Page 29 of Girl, Deceived

Ginny's eyes darted around the living room. Had news of the recent murders turned everyone into a prankster?

‘Whatever. You’re not the first jerk to prank me tonight. I’m calling the police.’

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’

Ginny pulled the phone from her ear, smashed the red button that ended the call. Her heart continued to race as she dialed nine-one-one and connected instantly.

‘What’s your emergency?’ the operator asked.

‘Someone’s calling me and threatening me,’ Ginny said. She shot out of her chair and double-checked the locks on the doors again. All shut, no possibility of breach.

'Okay, ma'am, stay calm. Do you have their name or phone number?'

‘No. He withheld the number.’

‘Where are you located, ma’am? We’ll dispatch an officer immediately.’

Before Ginny could answer, her phone vibrated with a new text message.

Ginny clocked the number. One she didn’t have saved in her phone.

The operator's voice echoed through, ‘Ma'am? Your address?’

But Ginny had fallen silent. Her finger trembled as she opened the message, and she saw nothing but a blank screen.

Only a video attachment.

Eight seconds long.

‘Ma’am, are you still there?’ the operator asked. ‘Can you get to somewhere safe? A locked room?’

Ginny’s tongue was frozen, her lips sewn together by fear. Her thumb hovered over the video as she battled between curiosity and safety, but curiosity easily took the gold. Against better judgment, Ginny tapped the attachment.

Her phone screen dissolved to black. The footage was shaky, the room dimly lit. For a second, it was hard to make out the scene. But as the camera steadied, the realization hit her like a freight train.

Green shapes cast against the walls. The image of young Amelia nestled comfortably between her sheets.

She realized there was someone else in the house.

Ginny dropped the phone, her hands shaking uncontrollably. As it hit the ground, it induced another sound, a mirror effect from up above. The upstairs floorboards began to creak; slow footsteps across the landing, ending at the top of the stairs.

‘Stay on the line, ma’am,’ the operator called, audible from the floor. Then something about officers en route, something about staying safe.

Ginny's mind raced. Thoughts of the children, her own safety, and the strange voice on the phone swirled into a cacophony of panic. Ginny scanned the room in a frenzy, searching for a weapon.

She saw a metal poker next to the fireplace, but her eyes were drawn to something else.

In the gap between the hallway door and the doorframe, Ginny saw a demonic face straight out of a nightmare.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘Alright, Mr. Brewer,’ Ella began, her tone steely. ‘You know why you're here. Two people dead in Maywood, two nights, and we've got some evidence linking you to both. So, let's talk.’

At last, the man had agreed to talk, insistent that his public defender remain present at all times. Ella had been waiting all day and evening for the man’s statement, and by now she was itching for the answer – was Mark Brewer involved in these murders or not?

‘Dead, huh?’ Mark asked. ‘I thought you dragged me here on sexual assault allegations.’

Ripley jumped in, ‘No. This is a lot more serious.’

---