Page 56 of Hide And Seek

“Okay.” He set his ax down to lean against the wall behind him and pulled his phone out. “Quick as we can.”

I dragged my own phone out with trembling fingers. Then I forced myself to move.

I edged along the wall, picking each step carefully. Dark patches were spread across the floor, thick and uneven where Sloane’s blood had pooled and started to tack. My shoe almost caught once, peeling free with a soft, sticky sound that made my stomach lurch again.

Don’t think about it. Just do it,I told myself, sucking in another deep breath.

I raised my phone and took the first photo.

Click.

Another.

Click.

And another.

Across from me, Rhys moved with a steady focus. He circled the bed slowly, angling his phone, crouching slightly to get different shots.

“I don’t know if this will make you feel any better,” he said, looking over at me a moment later. “But I don’t think Sloane suffered for long. That cut on her leg… if it hit the femoral, she would’ve been gone in under a minute.”

It didn’t make me feel any better.

Rhys grimaced faintly and turned back to Reid’s body. “I just don’t understand how none of us heard anything,” he said. “This building isn’t exactly close to the rest, but we still should’ve heard something, right?”

“Maybe not,” I said softly, forcing myself to look at the room again. Really look at it, like it could tell me something.

Rhys glanced up again, head tilting slightly. “What are you thinking?”

I hesitated, then let my gaze track over the details again, trying to line them up into something that made sense.

“I think they came in here to hook up,” I said slowly. “Just like we all thought. Their clothes are right near the door, so they didn’t even make it to the bed before they started taking them off.”

Rhys followed my line of sight, then nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Then I guess they finally made it to the bed,” I went on, my voice a little steadier now. “They were both drinking beer tonight, but I think Reid drank a lot more. So he could’ve passed out right after they finished.”

“So he’s out. Completely gone.”

“Yeah.” My eyes shifted back to Sloane’s body. “I think she got up after that. Maybe she wanted to leave? Or maybe she just wanted to go to the bathroom. Either way, it looks like she was over here getting dressed.” I paused, gesturing to the leggings near her left foot. “That could be when the killer came in.”

“So you think he went for her first?”

“Yeah. And he must’ve done it fast to avoid making too much noise,” I said. “He probably cut her throat first, so she couldn’t scream. Just… choke. Or gasp.”

“And that wasn’t loud enough to wake Reid,” Rhys said, rubbing his jaw. “So that would explain why he didn’t jump up and try to defend her.”

My gaze dropped to Sloane’s leg again. “While she was struggling with the throat wound… that could be when the killer stabbed her in the thigh. Then I guess he left her to bleed out while he went over to the bed,” I said, pointing to the large, bloodied shoeprints crossing the room.

Rhys moved again, angling his phone toward Reid’s head. “He could’ve woken Reid up right before he attacked him,” he said. “That could be why his eyes are open.”

“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. All the pieces seemed to be fitting together now. “Reid probably woke up, saw the killer looming over him, and opened his mouth to yell, but he never got a chance to do it because the ax came down then.”

Rhys rose to his feet and looked around the room again. Then his gaze snapped back to me. “I think you’re onto something,” he said. “It all seems to fit. And it would explain why neither of them made a sound. Or at least not enough for any of us to realize something was happening.”

“Exactly.” I pressed my lips into a thin line and forced myself to keep moving, lifting my phone for a few more shots.

A moment later, I looked back over at Rhys again. “I think I’m done with the photos.”