The coffee burned her tongue and she snapped back to the present. Her memory had been so vivid and lifelike. Now, she touched the spot on her cheek where he had slapped her. She could almost feel it. She remembered the terrifying and helpless feeling of being trapped in the bathroom while Brent slammed on the door. It was like something straight out of The Shining. Worst of all, she remembered the feeling of being to blame. She knew better now, though. No longer did she blame herself for the abuse. Brent had done it all to her and, in the end, he got what he deserved.
Chapter Four
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sheriff Harrison said. He looked down at the small man who had reported the body inside Claire Shepard's home. Looking back up at the house, he shook his head.
“I couldn’t believe it either. Claire’s always outside watering her plants when I go for my morning run. I knew something was wrong when I didn’t see her. Then I noticed the wide open door and…” he trailed off.
“Who the hell would do something like this? Claire Shepard never hurt a soul.”
“I don’t know Sheriff. It’s awful. Nothing like this has ever happened here.”
“Alright, Mason. Why don’t you head home? I’ll see what I can make of this. Oh, and don’t tell anyone yet. Let me have a look around first. I’ll call a town meeting later this afternoon.”
“You got it, Sheriff,” Mason said, visibly shaken.
Sheriff Harrison removed his hat and held it by his side as he entered the home. His boot heels clicked on the wooden floor as he made his way towards Claire’s bedroom. There had never been a murder victim in Carlisle. He was not excited to see the first.
As he feared, it was a gruesome sight. Lying on the bed was the pale body of Claire Shepard, the woman who loved to bake cookies for her neighbors and always kept her garden fresh and lush. Reality had yet to set in for Sheriff Harrison. He was convinced he would wake up from this horrid nightmare any moment.
It took a few moments to gain composure. Eventually, Harrison worked up the courage to take a closer look at Claire’s body. He expected the body to come to life and offer him a cup of tea. Claire Shepard had always been the inviting type. Staring at her lifeless corpse seemed unreal. The gaping wound in her head was definitive, though. There would be no coming back for this woman.
Cause of death had been a knife wound to the brain, that much was obvious. Blood had been streaked on her cheeks to resemble upside-down crosses. It was disturbing and confusing. Sheriff Harrison looked everywhere for a murder weapon but found nothing. All he found was a solid black candle under the bed.
He couldn’t reach it with his arm so he hurried to the pantry and pulled Claire’s broom free. Back in her room, he lay on the floor and scooped it towards him. There was nothing particularly special about the candle other than the fact it was solid black. The wick was barely used. Harrison knew it didn’t belong to Claire. The old woman had always criticized others for keeping candles in the house. “You’re asking for a house fire,” she used to always say. His instincts told him the candle was important but he couldn't see how.
Realizing he should dust it for prints, he placed it down on the floor and hoped he hadn’t ruined his chances of finding the killer. He remained confident if there were prints from the killer, he’d find them. Of course, that was assuming the killer had not worn gloves.
There had never been a single murder in Carlisle since Harrison had become Sheriff. He was certain there hadn’t been any before that either. Sure, there had been some drunken bar fights, some unruly people, but nothing an overnight visit in a jail cell couldn’t fix. But murder? That was something wildly different. It was something Harrison had seen only in television shows and preferred it that way. Once word spread that Claire Shepard had been murdered, the whole town would be swept into a frenzy. He had to be delicate about the situation. There was no telling how the townspeople would react. Hell, he didn’t even know how to react yet.
He went about inspecting the body and everything in the bedroom. Nothing seemed to be out of place or missing. Robbery was ruled out. A revenge killing was unlikely, as no one had problems with Claire. She had no relatives in town and hardly had any money, so financial gain was, doubtfully, the motive. Whichever way Harrison looked at it, he could think of no reason why someone would want Claire dead.
Sheriff Harrison shook his head in confusion. The only motive which seemed to make any sense was one he was utterly terrified of. Someone in town had snapped. They had to be dealing with a psychopath, it was the only explanation.
He walked back to his truck and picked up the radio receiver off the passenger seat. Calling it in, he requested the local morgue send a van out for the body right away. The deputy was also called to the scene to help catalogue and take pictures. They were going to have a lot of work ahead of them.
Chapter Five
Her morning was spent organizing things into their proper places and folding up cardboard boxes. Tara played in the backyard while her mother worked to finish unpacking. Sasha envied her daughter. In spite of this dismal and dark life, she was able to play and enjoy life. Sasha, on the other hand, had a hard time seeing the silver lining even in the best of times. She could only hope
