Chapter 10 - The Shadow on the Lawn
Arthur walked back toward the glass threshold of the house with slow, measured steps.
He didn't spare a glance for his dropped briefcase lying in the dirt.
He didn't look at the white corporate papers fluttering away across the lawn in the afternoon breeze.
His heavy leather shoes crunched over the shattered crystal glass littering the concrete patio.
He stepped inside the house, leaving the bright sun behind.
The cool, sterile air-conditioned atmosphere of the hallway swallowed them up.
A moment later, the heavy front door clicked shut with a definitive, mechanical thud that echoed through the empty neighborhood.
Outside, the wind died down, leaving the backyard in absolute silence.
Elise remained standing completely alone in the center of the lawn.
The hem of her elegant cream dress fluttered slightly in the warm air, stained with dark patches of wet earth near the hem.
Her high heels were buried three inches deep into the torn-up mud.
Slowly, as if her limbs no longer belonged to her, she raised both hands to her face.
Her trembling fingers pressed hard against her cheeks, smearing her makeup into messy trails.
Her blue eyes were wide, vacant, and fixed on the dark, empty doorway of the house.
Above her head, hidden among the lush green ivy of the pergola, the small black camera lens continued its silent work.
The red indicator light blinked in the shadow.
Red.
Off.
Red.
She was completely surrounded by half a million dollars of luxury, pristine lawn, and bright summer sunlight.
Yet, the icy chill spreading from her chest down to her fingertips was absolute.
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She couldn't move her feet from the mud.
She stood there like a stone statue in a ruined garden, waiting for the sound of approaching sirens.
