They?
“Sean,” she screamed. “Sean!”
“In here!”
She sprinted up the steps, kicked open what was left of the shattered front door, and barreled into the living room, her gun making precise grid arcs.
Sean was kneeling on the floor, hovering over the woman. She was lying on her back. Arms and legs spread-eagled like she was frozen in a jumping jack. Her eyes were open but hard and flat because she was dead. The red hair touched her shoulders. It was easy to see what had killed the woman. Her throat had been shredded.
“Who is she?”
“Pam Dutton. The woman we were going to be meeting with.”
Michelle noticed the writing on the woman’s bare arms. “What’s that?”
“I’m not sure. It’s just a bunch of letters.” He leaned closer. “Looks like they used a black Sharpie.”
“Is anybody else in the house?”
“Let’s find out.”
“Can’t screw up the crime scene for the cops.”
He countered, “And we can’t let someone die who we could otherwise save.”
It only took a few minutes. There were four bedrooms on the top floor, two on each side of the hall set catty-cornered from one another. There was a young girl in the first bedroom they reached. She was unconscious but with no apparent injuries. Her breathing was steady and her pulse weak but steady.
“Colleen Dutton,” said Sean.
“Drugged?” Michelle said as she gazed down at the little girl.
Sean lifted the girl’s eyelid and noted the dilated pupil. “Looks to be.”
In the second bedroom lay a young boy in the same condition as the girl.
“John Dutton,” said Sean as he checked the child’s pulse and pupil. “Drugged too.”
The third bedroom was empty. The last bedroom was the largest. It wasn’t empty.
The man was on the floor. He had on pants, a T-shirt, and was barefoot. One side of his face was swollen and badly bruised.
“It’s Tuck Dutton, Pam’s husband.” Sean checked his pulse. “Knocked out but his breathing’s okay. Looks like he took quite a blow.”
“We really need to call the cops.” Michelle grabbed the phone off the nightstand. “Dead. They must’ve messed with the outside box.”
“Use your cell phone.”
“I lost it when they tried to run me down.”
“When who tried to run you down?”
“A driver and a guy with a submachine gun. Didn’t you see anybody when you came in?”
He shook his head. “I heard gunfire, then I came in the back door. Then another loud sound.”
“That was them crashing through the garage door. Looks like I had all the fun tonight.”
“Pam dead. Tuck knocked out. John and Colleen drugged.”