The Payne's Thread: a suspenseful FBI crime thriller Novella (Alex Payne Series Book 10) by Audrey Walker

Author:Audrey Walker [Walker, Audrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Cursed

Alex didn’t know what he was doing here. There was nothing he could achieve from all of this, after all. And yet, he was here, standing on the porch and waiting.

“Yes?” The door opened, and Clara stood there. She looked tired and like she hadn’t slept in a while.

“Is Sue home?” Alex asked. He hoped she would say no. He hoped she would turn him away, and he could console himself that he had tried.

“Right this way,” Clara said, gesturing inside. Alex followed her and was instantly startled by the change. When he had first stepped into this house, it had been beautifully lit; it was immaculate and well-maintained. And now, just within a day or so, the house had started to become dirty. The floor was covered with the mud dragged in from shoes, and the house was covered in darkness. Clara led him into the dining room and then said, “Miss Sue, the agent is here to see you.”

No reply came, but Clara seemed used to it. She closed the door behind Alex, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was trapped. The room was completely dark, except for a small lamp that was lit in the corner. Sue was sprawled on the couch. She was so still that Alex wondered if she was dead. The floor was littered with bottles, and then a stench of vomit was in the air.

“Come to gloat?” Sue croaked, sitting up. She was a mess. Her clothes were stained, her hair was wild and untamed, and she stunk. She walked toward him, swaying as she did, a bottle in her hand. Sue came close to him, and Alex had to resist the urge to scrunch up his nose from her putrid odor. She took a swig from her bottle and then threw it on the floor. The bottle shattered, and Sue wiped her mouth from the back of her hand.

“I came to check up on you,” Alex said.

“Check up on me?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “How sweet.”

“Why are you doing this?” Alex pleaded, steadying her as she almost tripped over her own feet.

“Why?” she whispered. “Why am I doing this? I lost everything! Do you hear me? I lost everything! My brothers are dead, and my mother killed herself because I wasn’t enough reason for her to live! The family business is in shambles, and I am all alone in this house. The entire world knows what my wretched brothers did. And that tag is now attached to me. Do you know how people look at me when I walk out of here? Do you know how they treat me? They all know that I come from a family of criminals, and they hate me! Every single one of them!”

She picked up another bottle from the cabinet and took a long dreg.

“Can you imagine how I feel? My mother didn’t think I was worthy of her! She had spent all her life looking after my brothers; I had always come second.

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