The Terror Next Door (Based on a True Story)

27) Run

"House of the rising sun" by The Animals
***

A sharp gasp issued from Alex the moment she was next to Sophia to see the body. Although both sister's were in stunned shock, it was the elder Summers daughter who still had her wits to her. Sophia was too repulsed by all of the blood saturating the floor to make any movement, but Alex thought enough to grab her sister's shoulder and roughly pull her towards the door. When they heard footsteps descending was when Alex pushed Sophia out of the house so they could start to run. The only time Sophia could remember running so fast was the night she ran for her life. All thoughts of seeing if Mrs. Bradshaw were alright were lost as she and Alex sprint across the yard, all thoughts of injuries stopping them forgotten. As soon as the sister's reached their house they jumped inside and immediately locked their doors. Sophia and Alex nearly knocked heads as they hurriedly did the locks.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" screeched Alex. Annie looked alarmed having been at the kitchen table waiting for them.
"I d-don't know," confessed Sophia fearfully. Her hands were shaking. "That w-was the guy who Mrs. Bradshaw b-brought in the house."
"Holy shit. He's dead," said Alex, pacing back and forth. She hurriedly to the window to spy out at the neighbors house. There was nothing out of the ordinary, the only car that was in the driveway belonged to Jenny Bradshaw. The sky was now cloudy and grey, fat raindrops started falling down as the sisters took turns staring out the window.
"Where the hell are the police?!"
Many things started happening simultaneously. While Mr. And Mrs. Summers pulled into the driveway, a single police cruiser pulled in front of the Bradshaw's house. The Bradshaw boys were also back, their car pulling into their driveway. Everyone getting out of their cars seemed confused by what was going on. Sophia's parents simply went to their own house while sending wondering gazes towards the yard next door. The elder Bradshaw son was approached by the police officer. Sophia exited the house and was flanked by Alex, both walking past their parents while also motioning for them to follow. Once they got within earshot, it was Alex who spoke up. "Officer, you need to enter the house!" she said urgently.
"No, you do not," said Blake's brother immediately "I'm sorry sir, I really don't understand what's going on right now."
"You need to enter the house, NOW!"
"Ma'am, are you the ones who made the call?"
"Well, yeah, their mom was screaming."
"What kind of screaming?" asked the cop professionally.
"The kind that warrants having the police called," snapped Alex in retort.
"Ma'am, I'm only asking a question."
"Her family has been obsessed with my brother for months," said the brother with a snarl. "You can't take anything she says seriously!"
"You wanna talk about obsession, you little pug?" demanded Alex.
"What's going on??" whispered Mr. Summer's to Sophia.
"Yeah, your sister has been obsessed with my brother!"
"There's a body in there!" interrupted Sophia finally. She couldn't take anymore of the teenage boys lies and she couldn't be certain her sister wasn't going to punch the boy because of them. This grasped everyone's full attention. Mr. and Mrs. Summers stared at Sophia in shock as did Blake's brother. It was only Alex and Blake who didn't wear masks of surprise, and that was only because one of them already knew about the body. "There's a body in there and the killer is still in the house!" she said in a rush, remembering the hurried footsteps. The police officer motioned for his partner to get out of the car and to follow him. They immediately started heading towards the house.
"Hey! You can't enter the house without a warrant," snarled the elder Bradshaw boy.
This time it was Blake who looked perplexed. "If there's a body in there he has to enter."
"Everyone please stay here," said the officer firmly. Alex pointed to the side of the house where they had entered earlier. The two officers moved quickly to the house, leaving the group to stand in the driveway. When Alex started explaining what had happened to cause them to investigate, the elder Bradshaw boy got on his phone and began calling someone. But it was only Blake Sophia had eyes for. She went closer to him and spoke in a hushed voice. "It hasn't been you this entire time, has it?"
Blake sent her a leveled look. "No," he finally admitted after an eternity of silence. Sophia truly accepted this answer. She no longer believed Blake to be behind the crazy things that had been plaguing her. Sophia moved closer to Blake, looking him dead in the eye. "The Valentine, the attic, the cat, stabbing Napoleon," she said quietly, watching for what she hoped was her ability to sense a lie if he tried one. But all Blake did was watch her and slowly shake his head.
"It wasn't me." Sophia shuddered as more fat rain drops picked up as they waited for police to exit the house again. She watched the house and waited for something; anything to happen.
"Is there really a body?"
"Yeah. Some guy your mom invited inside."
"Why were you there?"
"Your mom was screaming. Glass and things were being broken."
Blake didn't say anything. His brows furrowed as he continued to watch the house as well.
"Is my not being here at the time proof that it wasn't myself who's committed these crimes?"
Now it was Sophia's turn not to say anything. All she did was provide a jerk of her shoulders in acknowledgement.
"I suppose my innocence brings a new fear to you and yours," said Blake mildly. "If not me behind everything, then who is?"
Sophia didn't know the answer to that.

The police immediately called for backup the second they came out of the Bradshaw house. The only thing explained was that a body had been found and that Mrs. Bradshaw was not inside the house when the police search it. The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent with the Summers remaining at the house while they were interviewed by detectives. Mr. and Mrs. Summers had nothing to provide along with Colin. The only people who were able to give an account was Sophia, Alex, and only a brief account from Annie collaborating that she had heard a scream although briefly. Upon the discovery of the body, it was revealed that Mrs. Bradshaw was nowhere on the property. Also missing were her wallet, cell phone, and car keys although her car was still in the driveway.
"And what the hell were you two thinking going over to that house?" demanded Mr. Summers. The family remained at their old house, told to wait until the detective was finished questioning Blake and his brother. Somehow it was only Alex that was facing her parents wrath for venturing to the house.
"Oh well it was such a beautiful day so I thought we'd stop by and see our good gal pal crazy pants," seethed Alex. "I didn't have a choice in the matter! It was Sophie who decided to go over-"
"Who's the adult??"
That stumped Alex into silence. She balked unintelligently until Sophia came forward. "She couldn't stop me even though she tried," she defended. "I went without her consent."
"Well she could have-"
"She wouldn't have been able to stop me unless she tackled me," admitted Sophia. "There wasn't anything she could do. Then I left her on the phone and went to check inside when I saw the door open."
Mrs. Summers was furious. "What if that boy tried framing you for murder?? Did you even think before you acted-"
"She didn't kill the man so they can't frame her," said Mr. Summers. He wiped the sweat off his forehead tiredly. "The good news is they traveled together so that provides them both the opportunity to say there was someone else at the scene of the crime."
Sophia flinched. She never thought about the repercussions of travelling to the house. She just knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if someone was in trouble and she didn't try helping them.
"They didn't find anyone in the house," said Alex in frustration.
"Clearly that woman is on the run," said Mrs. Summers sternly. "She killed her lover and then took off."
"How without a car?" asked Sophia.
"The guy's car wasn't by the house when the cops got here," noted Alex. "The killer probably fled in that."
Mr. and Mrs. Summers continued arguing with one another prevented them from listening in on the conversation. "You say killer as in you don't think it's the mom," said Annie, finally breaking her silence.
Alex looked near ready to pout. "Jenny Bradshaw being the killer doesn't fit my profile." Her declaration caused everyone to stare at her. "What? It doesn't." No one got the opportunity to comment before a sharp knock on the front door propelled Mr. Summers to go answer it. The detective that had been questioning the girls earlier stepped inside. He was led to the kitchen table by Mr. Summers. "Thank you folks for being patient."
"Can you tell us anything?"
"It's an ongoing investigation of course," said the detective apologetically, "but I can say that the man we found was positively identified as Mr. David Vickers. Is that name familiar to you girls?"
"No," said Alex.
"No," said Annie.
"We didn't know him, we just saw him go into the house with Mrs. Bradshaw earlier," said Sophia.
The detective nodded. "We're still investigating, but my victim was positively identified by his wife down at the morgue. Does anyone know the reason for why he would have been at the Bradshaw residence during that time in the afternoon?"
Everyone answered no but Sophia felt quite confident everyone in the room suspected it was because this David Vickers was having an affair with Mrs. Bradshaw. "Okay, I have your number and your new address. I'll keep in contact within the week," said the detective kindly.
"Thank you for your time."
"Before you leave, is Mrs. Bradshaw safe?" asked Sophia worriedly. She had a very bad feeling that there was more than met the eye with this.
"As of right now we have no evidence to suggest Jennifer Bradshaw is in any danger. We currently have an APB out for her."
***
Thanks for reading everyone. I'm really trying to have this book finished before Sunday. Happy reading!
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