Page 61 of Stolen Omega

The street is just as quiet and empty as it was when we got out here. It feels like a ghost town, creepy as fuck all still and dark. One of the streetlights are broken, and there’s a house across from Castle’s that gives me a weird feeling. Maybe it’s because there aren’t any drapes on the windows, or maybe it’s the ancient looking For Sale sign that’s creaking in the wind.

It’s giving off serious murder house vibes.

When a hand touches my shoulder, I almost jump out of my skin.

Archer frowns at me as he moves back into the house.

I follow him quickly, knowing he must have found something.

“What is it?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

“Everything personal is gone. His closet is open upstairs, his clothes are gone. There are no photos anywhere. Half his bathroom cabinet has been spilled into the sink. He took off in a hurry.”

“Well, that explains why he’s not here.”

“He could have done this earlier, before his shift, I guess, but he had to have come back for his car.”

“He didn’t drive it to work?” I ask.

“He gets the tour bus in from the hotel.”

Right. He stays at the hotel like everyone else who’s working on the tour.

I guess I can understand why he’d want to do that even though he stays kind of close to Silver City. This neighborhood is giving me the creeps and I’ve only been here a few minutes.

Archer takes his phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling it in to Zelena’s parents. The cops need to be looking for Castle’s car, as well as the van.”

His phone vibrates in his hand, and he opens a text message.

“It’s Seth,” he tells me, before he reads it. “Castle received a half million dollars into his bank account a few days ago. There’s some kind of encryption Seth couldn’t break, so it’s not clear who gave Castle the money.”

“So, he knew. He was part of it.”

“I can’t believe he did this,” Archer says, looking like he could throw up.

“Well, you’d better start,” I tell him. “Because he’s going to regret it when we find him.”

Archer closes his eyes and shakes his head. He doesn’t trust people easily, but he trusted the old man. I should take it a little easier on him. We’re both worried about Zelena.

“What’s next?” I ask, urging him to push past this so we can move everything along.

He opens his eyes. “I guess we’ll check what’s out here, and we’ll search Silver Grove. The cops and our men are already searching the city.”

“Do you want me to drive?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve been out here before. We’ll get around faster if I drive. Just give me a second to call Zelena’s mom.”

I walk across the street to the car, taking a closer look at the house with the drape-free windows.

It looks empty inside, which only adds to the creepy feeling I get from it.

There are white shutters pinned back on either side of each window.

I can’t tell if it would look creepier with them closed, and I definitely don’t want to touch them to find out. The yard is overgrown, and the sign that’s creaking in the wind is rusted.

Archer catches me up and his frown deepens when he looks at the house.

“What are you looking at?”

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