Chapter 12 - The Investigation Begins
Elena nodded frantically, stepping aside to let the officers enter. "Yes. Across the street. The floorboards in the hallway—there's a concrete pit with human remains. And... and my house is connected to it somehow. Please, you have to believe me."
The officers exchanged a skeptical glance, but followed Elena out the front door and across the street to the abandoned Victorian house at eighty-four Elm Street. They stepped inside the charred hallway, their heavy flashlights cutting through the gloom.
"Right here," Elena said, pointing to the warped floorboards.
The older officer, whose name tag read Detective Miller, knelt down and shone his flashlight onto the wood. He pulled a heavy pry bar from his utility belt and wedged it into the seam of the boards. With a sharp grunt, he leveraged the wood upward. The boards snapped open with a loud crack, revealing the shallow concrete pit beneath.
Miller froze. He lowered his flashlight closer to the pit, his expression hardening instantly.
"Dispatch, we have a possible 187," Miller spoke into his shoulder radio, his voice dropping into a professional, serious tone. "Requesting CSI and the coroner to eighty-four Elm Street immediately. We have skeletal remains."
The younger officer turned to Elena, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Mrs. Vance, how did you know this was here?"
"My... my daughter found it," Elena said, realizing how insane it sounded. "The house... things have been happening. Doors opening, cold air, visions..."
Miller stood up, dusting off his knees. He looked at Elena with a mixture of sympathy and suspicion. "Mrs. Vance, this house has been sealed by the city for thirty years. Nobody has legally entered this property since James Sterling vanished in 1994 after his wife disappeared. How did you get those floorboards open?"
"I didn't! The house opened them!" Elena protested, her voice rising in desperation. "You don't understand, the walls of my house across the street are connected to this! There's a diary in my master closet—"
"Ma'am, let's step outside," Miller interrupted gently, guiding her toward the front door. "We're going to search both properties. But I advise you to stay away from the walls."
May you like
As Elena stepped out onto the porch, she looked across the street toward her own house. Standing in the second-floor master bedroom window was Clara, pressing her hands against the glass. But standing right behind Clara in the reflection was the long-haired woman, her pale hands resting protectively on Clara’s shoulders.
---
