Page 15 of Charmed Forces

Solomon’s cellphone rang from a distance. “I left it in the kitchen,” he said, patting his pockets. “I’ll go get it.” He got up and strode to the kitchen, taking the compress with him.

“Maybe get Daniel another glass of water too,” I called after him. Then I looked from Daniel to the door and back to Solomon again. I would probably get into trouble for this but I couldn’t wait for Daniel to regain full consciousness. I had an idea of the route Daniel might’ve taken to get to our house, and if we took the time to talk through my half-baked idea, well, it might be too late.

Running water sounded from the kitchen. With Solomon briefly occupied and Daniel... well, breathing was the best he could do right now, I grabbed my keys from the console and slipped them into my pocket, along with Daniel’s key fob. Then I put on my sneakers and eased out the front door.

Deli... church... sun.

I ran to the end of the road, rounding the corner as I headed for the deli. It was still open; a few people were inside perusing the shelves of goods but instead of pausing, I headed towards the church two blocks away and checked my watch. Five minutes at a rapid walk pace. No one seemed to have noticed the blood speckles drying on my top but I didn’t want to linger. Looking around, I searched for anything that could be related to a “sun” or something “sunny” but found nothing. No billboards, no bus shelters with advertisements, no shops with sun in the title. The street was long and had several roads leading off it. Although I’d jogged around here occasionally, I never bothered to take notice of any of the street names. I pulled up my phone maps and called up my location. Using my finger to move the map around, eventually, I landed on Sun Street, only two blocks to the east. As soon as I spotted it, I took off, ignoring my cellphone as it began to vibrate with an incoming call.

I turned left onto Sun Street, finding myself in the 900 block. I jogged ahead, counting out the numbers until I reached 1150. The house was detached with a broad strip of trees on each side of it. The blinds were all drawn and the garage doors were shut. It was exactly the sort of house I’d choose for... well, what did Daniel choose it for? A safe house to keep someone safe? Or was he watching another property on this street?

I checked the mailbox and found it empty but for a couple of marketing flyers. I could have walked up to the front door with the key but I didn’t know what I was walking into. With no time to waste, I jogged toward the garage, finding a narrow gap between it and the fence that I could shimmy through to wend my way around to the back.

Stepping out from the makeshift alley cautiously, I edged past the garage to observe. The blinds were also drawn at the rear windows, which I found extremely strange. The house wasn’t observable by other houses, so privacy couldn’t have been a concern, but it did make it an attractive property for a safe house.

A patio devoid of furniture spanned the house, weeds growing through the cement cracks. I kept close to the house, ducking past the windows until I came to the back door. It stood ajar. I pushed it and listened. Not a sound.

Something was definitely off.

My phone vibrated again and I hitignore. At least that way, Solomon could infer I was ignoring his call on purpose, not that Icouldn’tanswer.

I tiptoed inside to a kitchen. It was clearly a relic from the 80s with dark oak cabinetry and a granite countertop in a horseshoe shape. Another cabinet hung above what would have been a nice breakfast bar. I jogged around the horseshoe, checking that no one was concealed behind it. Although, now I thought about it, what would I have done if they were? I wasn’t armed. In my haste, I didn’t retrieve my gun from the safe. Rookie mistake.

Assured the kitchen was empty, I moved into the hallway and stopped when I spotted a foot poking out from a doorway, the gray suit pants pushed up to reveal a striped sock. With a great deal of caution, and a clear run back to the kitchen door, I edged forwards. Pausing just before the door, I stooped and sneaked a look around the door. The man attached to the foot was lying face down on the carpet, and the side of his face was turned towards me; his eyes were blank and still. A gun lay a few inches from his right hand. I duckwalked past him, careful not to step in the blood that pooled from his chest, but I couldn’t hold in my gasp as I surveyed the scene.

The man and woman sitting on the couch were dead, and blood was still seeping from their foreheads. They looked in their early forties. He was dark-haired, wearing jeans, an open-necked shirt, and a padded vest that was unzipped. She was similarly dressed in jeans and a light pink sweater. He wore boots, and she was just in her socks. They both wore slim gold wedding bands and she also had a watch with diamonds in the bezel and a pair of square-cut diamond earrings, understated and chic.

Another man was crumpled against the fireplace, his chin slumped onto his chest. He wore a darker gray suit, an open-necked shirt, and no tie. He held a gun in his right hand and I could see a badge fixed on his belt. From the trail of blood, it looked like he’d been sitting in the armchair when he got shot. Had he leapt to his feet to defend himself? I scanned the wall but couldn’t see any bullet holes. Perhaps he didn’t have the chance to fire a single bullet.

Lying on the floor was a discarded badge but I couldn’t tell if it belonged to the man, the woman, or someone else.

The room was sparsely furnished. Just the couch and two armchairs, all in a brown checked fabric that looked as dated as the kitchen. A small TV and a stack of DVDs were on a side table. A takeout coffee cup sat on the mantel, another on the small table under the window facing the street. The ceiling light was no more than a bare bulb, no lampshade. Two takeout boxes emblazoned with Monty’s logo were opened on the coffee table, the ham and pineapple pizza only half eaten, the other all gone. A paperback lay on the floor by the couch.

When a cellphone trilled, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Holding a hand to my racing heart, I maneuvered on my heels, trying to work out whose phone could be ringing; then I spotted it on the armchair under the window. I half-crawled over, keeping low, and checked the screen that was already facing up.Mom.

Not just any mom.

Mymom.

Daniel had been here and left the site with four dead people behind.

With my hand clasped to my mouth, I ignored the phone and turned back to the people, fully uncertain what to do next. I couldn’t just leave them here but I couldn’tnot. The two men on the floor had to be members of law enforcement. The one closest to me looked slightly familiar but I couldn’t identify him. If they were guarding the couple, they must have been following protocols. Check in at regular times. Rotate the shifts. Someone would, no doubt, come looking for them when they didn’t respond but that could be hours away.

Stopping in my tracks, I listened intently but heard nothing. No sirens blared nearby, no wails of an emergency vehicle in the distance. No one heard this shooting and no one was coming.

My mind whirred with all the possibilities.

Daniel was safe at my house but why didn’t he stay here and call in the shootings? Or call for backup?

Of course, if he were drugged like Solomon suspected, Daniel might not have been able to think clearly enough to do that, but we had no proof of that until we got him to a hospital.

Unable to fight back, and possibly disoriented, he must’ve ran. No, not ran. My brother was no coward. He must’ve escaped.

Yet something still felt wrong.

I looked around the room again, aware of every second that passed. Four dead people; two police officers... leaving the other two as what? A couple under their protection? A couple who needed their protection so badly they had to be confined to a safe house, and someone must have found them? How? Safe houses were secrets no one mentioned or discussed. Once one was used, it had to be sanitized and scrubbed of anyone’s presence before it was released. As few people as possible could know about it. Just like as few people as possible could know about the case.

Yet theyhadbeen found.