Page 59 of Nora
The distant sound of cars traveling on the nearby highway filtered over the hill. Somewhere in the distance, a cow called out. Nothing obvious struck her as being out of place at either house, and she decided it was time for a closer look. Moving toward the first residence, her eyes skimmed the rambling white farmhouse. It gleamed in the night, but with no lights on at all, the dark windows appeared ominous. As if they were watching her.
She approached slowly, keeping her eyes and ears open. Rather than head toward the French doors and patio, she kept to the side and made her way toward a series of windows. Reaching the house, she pressed her back to the siding and took a deep breath. No motion-sensing lights had popped on, and if they had an alarm, it was a silent one. That thought should have slowed her but didn’t. She didn’t particularly want to get caught skulking about someone’s home, but if the killer was nearby, having the police summoned wouldn’t be the worst thing.
Rolling to her right, she peered through a window. She could make out the outline of a couch, a few small tables, and a couple of chairs. But nothing to indicate an intruder was inside looking to harm an inhabitant.
She started to move toward the patio when movement to her left snagged her attention. She froze in the shadows as a form fled the second house and disappeared into the woods.
Nora’s heart rate leaped, and in the next second, she was on the move. She had a choice. Go after the man who’d disappeared into the woods or go to the house he’d just fled from. To the victim he’d likely just left. The decision was agonizing. But if there was even the smallest chance the victim was still alive, that was where her duty was. Even if it meant letting the killer get away.
Still, she wasn’t reckless. Knowing the killer might be in the woods watching his handiwork, she circled toward the street, then darted in the direction of the second home. If the killer had stuck around, the foliage and gardens of both homes would keep her from view.
She’d reached the edge of the property when headlights rounded a corner and came barreling toward her. For a moment, her eyes fixed on the beams, then she hastily looked away. As she turned, she caught sight of something that had her bolting the remaining fifty feet.
An orange glow was flickering from one of the ground-floor windows.
“Nora!”
She didn’t pause, but she did look over her shoulder at Lucian’s hushed entreaty. “Flames, Lucian,” she said, pointing to the window. In a flash, he was beside her, and seconds later they were at the front door.
“Call the police,” Lucian ordered as he tried the door. Not surprisingly, it was locked. But as she dialed, he managed to kick it in.
“Wait,” she said as the phone rang. “The killer, he went into the woods. I’ll handle this. Go after him.”
She knew the request went against everything he believed. He wouldn’t want to leave her. He wouldn’t want her walking into a crime scene alone. He wouldn’t want the uncertainty that came with splitting up.
He hesitated, then asked, “Are you sure?”
She nodded as the 911 dispatch answered the phone.
“Go!” she mouthed as she moved into the house and started talking to the woman taking her call. She didn’t look around to see if Lucian had done as asked; she had other things on her mind. Like finding the room she was certain was on fire.
She passed through the kitchen on her way toward the fire, then quickly doubled back and looked under the sink. Sure enough, a small fire extinguisher was there. Nora answered the dispatcher’s questions as she grabbed it. Then, hurrying toward the rear of the house, she asked the woman to alert Detective Ben Miller.
When she reached the back of the house, a single door off the large living space was closed. Smoke poured out from under the bottom, and she could see a dim orange glow. Ignoring the dispatcher’s order to stay on the line, Nora ended the call and slipped her phone into her pocket.
Running to the door, she wrapped her hand around the knob. The metal burned through her thin gloves, and she jerked her hand back. It hurt, but it was more a surprise than anything, so she bit her lip and reached for the knob a second time. Turning it quickly, she flung the door open. Aware that she’d probably given herself a decent burn, she ignored the pain and scanned the space as best she could.
Smoke flowed out of the room, and the fire alarm suddenly shrilled. Adrenaline spiked through her system, but she remained focused. Through the smoke, she could barely make out the flames. They were oddly subdued. Like the fire was already burning out. But there was enough fuel in the room that Nora knew that couldn’t be the case.
Pulling her scarf over her nose and mouth, she entered and went straight to the source of the smoke. Even knowing what to expect, Nora recoiled at the sight that greeted her. A form, curled into a fetal position, lay smoldering in the middle of a king-size bed. There was nothing Nora or the fire extinguisher could do for her—a gender Nora assumed from the feminine decor of the room. In the distance, she heard sirens. The fire truck would be the first to arrive, and then the police. Hopefully, Ben Miller would show up soon as well.
The stench slipped through the cashmere of her scarf and crawled into her nostrils. Inching out of the room, Nora desperately sought clean air, though she didn’t move too far away in case the fire decided to spread beyond the victim. She didn’t understand why it hadn’t. In fact, as she stood there, she realized that the fire pattern wasn’t the only unusual thing about this killing. All the other burnings had taken place outside. This was the first to be inside.
Why?
Her eyes skated around the room, the details of which were much clearer now that the smoke had dispersed. The room looked like any other bedroom—a king-size bed with a frame that looked original to the house, two side tables, a dresser, and a closet. A cross hung above the bed. But nothing about the room gave her any idea as to what made this victim different.
Firefighters suddenly filled the room, and she turned at their arrival. Their masks and equipment cast eerie silhouettes in the remaining smoke, and she was glad she’d known they were coming.
“Ma’am,” one called, approaching her.
“I’m fine,” Nora said.
“You need to get out, we’ll escort you,” he said.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “There’s a body in there. Please be careful to preserve the scene as much as you can.”
“Is there anyone else in the house?”
