CHAPTER 8
I knew where Armand lived. Everyone knew where Officer Sanders lived.
I stood at the doorstep, my finger hovering over the doorbell. I had taken the rest of the day off from Ollie’s today. It was a small town—a car would be convenient, but you didn’t truly need that to walk from Ollie’s to the Sanders’ residence.
My hand fell from the bell. I knocked on the door instead.
Five knockings later, the door opened.
“We’ve got a bell, you know,” Armand said.
“Will you let me in?”
“Depends. Are you here to rob us?”
I just looked at him.
“You really can’t take a joke, can you?” He shook his head. “You’ve got to earn a sense of humor these days, Cadwell. Let’s take a walk, shall we?”
I didn’t move. “Is Duane home?”
“He’s not.”
“Then I guess you will do, too.”
“What? Is this some kind of sex drive emergency attack? Should I be flattered that I’m your second choice?”
“Shut up, Mandy Boy. You know why I’m here. You know.”
He sighed and closed the door behind him. “Let’s take a walk, shall we?”
We walked down the steps. The weather today was quite good. Breezy, but not too hot or too cool. The Sanders residence was located at a very nice neighborhood—not too showy, but definitely cozy and beautiful. There were a lot of trees alongside the streets. The houses around varied from simple suburban houses with white picket fences to four-story villas with green gardens and spacious garages.
A few kids were showing off their gadgets while walking to the same direction. Some elder people were jogging. A guy near us was walking his dog—I didn’t know what type, but it’s so big that my first instinct was to balk at it.
Until the dog sniffed suddenly in our way and began barking loud.
The man tried to sooth the dog, but it took a turn to another direction—away from us, even though he kept tugging on its leash. Eventually the man gave up and tried to catch up with the dog instead when it went free on a run.
“Dogs never liked us,” Armand said.
“You, you mean. I’ve got no problems with home pets.”
“Don’t be discriminate. But you know, whatever helps you sleep better at night.”
I snorted, stuffing my hands inside my pockets.
“Ah,” Armand sighed in content. “Nice weather. After all the storms, you’d never guess this town actually has nice sunshine and white cloud and light blue sky.”
“It’s very—” I cut myself of with a glare before I finished agreeing with him. “I’m not here to talk about the weather.”
“That’s true. How’s your Physics project going on? Need my help? Ah, what about Chem, partner?”
It was amazing how he could make the word ‘partner’ sound like a dirty word. “No small talk, either.”
“So now you’re a big talker. I see. The three-worded sentences were just a phase, huh?”
“Stop it! I want to know how much you know.”
He stopped walking.
“What I know,” he said, “depends on what you already know.”
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Incarnadine
Paranormal*COMPLETED* Seventeen-year-old Elena had lost something for the past few years, and she had yet to discover it. It wasn't something that'd just show up because she was determined to find it. And no one could find it for her. She'd lost her memory. W...
