Dancing with the Dead ✔

Chapter Twelve - The Red Dahlia

Great job, Alexis. Great job.

I let out a long sigh. But no matter how much I try to convince myself that nothing happened, a tiny part of me—call it a crazy girl's hunch—still believes there's something connecting John's accident and the girl's disappearance. I just don't know what it is.

As I pad down the stairs, my gaze is inevitably drawn to the shovel laying among the heap of sand on the first floor and notice something rather odd. I quicken my steps, squinting my eyes to take a closer look at the shovel. I notice most of the dirt and cement on it are already hardened to the point where it'd be almost impossible for them to wear off. The strange thing is, there isn't a single trace of dust on it.

I open my bag and take out a Kleenex as I bend on my knees to observe the shovel. I wrap the Kleenex on the handle to get a closer look without leaving any fingerprints. If there's one thing I've learned from approximately one hour of searching this house up and down, is everything— and I mean every single thing—inside this house has two inches of dust covering them. But not this one. Someone has clearly wiped this shovel clean; which brings me to a conclusion.

The girl's dead body is not hidden inside this house, she's buried somewhere around this house.

Just as I have my 'epiphany', a loud barking sound heading towards me draws my attention.

A dog? But how—

Before I can even finish my thought, the dog's bark has turned into a growl; a growl that oddly sounds very, very, close to me.

My eyes widen as my heart continues to beat faster than ever. If there's one thing I fear, it's dogs. I gulp and turn my head very slowly to the origin of the voice. The small Shih-Tzu keeps growling at me, showing its teeth as if ready to attack me.

"Annie!" June cries.

Oh, so this is the Annie they were talking about. But how did the kids manage to feed a pet for all these years? After all, 20 years is a very long time!

Snap it, Alexis! Look at it! Does it look like it's over twenty years old?

Well, I guess not. But it still scares the hell out of me! Gritting my teeth, I gulp again, not having the guts to move an inch.

"Uhm, a little help here?" I plead to the kids.

"Annie, sit!" Jude commands. But instead of listening to the little boy, the dog steps closer towards me with its fangs out, still growling.

"Annie!" June says with a commanding voice. But the dog's lack of reaction makes it clear to me that the kids are not its owner.

Calm down, Alexis. Calm down!

How am I supposed to calm down, Evil Me? It's going to eat me alive! I repeat, it's going to eat me alive!

I try to catch my breath and think straight. Why does this dog attack me out of nowhere? If the dog doesn't belong to the kids nor live in this house, then there is no reason for it to defend its territory, right? Now, what could possibly—

In my peripheral vision, I see the phone straps dangling from my pocket. Slightly raising my brow, I decide to take a chance. In a swift move, I grab the phone strap. Just as I take the phone out from my pocket, the dog's eyes move in the same direction as the phone.

"Fetch, girl!" I throw the phone away from me.

The small dog bolts toward the phone, jumping high in the air to catch it, only to fly past through the phone.