Superhero Chaos ✔️

22: Crime Scene

When we pull up to the Henderson's home, I get out of the car before the driver can put the gears into park. There are remnants of caution tape by the door, but I kick it out of my way, entering into the dark house. The sun begins to rise as early morning approaches and I feel dread knot up in my stomach as I think about what Anna must be going through. I try not to ponder on that too much though. 

I feel Phantom put a hand on my shoulder and I tense for a moment. He doesn't release me, but his hand gently guides me to the kitchen, all around the main floor of the mansion before we head first up the stairs to the master suite. The whole time I look for anything I might have missed during the initial scene, Phantom's guiding hand doesn't leave. I feel comforted by that fact, although I know I should stay on guard around my nemesis. I stop to take in the unmade, king sized bed. In the few years that I lived under the Henderson home, I have never once seen that bed not made. My feet were planted in the carpet as I stared at the gold sheets, and the used pillows in alarm.

Sensing my panic, Phantom nudges me out of the room, "Anigirl's father slept here last night I believe."

"What about her mom? She always makes the bed. Sometimes, I swear she does it in her sleep. Mrs. Henderson makes the bed so much that I never knew the sheets were friggin' gold silk. That's cliche as crap. Silk sheets..."

"Not a fan of silk?" Phantom inquires as we head down to the basement. 

"Not particularly. I mean, there are better ways to blow money than buying sheets," I explain.

"But having sex in scratchy cotton sheets is so awkward. Trust me, once you go silk you will never turn back," Phantom stated. 

I glare at him as we go down into the basement, "I thought you are a virgin?"

He glares at me, "I never said either or. Whichever one makes me more villainy and turns you on. Those are the only things I care about."

It is useless to respond, so I ignore him. I tap a fingernail against the wall by a hole where the note was, "I found a note here that said Anna was taken. It was a calling card I assume, but I have never seen one so plain. Usually people like you like to sign your work."

"Every villain who is actually a villain leaves some kind of signature. You just have to find it. Sometimes it is very obscure, and other times it is plain as day, but unless it's a wannabe, there always is some kind of signature."

I raise an eyebrow, "You don't have a signature."

He smirks, "Of course I do. I'm not someone who declares himself a villain for no reason now am I? Think about all my crimes. How do I like to kill?"

He likes to rip out people's organs... I think to myself.

His eyes narrow as Phantom studies my face to see if I get what he said. Satisfied, he turns to the door of my room, "I love being down here. It's so warm and it smells like your lotion. Mmmmm..."

I flick on the light as he just lets himself in my room, "It's not like you haven't been here before so I don't get the whole excitement you have about my room."

Phantom walks around slowly, his eyes drinking in every little trinket that I own. I stand in the doorway and just watch him do his thing curiously. His eyes are narrow in thought and there is a crease in his forehead as he tries to link things to a signature. 

A few minutes later he sighs and looks me in the eye, "Nothing. Let's try Anna's room and then the rest of the basement before going upstairs and checking out the whole house."

"I could have told you there wasn't anything in here," I roll my eyes.

"But you didn't. I think you like me in your room, so you kept your mouth sealed," Phantom retorts.