Conjoined by K.T. George

Author:K.T. George [George, K.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2024-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

21

She Shed

{Allyson}

“Allyson! You could have just killed a man!” Ram shouted, his voice cracking in pitch.

“Who’s going to know? They aren’t here anymore, and they shouldn’t have been in the first place. And let’s not forget, we came in secret too. We don’t know what’s out there, and we have no idea the trouble Andrea may have gotten herself into. Let’s think this through before we make any rash decisions.”

Ram’s jaw muscle ticked as he glanced about the room. “What’s on the counter?”

“Oh. I found this in her car yesterday too, and it could be a major clue.” Allyson grabbed Andrea’s burner cell. “I plugged it in out here after you fell asleep and waited for it to have enough juice to check its logs. There was only one call in the ‘recents’ list from an unknown number, and this voicemail. Listen.”

Allyson hit play, and a robotic voice spoke. “Hello, Andrea. It’s time.”

“Time for what?” Ram asked, his eyes wide.

Her face contorted into a frown, “I’m not sure. But that voice . . .”

“It’s from The Caretaker,” Ram finished.

“It’s disturbing,” Allyson shivered. “There’s no caller ID. No way to trace it back to anyone. Only a time/date stamp. It was the day before she was a no-show for her meeting with Vanessa Rapaporte and the other execs. Who would have access to The Caretaker voice?” Allyson asked.

“Anyone. It’s a function on their damn app!”

“Christ!” Allyson rubbed her eyes before scrubbing a hand over her face. “These fucking fans! They’re nuts! Why would anyone need that capability?”

“Because people want to be like the Caretaker! Throughout the series, whenever Roger’s character held a victim longer than a few hours, he would use this mechanical voice to speak to them. It was a device used to disorient and psychologically torture his subjects—foreplay before the physical abuse began. The sound was chilling to his on-screen victims and equally disturbing to the viewers.”

“It makes no sense. Why would anyone want to sound like the person who scares them?”

“Escapism! We’ve talked about this. It’s fun dressing up in costume and playing the psychopath sometimes.”

“No thanks. Not me. There’s nothing fun about terrifying people.”

“You’re a real bummer on Halloween, aren’t you?” Ram laughed.

Allyson flipped him the bird. “I like any holiday that involves free candy, but you don’t have to be a cold-blooded killer to participate.”

“Agree to disagree. Back to the voicemail . . . On the positive side, this is a clue. I mean, it could be anyone who left it. But to me, it means there’s a Caretaker connection to your sister other than her being the creative director. Maybe our nighttime visitors are linked too somehow?”

“Only one way to find out. Give me the gun back.” Allyson held out her hand and wriggled her fingers. “I’m gonna go search the shed.”

“Umm. How about I get dressed properly, and we both go check it out,” Ram suggested.

Brrriiinnnggg! Brrriiinnnggg!

“Saved by the ringing phone. Give me the gun. Meet me out there when you’ve finished. I’ll give you a shout if I need you.

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