Page 11 of Their Haunted Hearts
Horrified, Mary gripped Deb’s arm. “Can you smell that? That looks real. You don’t think?—”
“We need to look closer.” Deb took hesitant steps toward the body and reached out a trembling hand. “Oh… no it’s real.” The room went black and she let out an ear-piercing scream.
Frozen to the spot with fear, Mary screamed. The next second, wood splintered and the door across the room burst open. Bright light spilled inside, blinding her. Someone large and menacing filled the doorway. She gaped, needing to be anywhere but here.
“Sheriff’s department.” A dog barked and a deputy stepped inside. “What’s happening here?”
Mary dashed across the room to him. She’d never been so happy to see anyone in her life. “Help us.” Heart pounding, Mary stared into the concerned face of Deputy Raven and sighed with relief. “Oh, am I glad to see you.”
“Come outside.” The deputy ushered them both to a bench. “You’re safe now. Sit down, take a few deep breaths, and tell me what happened.”
Eleven
Raven stared at the trembling women. After hearing screams, he hadn’t wasted any time breaking down the door. He looked over his shoulder at the broken lock and shattered doorframe. “Did the displays frighten you? Why were you inside? It hasn’t opened yet.”
“Forget about the displays. There is a dead body in there.” One of the women pointed a shaking finger to the door. “It smells of death. We went inside to add some extra decorations and everything went to hell. The automatons turned themselves on and we were trapped inside. I guess it’s been made that way to frighten people but we couldn’t get out. We were stuck in there and then suddenly all these candles lit up around this body. At first, we thought it was part of the display but then we could smell it and took a closer look. The next thing, all the lights went out, we screamed, and you came through the door.”
Raven took their names and details. He called the office and gave the information to Rio. “I’m going to take a look inside.”
“We have a killer on the loose in town.” Rio’s boots tapped on the tile inside the sheriff’s office. “I’ll be there in five. Don’t enter the building without backup.”
Raven blew out a sigh. He was used to doing things alone and now as a deputy he needed to follow rules. “Copy that.” He turned to the women. “So, what do you do in the scheme of things?”
“The company that built this haunted house employed us to add a few fine touches to the displays.” Mary’s pale face and wide eyes concerned him. “We are expected to be here anytime the house is open for tourists or festivals, to ensure it always looks its best. Things like adding cobwebs or spiders. We hadn’t expected the electronics to suddenly activate and scare us half to death or to find a dead body.”
“It’s another vampire.” Deb nodded slowly. “Same as the other one. Someone believes they are stopping them from invading Black Rock Falls.”
Raven stopped writing notes and stared at them with his pen hovering above his notebook. He had been hearing similar conversations from the local townsfolk during his patrol. Many of them stopping him to ask him about the recent vampire discovered in the coffin outside Aunt Betty’s Café. “I figure you’re allowing your imagination to run away with you.” He glanced from one to the other. “Common sense would tell you that vampires are fictional characters. They don’t exist. Whoever is doing this is a stone-cold killer and not a heroic vampire slayer.”
“The thing is that many myths are being proven to be true of late.” Deb pushed a trembling hand through her hair. “What I saw inside that place fits the description. Maybe it’s time for everyone to take a closer look. If there are vampires in our town, we all need to take precautions.”
Trying very hard to smother a smile, Raven recalled the few townsfolk he’d seen wearing strings of garlic around their necks. He figured they were already taking precautions. “Well, I guess you do what you feel is best, but I can assure you the dead can’t hurt anyone, unless they’re infected with disease.”
The whoop whoop of a siren signaled the arrival of Rio. His vehicle pulled up nose-in to the haunted house. Raven turned to the women. “I want you to stay here. We’ll need to take statements as you are first on scene at a possible homicide. My dog will guard you.” He gave Ben a signal and the dog dropped down in front of the women.
“Okay, let’s take a look inside.” Rio tossed him a flashlight. “They’ve probably seen a very real-looking dummy. Some of them could fool anyone, especially when you’ve been spooked.” He glanced at the door. “We’ll need to call someone to fix the damage and contact the owner.” He swung a look at the two women. “Don’t let anyone inside. I’ll tell you when it’s safe.” He nodded to Raven. “After you.”
Raven found it interesting how different members of the sheriff’s department worked a scene. Kane was the military professional, putting his life on the line and always out in front. Jenna delegated everyone a job and they all moved together as a team. Rio spat out orders but never took the lead. He figured this attitude came from a man who’d never been injured in the line of duty. Being shot wasn’t nice, but once it happened, a person knew what to expect and acted accordingly. First up, he didn’t imagine that the killer was still on the scene—if indeed this was a homicide—but he could easily be someplace watching what was happening. Raven stepped inside the door, drawing his weapon. He swept the room with his flashlight and immediately moved across to a long white table with the body the women described. “Sheriff’s department. Come out with your hands on your head.”
No sound came from inside the house and only traffic noises came from behind them. He turned as Rio stepped in the door. “There’s no one in this room. I’ll check for life signs if you want to clear the house.”
“Not alone I don’t.” Rio moved his flashlight around the room. “From what I know about the plans for this place, it has changing hallways and shifting floors. If the automation has been turned on, we could trigger it just walking through. As it’s not finished yet it could be dangerous. I’ll wait for you to examine the supposed body.”
Raven walked across the room, his boots sticking to the floor. He played the light across the sticky puddle under his feet. It resembled blood. He turned to look over his shoulder at Rio. “I’ve contaminated the crime scene. Stick to the outside walls. There’s a patch of what could be blood over here.”
He went toward the body. He didn’t need to check for vital signs. The wooden stake pierced the chest and would have destroyed the heart. He pulled out his phone and called Jenna. He gave her a quick update of the situation.
“We’ve just arrived at the Triple Z Roadhouse to hunt down a lead on the first victim.” Jenna’s boots crunched on gravel and the wind buffeted the phone. “We’ll get there ASAP. I’ll call Wolfe. Wait for him and send Rio back to the office with the witnesses. He can take down their statements and let them go. I’ll follow up later if necessary.” She paused. “Tell Rio to charge the drunk in the cells with damage to properties and vehicles. He isn’t our killer. He was locked up all night.”
Raven nodded. “Copy that.” He had his phone on speaker and swung his gaze to Rio. “Did you get that?”
“Yeah.” Rio scratched his cheek. “The person responsible sure knows how to make his victims look like vampires. The one thing missing is the fangs.”
Picking his way carefully to the door on the opposite side of the room, Raven glanced at him. “This guy is infatuated by vampires. Part of him believes that he’s killing them before they turn, so the teeth wouldn’t be an issue.”
The door the women said was locked opened smoothly and they stepped onto a ramp that led to a narrow hallway. They moved slowly throughout the house, checking each display and every closet they could open. A few automatons startled Raven but none of them became active. Everything seemed in order. “We’ve walked all over this house and nothing has sprung into life. The women were terrified when I found them and said everything suddenly came to life. We’ll need to tell the owner to check out the control panel. It’s not safe if it’s going to switch on without notice. Someone could get hurt.”
“I figure the controls will be in the kitchen.” Rio followed close behind him. “From what I’ve read, entry will be from the alleyway. The ticket booth will be created beside the back door and the patrons start in the passageway beside the kitchen. The staff will be supervising by CCTV cameras in the kitchen. I haven’t seen any cameras, so I guess that hasn’t been set up yet.”
