Murder She Wrote

Part 2: Smooth Sailing

I nodded, "we haven't been bothered at all so yeah, she's gone."

"That's good. You and Sierra never looked happier." He said. "We should get back in there before they start yelling for the food." He grabbed the trays along with the plastic cups, balancing it both in his hands steadily. I grabbed the beverages and napkins along the way. I was about to head out out the kitchen until I heard a loud distracting noise that came from the patio door. At first, I assumed it was just the dog playing around outside in the backyard but the motion sensor security lights turned on shortly after. I placed the beverages and napkins back on the counter. I slowly stepped towards the noise, not knowing what I would expect.

"Michael?" I heard Sierra call from the living room.

"I'll be there in a second...." I responded.

I proceeded to walk towards the door. I slowly looked out the screen window that gave a view of our backyard. It was absolutely dark and filled with silence. Our dog was nowhere to be seen and our security lights beamed bright towards the neighbors and the pool. I shrugged it off, assuming that it might've accidentally set it self off or a small animal of some sort like a squirrel ran across our yard. I turned the lights off and checked the lights on the doors. I joined the others in the living room where a game of charades has unexpectedly taken place. Everyone was already split up into teams of two and it looked like they were waiting on me to start. "What happened to the movie?" I said curious to why the plans changed so suddenly. I was lowkey looking forward to rewatch John Wick probably the hundredth time.

"We decided to play a game instead. Plus I can't count the amount of times we've seen John Wick babe," Sierra said, clearly stating that the movie plan was put on hold solely for my purpose. I rolled my eyes knowing I can't argue with the majority of the room, they just lack taste that's all.

"Fine, fine. What's the category?" I said.

"Sex," Luis blurted out. Everyone simultaneously bursted into laughter.

"Of course it is," I added.

Twenty minutes into the game, it was starting to get competitive. Sierra and I were on the lead with the highest points compared to the two other pairs. Luis was barely paying attention to the rules of the game, as he played out his chosen word through speaking and extreme hand gestures. He struggled the most of all and he blames it on his wife, whom he claims can't read lips or understand gestures. Watching him scream and get frustrated was the most amusement of the night.

Shortly after, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I retrieved it slowly and checked the screen. A notification from the security system displayed, indicating that the garage door was open. I furrowed my eyebrows with confusion. What the...

I didn't want to cause any alert to everyone else. I placed my phone back in my pocket. "What's wrong?" Sierra said sliding her hands on my lap already detecting my worried look. I grinned a little.

"I'm fine, I just need to check on the garage." I informed her.

"Why?" She responded.

"I don't know I think the security system is acting up or something, just a minor inconvenience." I said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'll be right back," I got up and left the living room. Before I made my way into the garage. I pulled out the security footage on my phone, where I had access to see every single room in the house. The cameras didn't show anything at all, everything seemed normal. The garage was even empty. Just to be sure, I turned on the flashlight on my phone and made my way out the patio door, near the right corner of the backyard, close to the kitchen windows, there was a door that led to the garage. The door usually locks on its own but for some reason it was open. I looked around the place for any sign of intruders. "Hello?" I called out. The sound of my own voice echoed back to me. Then a second later, there was a sound of whimper coming from underneath our storage locker. I knew exactly what that whimper sounded like. I whistled for him to reveal himself but he didn't come out. "Astro, come here buddy," I called out for the dog. After another failed attempt of calling for him, I walked towards the space he was hiding at.