Secrets In The Shadows

Chapter 16:Silent Shadow

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is a pool of blood. But that's nothing to what I smell. The scent of death. The stench of murder, a metallic and iron sort of odor. I force myself not to gag. Even though they can't see me, they can still hear me.

I look around with my eyes, I must be in Mr. Wilson's house. Police officers are swabbing various things, taking pictures, bagging items. I look towards the staircase, an outline of a body has been drawn at the bottom. 

A small outline

I swallow back bile. These stairs must be where Quesa died last night. My gaze travels up towards the stairs. I wonder if my uncle and Detective Grey have arrived yet.

Just as that thought pops in my head, I hear a murmur of voices coming from upstairs. I melt in the shadows and travel until I'm where the voices are. I open my eyes to see I'm in a bathroom. On the floor by the sink is a larger outline of a body.

This must be where Mr. Wilson was killed. A pool of blood stains the bathroom floor tiles.  I think of Mr. Wilson's wife, having to scrub at the spot where her husband lay dying. 

I lift up my eyes and see Detectives Winter and Grey discussing the murders. I tune in to hear my Uncle speak. "There were no signs of forced entry, when officers checked under the welcome mat at the front door they found a spare key. Killer must've found it that way  and used it to gain entrance into the home''.  Detective Grey nods and starts walking away from the bathroom with my Uncle in tow. 

I follow them all the way out the house and at the front door. Detective Grey shuts the front door. ''Ok, I'm the Unsub. Upon immediate arrival I find the spare key because that's what people do. They leave spare keys in case they lose the original''.

She crouches down, lifts up the welcome mat an inch, and picks up a silver spare key. She uses it and lets her and my uncle back in the house. She closes the door behind her and continues with her role. 

''Once inside I head up the staircase, knowing they won't hear me due to their current relations. I reach the top and head into the bathroom to lay in wait''. We're back in the bathroom now.

My uncle picks up where Detective Grey left off. ''You step in the tub and hide behind the shower curtain, getting .357 Magnum ready for the job. A couple seconds later Wilson comes in to wash his hands and you hold the gun, you cock it back, and release five bullets through the curtain and into Wilson, who drops to the floor dead''. 

Detective Grey picks up again, ''As I look down to make sure he's dead, something interrupts me'' She turns towards the doorway. ''Quesa, having heard the gunshots, comes to see what happened. She walks in and witness the carnage. Witnessing me. She bolts away heading towards the stairs'' Detective Grey jogs towards the staircase, my Uncle jogs after her, picking up where she left off. 

''I chase after you and as we near the staircase I either push you or you fall due to rushing''. They stare down at the small outline at the bottom of the staircase. Detective Grey purses her lips before speaking, ''the coroner's report said she died from a stab wound to the chest not the fall'' she turns to my Uncle who provides her with an answer. ''I wanted to make sure she was dead so I stab her once,'' he makes a stabbing motion ''in the heart and she dies''. 

Detective Grey nods. ''Four victims in one week, all killed and dressed differently. All killed after the first victim. Why the clothing? Why the escalation in kills?Did Huntress do anything in the past days that may have set our killer off?'' she asks my Uncle. A icy chill goes down my spine at those words.

Did I cause this? Did I cause all of them? I focus on my Uncle's answer. ''The double murder occurred some time later, after the funeral. Huntress said she felt like someone was watching her, both at the funeral and at the school's auditorium''.

Detective Grey nods, taking the new information into count. ''Do either of those places have security cameras?'' My Uncle nods. ''Good. Lets have someone send those over to the station so we can view them. I assume you have officers at Huntress' household?''. My uncle nods again, silent.

I can see his fists clenching and unclenching. Detective Grey must notices it too because she places a hand on my Uncle's shoulder. He looks at her. ''We''ll catch him before he hurts her Aiden, we will'' she tells him. 

My Uncle turns away from he to look at Quesa's outline at the bottom staircase. ''Let's hope it doesn't come to that''.