Declan

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I said it. I hadn't meant to, but it slipped out of my thoughts directly into hers and now she knew. I didn't give her a chance to answer before I cut her off for the night. That's something I'll have to deal with in the morning.

Fredrick and I had waited for the two men to take up our spots outside Fredrick's door and had just made it to his office to start setting up a plan and system.

"What are we going to do?"

"Let's start by setting up the guard system Roxee wrote up and have them search the house. We'll interview them one by one to make sure no one saw anything of importance over the last few days. Once the house has been searched, we'll move on to our territory and the town. While all this is going on, you and Connor will each set up and interview the rest of the household. Could you get Connor up here?"

"On it," I reply, as he begins flipping through the packet Roxee had left on his desk.

Before Connor arrived, I excused myself to bring up a coffee pot and mugs to assist everyone through the witching hour. I also wanted to avoid Connor's reaction to his sister's disappearance and Fredrick's explanation of our next steps. By the time I made it back up the long stairway, Connor had a resolved set to his chin and looked ready to get to work.

"Perfect timing. I need you to call Jacob next. He's going to be in charge of the new guard system for now and we need to get our search party going."

Nodding, I set my supplies down on his coffee table while mindlinking Jacob awake. He was getting dressed while I searched for an outlet for the coffee pot, on his way up the stairs when I put the grounds in, and knocking on the door by the time it started brewing.

"Declan, Connor, could you two split this list and begin doing interviews and assigning rotations? Make sure everyone has at least one person with them at a time."

Nodding, we headed out the doors and each went to our prospective offices. I called the top two men on the list and sent one to my office and the other to Connor's. The next few hours were spent asking the same questions over and over and receiving the same answers over and over again. It took us a little over an hour to get through the assigned guards and we headed back up to Fredrick's office for more coffee and instructions.

"Did either of you discover anything new that could assist in any of the present situations?"

"Not really. Caleb said he'd noticed a rancid smell the other day but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Naturally, with most disturbing smells, he moved as far away as possible," Connor answered with seriousness added to his voice and posture.

"I noticed that smell on the way out to you yesterday, and in the hallway where Roxee disappeared."

"On the way back from that, I smelled rotten fish on the south side of the house and Chloe seemed to notice it too. She had her window open and was looking out into the woods," I reply.

"Did you say anything to her?"

"I guess, she said she heard something and was looking to see what it was. She thought she had heard me, but I heard it too."

"Three different times and three different people smelling it. I think we have an intruder," Fredrick said, rubbing his jaw with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Hopefully someone will discover this intruder and Roxee before the sun catches up to us."

"Hopefully. I think I'm going to go check on the girls and then we need to set up sleep rotations among the three of us and the guards on duty."

"We'll come with. We can decide the rotations on the way and I'm sure Declan is going crazy without Hannah," Connor replied, following Fredrick out the doors. "Actually, how about I take the first shift and start calling in the next set of guards to replace the first?"

"Are you sure you want to go first? You can go get more sleep and take a later shift. You'll, of course, be the first to know anything we discover regarding Roxee."

"I'm positive. I need to feel like I'm doing something and I wouldn't be able to sleep if I tried."

"Alright, don't hesitate to come get me if you change your mind," Fredrick consented. "You'll be in charge for the next hour, during which I'll need you to take note of everything that seems even mildly important and leave it for me to review. Once my shift is complete, I'll wait for you to take over in my office," he finished turning to me.

We all nod in agreement until I let out a long yawn.

"So, where are we sleeping then? Your bed is a little occupied and I don't want to be murdered in my sleep downstairs."

"Are you asking to sleep with your big brother Declan?" Fredrick asked.

"That's not what I was asking. I think you'll enjoy my actual suggestion though."

"What would that be?"

"I take Hannah out of your bed and into the connected room and you crawl in and spoon with Chloe for the next hour."

"That's not appropriate in any way."

"She won't notice you there for one hour. It'll be fine and we'll all sleep happy. Plus, wasn't that what you were going to do before I called you?"

"Is there something going on between you two?" Connor asked with a look of mortification. "Is Chloe in your bed right now?"

"No I wasn't, yes she is, and no there's not."

"Why is she in your bed? You told me Hannah was in there but you never mentioned Chloe. Was she- is she hiding from me?"

Fredrick looked down before giving a nod.

"Was she? What happened?" I ask with building confusion.

"Nothing, Declan. You go get Hannah and take her into the other room and I'll be taking the sofa in the main room. Any questions?"

"Will I ever get to know what happened?" I ask.

"No, now break."

Slipping back into Fredrick's room, I walk over to Hannah's side of the bed and scoop her into my arms. Before I close the door behind us, I see Fredrick move towards Chloe and recover her with his comforter before laying down on the couch and falling asleep. The moment I set Hannah down, she slightly stirred and blinked her eyes open.

"Declan? What's going on?"

"Sshh, go back to sleep," I say, crawling in beside her.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted: 5/25/20

Happy Memorial Day my fellow U.S. citizens. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the direction the book is taking. I'm getting excited to post the next few chapters! 

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