The Groomer by Jon Athan

Author:Jon Athan [Athan, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-18T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

The Aftermath

At half-past eleven, Andrew arrived home. He sighed in relief. He didn’t see any cars parked in the driveway or in front of his house. The in-laws are gone, he thought. He parked in the garage. He opened the driver’s door, then he stopped. The dome light in the van illuminated the blood on his shirt. There were crusty, crimson specks on his slacks, too.

“Oh shit, oh no,” he muttered. He looked at the garage door through the windshield. He whispered, “Don’t come out. Please don’t come out.”

He undressed himself in the driver’s seat, his knees hitting the steering wheel and his elbow hitting the door. He took off his shoes after spotting some drops of blood on them. He wrapped his shirt and pants around the shoes. He sat there in a tank top, boxer briefs, and socks, trying to think of an excuse for his missing clothes if someone saw him.

‘I spilled some coffee, so I went to the dry cleaners. I was robbed. I’m too hot for clothes because I’m on drugs. I’m having an affair and my mistress took my clothes.’

He climbed out of the van with his clothes and his bag of tools. He hid the bag in a storage container next to the washing machine in the corner of the room. He considered washing his clothes, but he didn’t want to make any noise and he was afraid it didn’t matter. Technology is getting better, he thought, even if I get the stains out, they’ll still find his DNA.

He stuffed the clothes in a plastic bag. He entered the house through the garage door. He stood in the hallway, waiting for Holly to march towards him and berate him for his absence. But he didn’t hear anyone in the house. All of the lights were off, too. He crept down the hall and made his way into the living room. There was no one there.

He looked up at the ceiling and listened for any creaks or howls from the floorboards. Silence—dead silence smothered the home.

He tiptoed up the stairs, the bag rustling in his arms. He peeked into each room until he reached the end of the hall. The bathroom, Grace’s bedroom, Max’s bedroom, and his home office were empty. He went into the master bedroom. He approached the closet. No, too obvious, she always goes in there, he thought. He opened a drawer on the dresser. No, no, what if she opens one of mine and finds it?—he thought.

He glanced around the room and searched for the perfect hiding place. His eyes stopped on the bed. Since Grace’s disappearance, Holly slept for about four hours a night—six with medication. She spent most of her days searching for Grace, calling investigators, and contacting the media about her reward. Andrew couldn’t remember the last time Holly checked under the bed for anything. It was the perfect hiding place.

He hid the bag of clothes under his side of the bed. He planned on moving it as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

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