Red Alarm [A Detective/Thriller Story] DISCONTINUED

Chapter 10

Atarah stared out of the window. The red curtains covered what was inside. It was painted with baby blue but some of its outside walls were worn out that you could already see the first coating of red.

An African-American woman glanced at the two officers who were waiting at the front porch. She was way above them, holding a brush on her hand. She sat on a wooden plank as she began renovating the house earlier that morning. She removed the black fabric shed masked on her nose to avoid the strong scent of the dirty white paint from coming to her nose.

"The owner is not here!" she cried from above to call their attention.

"Can we speak with you then maam?!" he shouted for her to hear.

"I'll be right there!" the woman placed the bucket of paint inside an open window and removed the hanged plank from where it was secured. She chimneyed downstairs from the third floor and opened the door for the neighborly officers.

"I'm Lily Rupert, the caretaker of this house," she dusted the specs of paint off her curly hair. "Mr. Corbett always had those trips around the globe."

She showed her the picture of James and asked if shed known the man. The woman shook her head. "Nope. Never heard him."

"He was asked to paint this house last year," she tried helping her remember anything.

The woman beamed her eyes. "Ah, yes! That must have been the time when I attended my daughters moving up ceremony. My friend, Bert told me he knew a guy in need for the job so he was tasked to be my replacement painter that day."

The woman continued speaking. "After the program, I realized I'd left my watch in the house so I hurried back to get it. The lights were out that night so I guessed Mr. Corbett went out again, but luckily Mr. Charles passed by. He said he'd just bought a snack from his pay and luckily got the keys around him. I borrowed them and he took off."

"Would you like to add anything else?" Detective Carter asked as he took down important details on his phone.

She thought for a moment then declined."That's all I can remember. Can I go back to work now?"

The lieutenant gave her a nod. "Thank you for your cooperation Mrs. Rupert."

The officers headed back to Cole's gray sedan. They leaned against the vehicle and thought about what they have so far.

If James walked North and passed by this house, then he must have came from the ice cream shop for a snack. Was it only a coincidence that both men walked in the same direction? The man had a short conversation with Lily and continued to walk the same direction as Adam, except now he was the one behind him and not the chief.

"If that's the case," Cole continued walking along the row of houses.

"Charles was not a suspect," Atarah finished his sentence.

It wasn't long until they reached a space between two houses. It was another alley. However, there weren't any post lights in there. It was pitch black engulfing every empty spaces.

They entered the dark lane with only the light on their phones as their guide. He searched through the sea of garbage until he reached a dumpster. There was a reddish brown stain outside the container mixed in with dirt. He signaled Atarah to come over. Both of them crouched on the ground, giving the spotlight to the peculiar substance.

"Do you think this is dried blood?" he scooped in some of it inside a zip lock bag.

Her fingers touched the dirt but was stumped by what she saw. A brief moment of a person's body being dragged on the ground, but he wasn't alone. Another man, that was the deputy chief, was lying on the cement with his eyes opened. She tumbled on her posture but luckily Cole caught her by the shoulders. He didn't want to force her in using this paranormal talent of hers, but it was the only card they have on their hands.

"Are you alright, lieutenant?" he asked with a concerned face.

"I'm fine," Atarah, looking dazed, tried to get back on her feet again. She turned straight and ahead. The dull path led to a steel gate that was teeming with lanky weeds at the other side. "I think the killer led him here."

The hinges screeched as they opened the gate. The two officers searched through the grasses and found a cemetery lying ahead.

"Great," she uttered sarcastically. The place was home for the undead and she could already see them sitting one by one on their graves. "I'll remind myself to bring sunglasses next time."

"Lieutenant, look," he cleared through a pile of dried leaves. The ground seemed like someone had dug inside. He found a shovel inside a tiny wooden shed and started digging the dirt.

His hands stopped when he felt that the metal tip touched something. The detective cleaned the remaining soil on top to reveal a decomposing body of a man. He snapped a photo and called the main station.

"This is Detective Carter, we found a body inside a cemetery that we believe is involved with a murder case," he said. Ill send in the address.

His eyes watched the girl who was standing still with closed eyes. She sensed that the detective was gazing at her, confused on what she was doing.

"It's just that there are so many of them," she let out a nervous laugh. "Would you like me to confirm the deceased's identity?"

He reached out for her hand and held it gently.

"The coroner will confirm that for us."

"I could do it," she replied with her eyes still closed.

The detective chuckled while carefully assisting her away from the burial grounds.

"It's fine team captain. We've done enough work for today."