Can't run away from crazy | ✓

Chapter 26

We all sit in the living room, staring at the bloody knife, which we have placed in the middle of the table on top of a newspaper, so it doesn't stain the wood.

"They were here." Annabel says, shakily. She points at the knife. "This is a warning."

Looking at the knife, the thought of the dried blood belonging to Cora can't escape my mind. This could be what they used to stab her to death. We didn't let grandma Dotty see it, we told her to stay in her room until we tell her to come out.

"What should we do? If we ignore it, everything will get worse." I desperately look at the others for answers, but they are as stressed out as I am.

"We can...we can..." Dalion sighs and shakes his head. He is shaken, there is a knife in front of us. I stare at the knife. The way it reflects the light is fascinating.

Take it. Take it. Take it.

I pick it up and examine its surface. I glide my finger through the edge, slicing the first layer of skin on my finger. The knife is jerked out of my hands. Annabel has taken it and it's wrapping it in the newspaper, the shimmer now out of my sight. Dalion is looking straight at me, he knows what I'm thinking but chooses not to say anything.

"What do we do now?"

"Did you see anyone around the house while I was gone?" I ask.

"I think I saw someone in the garden," Dalion says, uncertain of his words. "But, I don't know if it was really someone."

Dalion plays with the hem of his shirt. Him seeing someone isn't a certain clue and we all know it. I don't want to immediately rule out what he saw, but there is a chance it was a hallucination.

"What did they look like?" Annabel asks. Dalion thinks for a little bit.

"I saw more of their outline and it was for a brief moment. They were tall and slender, but I don't think they went near the porch." Dalion sees shadows and people randomly, so he might not have thought much of it. I understand, but I wish he had checked. It could have been the killer.

"We have to call Rob. He will know what to do." I get up and pick up the house phone mounted in the wall. I pull out his card from my pocket and dial his number. I tap my foot on the ground, waiting for him to pick up and when he does, I tell him it's me. Rob is surprised by my call and immediately asks if everything is alright.

"Well, not exactly." I say.

"What happened?"

"I was returning home from my therapist, when I found..."

"What did you find?!"

"A bloody knife on the porch." I say in one breath. Rob stays quiet and for a moment I think he hung up.

"I'm still in the capital, I'll check on the hospital today." He explains in a stern voice. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. None of you should go outside until I come there. Lock your doors and don't open them for anyone. If anything suspicious happens, call the police. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon."

I tell him we will be waiting for him and he gives me one last warning before hanging up. I repeat Rob's words to Annabel and Dalion. We start checking every door and window making sure to lock them, if they aren't already. I finish and go downstairs. Dalion and grandma Dotty are talking in the kitchen and I pick up on their conversation.

"I still don't understand why you have to lock everything." Grandma asks Dalion, who sighs.

"We aren't safe grandma. We have to be on the lookout and not go outside until the detective arrives."