A quick inspection of the freezer section yielded even less. One bag of ice, unopened, rested neatly on the freezer’s insulated floor.
Raegan closed the door and continued on, into the rest of the house. With her gun up and at the ready, she passed by a half-bath on her way to the living room.
Much like the kitchen, both areas appeared to have never been used. In fact, the living room was so perfectly decluttered, the furniture positioned just so, the place looked like something she’d find on a showroom floor. Matching couch and loveseat set. Rustic-chic coffee table, end tables, and lamps. Even the few paintings on the walls appeared to be staged.
What the hell?
Feeling more than a little perplexed by her findings thus far, she turned and began making her way up the set of carpeted stairs. Moving slowly, she took each step with care, using what she’d learned in her training to create almost silent footfalls as she traveled up to the home’s second floor.
Raegan forced her pulse to steady while working her lungs in slow, easy breaths. Her gut said she was alone, but until she’d cleared each and every room, she wasn’t about to take any chances.
She made it to the top of the stairs. The house wasn’t overly large, so it didn’t take long to check the three bedrooms and one full bath that occupied the upstairs space.
A heady blanket of disappointment pulled her shoulders down when Raegan found the second floor decorated with the same minimalist look as the first.
There wasn’t a stitch of clothes in any of the closets or dresser drawers. No shampoo, soap, or toothbrushes in either of the bathrooms. If Raegan didn’t know better, she’d think the place was staged to sell.
Only there was no For Sale sign in the yard, and the men she’d seen coming in a couple of weeks ago had all been carrying various-sized boxes and tubs. And since she’d recognized one of the men almost instantly, Raegan was one hundred percent certain they weren’t moving men or in to interior design.
They’d been haulingsomethinginto this house, and though she hadn’t been able to see what, she instinctively knew it wasn’t good.
You have to have missed something. There has to be something else here.
Giving the upstairs another check, Raegan walked more swiftly down the stairs as she returned to the home’s main floor. She looked around the living room again, as well as the half-bath, and just like upstairs, she found nothing useful in the least.
With a frustrated sigh and a shake of her head, she went back into the kitchen. After checking every cabinet and every drawer, she started to leave the same way she came in. But something stopped her halfway between the room’s arched entryway and the door.
Unsure of what it was, Raegan slowly swung her gun and flashlight to her left. Standing with her back to the refrigerator, she moved the bright beam in a slow, methodical, horizontal line. But all she saw were the immaculate countertops, perfect, custom-made cabinets, and the vintage pantry hutch butted up against the room’s southern wall.
What am I missing?
Somethinghad pulled her attention that way, but even after a second look, she didn’t notice anything she hadn’t seen before. Or, maybe she was just using this obsession as a way of coping with her guilt and grief.
That’s what her former shrink would probably say.
Raegan lowered her weapon and flashlight as her shoulders dropped in defeat. But just as she did, an anomaly in the room’s tiled floor shone bright in the light’s narrow beam.
There!
The hope she thought was lost came rushing back, and her heart gave a hard kick against the inside of her ribs. She inched forward, closer to a large scratch in the floor’s otherwise smooth surface. Only it wasn’t just any scratch.
This one ran in a long, wide arch. Its place of origin appeared to be just behind the vintage hutch. Almost as if someone had swiveled the hutch outward, away from the wall.
Multiple,multipletimes.
Bingo!
Raegan went to the timeless piece of wooden furniture and leaned down to take a closer look. As soon as she did, it became clear that the groove in the floor had been made by the hutch being pulled away from the wall and pushed back again.
And the only reason someone would have done that would be to get to somethingbehindthe hutch. So naturally…
Raegan rose back up to her feet. Holstering her weapon, she held the flashlight in one hand while using both to move the hutch.
It was surprisingly light, making the move relatively easy, and once it was out far enough for her to see, she slid to the side and shined her light to the newly exposed wall behind it. Only it wasn’t a wall.
Holy shit!
She’d found a door. A hidden door…complete with a padlock in place to keep it secured.