Death of Innocence by Michael Houtchen

Author:Michael Houtchen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Seventh Star Press
Published: 2020-11-23T20:41:20+00:00

Chapter 33

Ray watched George drive off, after dropping him at his house. Like Motel 6, Margaret had left the light on. He stood on the front porch deciding if he was going in or not. It was almost midnight, but he wasn’t sleepy. Tired, but not sleepy. Margaret would be crashed. Roy would be curled up on the foot of their bed sound asleep. There was too much running through Ray’s mind, and he knew it would be hours before sleep found him, if then. His head was pounding. Besides, Dave wasn’t through with Don’t cry for me Argentina.

The drive to the MacGregor house was quiet and lonely at this hour. There were no headlights in the rearview mirror, nor were there any approaching. Ray felt like the last man on earth. He had no idea why he was out here, but here he was. His headlights shone on the old house’s vine covered façade, causing Ray to smile. It wasn’t as alien looking as it was with the rescue vehicle’s multicolored lights dancing all over it. It just looked spooky. Crickets that had been chirping earlier in the evening had gone to bed for the night, and it was deathly quiet and still, like the moments before a storm. Ray wondered if there was a storm brewing. Grabbing his flashlight, Ray turned off the headlights. Now, it was beyond spooky. He thought about starting the engine up, putting the car in gear and heading back home.

The flashlight’s beam jumped around the living room. From its intensity, everything within the beam appeared almost black and white. The darkness outside the beam was darker than India ink. God, this is creepy. Nothing had changed since he was last here. Well, the flood lamps were gone, as well as Nicole and George. The forensic techs were also gone, other than that, nothing had changed. Ray could hear the pitter-patter of raindrops beginning to fall on the tin roof. When he was little, Ray’s home had a tin roof, and Ray loved falling to sleep to the pitter-patter.

The flashlight zeroed in on the chalk lines where Randy’s body was found. Yes, they still use chalk lines. Looking closer, there seemed to be very little blood. Of course, it was blunt force trauma, and with BFT, it doesn’t always have to be messy. Ray rubbed his head, trying to rub away the throbbing.

“Knock it off, Dave. Give it a rest, please.”

Dave wasn’t listening.

Why am I here? The techs have combed through everything, and they’re better at that than I’ll ever be. A moan floated through the room, causing Ray to jump. What the ... There it was again. Now what? The melancholy sound reminded him of his own spirits. It came from the next room. Innocence’s room.

Tiptoeing through the doorway, Ray paused to listen. If something grabbed him right now, he knew he would shit his pants. His flashlight dodged here and there searching for the source of the sound. When it came again, it was from the fireplace on the far exterior wall.

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