Page 34 of Girl, Haunted

Ella steered their sedan down the narrow street. They rolled to a stop in front of the unit in question. It was as unremarkable as its neighbors – a gray box with a door and two windows. No Halloween decorations, no macabre lawn ornaments. Nothing to suggest that a man who made his living scaring people lived here.

‘Well, this is anticlimactic,’ Luca said as they climbed out of the car.

‘Stay frosty, Hawkins. Just because it looks bland doesn’t mean it is.’

‘That’s what I said about Catcher in the Rye.’

At the door, Ella knocked. Her hand flew to her Glock out of instinct.In her experience, it was the unremarkable places that often housed the most remarkable horrors.

The seconds ticked by. No response. No signs of life from inside.

‘Maybe he’s out trick or treating,’ Luca said. ‘Kick it down?’

‘No. We can’t damage the place, not without probable cause.’

‘Sneak inside?’

‘Jesus, Hawkins. You read the manual recently?’

‘No. You?’

‘We can’t wreck the place. If we can get in without causing a scene, then maybe…’

Ella was racking her brain for an alternative when a voice called out from behind them. 'Excuse me, folks. Can I help you?'

They turned to see a man in a navy blue uniform approaching. He had ‘MAINTENANCE’ emblazoned across his chest and a tool belt that looked like it weighed more than he did. His nametag read ‘Carl.’

Ella flashed her badge. ‘FBI. We need to speak with Roland Pierce. This is his unit, correct?’

Carl's eyebrows shot up, disappearing under the brim of his baseball cap. ‘FBI? Well, I'll be. Yeah, this is Roland's place alright. But I'm afraid you just missed him.’

Ella's heart sank. ‘Missed him? When did he leave?’

‘About an hour ago,’ Carl said, scratching his stubbled chin. ‘Saw him heading out with a duffel bag. Looked like he was in a hurry.’

Luca stepped forward. ‘Any idea where he was headed?’

‘Nah, sorry. Roland keeps to himself. Weird guy, you know? Always muttering.’

Ella's mind raced. Pierce was in the wind, but there had to be something in his apartment that could point them in the right direction. Her eyes fell on the ring of keys hanging from Carl's belt.

‘We need to get inside,’ she said. ‘Can you let us in?’

Carl took a step back, his hands raised as if to ward her off. 'Now, hold on a minute. I can't just go letting people into tenants' homes. That's against every privacy rule in the book.'

Ella leaned in. Given that news of the murders were all over this town by now, she opted for truth. ‘Sir, Roland Pierce is a person of interest in a series of homicides. We need to speak with him urgently.’

The color drained from Carl's face faster than water down a storm drain. 'Homicides? You mean the murders I heard about on the news?' He took a step back and eyed the apartment door like it might burst open and swallow him whole. 'You don't think... Roland couldn't have done that, could he?'

‘That’s what we need to find out,’ Luca said. ‘And for all we know, there could be another murder in the works now.’

Ella could see the fear warring with Carl's ingrained sense of duty. She decided to push a little harder. ‘Look, we get it. You're just trying to do your job. But it's perfectly legal for us to enter a person of interest's residence. It’s all above board.’

Carl chewed his lip. He flicked from Ella to Luca, then back to the nondescript door of Roland's unit. ‘You sure about that?’

‘Positive. We’ll file all the necessary paperwork once we’re done.’

Finally, with a sigh, Carl nodded. ‘Alright, but I’ll open the door, nothing more.’

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