Page 141 of Shhh…It’s A Killer Story

The words barely existed once they left my mouth.

He frowned.

"For what?"

I stared into the pale gold tea.

"This happened because of me."

"No."

"If I hadn't ignored that feeling... if I'd gone outside sooner..."

"No."

This time the word landed harder and sharper.

"It isn't your fault, Seraphina."

He leaned forward, the lamplight catching the pale scar beneath his left eye.

"You need to stop blaming yourself."

I looked down at Max, another tear slipping onto the shepherd's dark fur.

"It felt wrong all day."

My fingers absentmindedly stroked behind his ears.

"The whole house felt... crooked."

I laughed softly through my tears.

"Not physically but my head just kept telling me something wasn't sitting where it belonged. I thought I'd been writing too long or something, so I ignored it."

I swallowed.

"When I heard footsteps outside...I thought it was the wind moving through the trees but then I heard Max bark and I thought he was chasing squirrels again."

Another shaky breath escaped me.

"I ignored that too."

I closed my eyes.

"And by the time I finally listened...it was almost too late."

My chest rose sharply, another sob catching behind my ribs.

"I should've gone outside sooner."

Elias didn't move toward me, not this time. The detective returned before the man did. He needed facts before feelings.

"What did you see?" he asked quietly.

"When you looked toward the trees."

I closed my eyes.