There are two seats reserved for you two on the left-hand side, way up in front. Miles and Gina went into the church and sat where Lou had said their seats were.
Back outside, Lou was beginning to get nervous. "I thought Uncle Max would've been here by now," he said to his cousin while looking up the road to his right.
His cousin furrowed his brows, "I thought so, too. Maybe he's caught up in looking through family photos and decided to go down memory lane," Bill chuckled.
"Bill, come on," he replied, punching Bill in the shoulder lightly. He took his phone out and dialled his uncle's number. He waited, and waited, and waited until finally, Maxwell's voice came on. Unfortunately, it was his voicemail.
"That's weird," Lou said, hanging up. "He didn't answer." Lou knew his uncle for answering his phone before the first ring could even complete its tone. Maxwell told him that answering the phone quickly helps avoid losing business. "I'll head back and check on him. Wouldn't want him having a mental breakdown on the day of his son's and daughter-in-law's funeral."
"But Lou, it's almost 1:00 p.m. and the funeral will start." Bill gestured to the pastor walking around and greeting persons in the congregation.
"I'll be quick. It's just a ten-minute walk from here to there, and back." Lou started away from the church building. Bill just shrugged, greeting more people as they came.
