The Trap Spring
** Sarah's POV**
With my gun drawn, I slammed the door of my car and dashed to the porch.
"Where is Mrs. Huang?" I yelled at Elena and Marcus. "I swear, if you've hurt her, I'll—"
Elena calmly said, "Detective Chen, please put your weapon away." "Mrs. Huang is completely secure. She's actually drinking tea indoors."
"You're lying!"
As Marcus moved forward, I noticed that his hands were smeared with new dirt. He had scratches all over his arms, as if he had been digging with his bare hands, and his fingernails were black with dirt.
Marcus' voice was trembling as he said, "Detective, I think there's been a misunderstanding." "They've been talking inside since Mrs. Huang stopped by to ask Elena some questions."
"Then take her out here now."
Elena gave that weird, icy smile and cocked her head. "Obviously. Huang, Mrs. Would you mind going outside?"
Mrs. Huang entered the porch as the front door opened. However, there was a serious problem with her. Her eyes appeared vacant and far away, and her movements were robotic.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Huang?" I made a call.
She turned to face me, but her voice sounded emotionless and flat when she spoke. "I'm all right, Detective Chen. I have received a lot of kindness from Elena and Marcus. Nothing is amiss here.
My blood froze. Mrs. Huang would never say such a thing. She worried about everything and was always excited. An hour ago, this was a different woman who had been crying and holding my arm.
"What did you do to her?" I insisted.
"Nothing at all," Elena said kindly. "Mrs. Huang just recognized that she had misjudged the sounds and scents. Mrs. Huang, did you not?
Mrs. Huang gave a slow nod. "Yes. I was wrong. Old houses produce old noises. Nothing unusual is taking place here.
Marcus had used nearly the same words earlier. Mrs. Huang was reciting a directive from someone.
I firmly said, "Mrs. Huang, look at me." "Remember to give me a call this morning? Remember when you told me about Linda going missing?
Mrs. Huang's eyes flashed for a moment, both in recognition and in terror. She muttered, "I... I remember..." Then her face froze once more. "No. I don't recall saying those things.
Marcus left brown smudges on his pants from wiping his filthy hands. "Detective Chen, I believe you have some incorrect information. Three months ago, my wife, Linda, relocated to Seattle. There, she is really content.
"So why hasn't she contacted her family or used her bank account?"
"She desired a new beginning. Some people would rather distance themselves from their history.
Marcus was lying, and I knew it, but I had to watch out. I had no idea what Elena was capable of, and Mrs. Huang was obviously in danger.
"Why are your hands so filthy, Marcus?"
He looked anxiously down at his hands. "I was tending to my garden. Behind the house, tending to my vegetable garden.
"Marcus, it's October. In October, nothing grows.
Elena put herself in our way. "Detective, would you mind coming inside to confirm that everything is as it should be? Mrs. Huang can give you a tour.
Despite my gut feeling that I shouldn't enter that house, I couldn't leave Mrs. Huang there because she was obviously under some sort of control.
"All right. However, I'm requesting backup first."
Elena held up one pale hand as I reached for my radio. "If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because Mrs. Huang could get into an accident if other police officers show up here. On stairs, elderly people can be very awkward.
The danger was obvious. They would harm Mrs. Huang if I called for assistance.
"What do you want from me?"
Elena and Marcus looked at each other. Marcus stated, "We want you to stop investigating." "Stop bringing up Linda. Give up investigating the disappearance of James Mitchell. Ignore the entire situation.
"I am unable to do that. My job is to locate people who have gone missing.
Elena whispered, "Your job is going to get a lot more complicated."
When she pointed to the street, I turned to see three police cars approaching with flashing lights. Detective Torres, Chief Morrison, and four other officers exited the first vehicle.
"Sarah!" Torres dialed. "I'm glad you're all right. We received your urgent call.
"What is the emergency call? I never gave anyone a call.
Torres appeared perplexed. "We received a call from your phone twenty minutes ago stating that you were having problems at 1247 Elm Street and required immediate assistance."
Elena's smile widened. "Detective Chen, you appear taken aback. Did you not call for assistance?
I still had my phone in my pocket. I took it out and looked at my call log. As it turns out, I never made the call to the police station twenty minutes ago.
"How did you—"
Elena whispered, "I have many talents," so that only I could hear. "One of the easier ones is making phone calls."
Chief Morrison approached us. "What's going on here, Sarah?"
Marcus interrupted me before I could respond. "I'm afraid Detective Chen has been harassing both my tenant and me, Chief Morrison. Despite my explanation that Linda moved to Seattle, she has been making outrageous accusations regarding my missing wife.
"That's not true!" I objected.
Elena gave a sorrowful nod. "Detective Chen arrived looking very agitated and upset. She was threatening people and brandishing her gun. We were really scared.
Mrs. Huang gave a puppet-like nod. "Yes. Detective Chen was behaving strangely. I was afraid of her.
I gaped at Mrs. Huang. "You called me, Mrs. Huang! You pleaded with me to come here.
However, Mrs. Huang simply gazed at me with those faraway, vacant eyes. "Detective Chen, I don't recall calling you."
Chief Morrison scowled. "You might want to take a few days off, Sarah. You've been putting in too much work lately.
"Listen to me, Chief. A serial killer is Marcus Rivera. He has been killing people after enticing them to rent rooms in his home. Three months ago, Mrs. Huang saw Linda die.
"I did no such thing," Mrs. Huang stated in her emotionless, flat voice.
Torres touched my shoulder. "You're not making sense, Sarah. Perhaps you ought to accompany us.
Desperately, I looked around. Despite Marcus's best efforts to appear innocent, I could see the evil satisfaction in his eyes. Mrs. Huang was acting like a different person, and Elena's odd silver eyes were watching me.
"I need you to search this property, Chief. Bodies are interred in the backyard.
"Detective Chen," Elena uttered loudly enough for everyone to hear, "you have no proof, but you keep talking about bodies." You're accusing an innocent man of grave crimes."
Chief Morrison let out a sigh. "Sarah, we cannot search Mr. Rivera's property based solely on your suspicions unless you have a search warrant or probable cause."
Marcus took a step forward. "I don't mind if you search, Chief. I have nothing to conceal. However, I believe Detective Chen needs assistance. She has been exhibiting unpredictable and paranoid behavior.
Chief Morrison made the decision, "We'll take a quick look around." "You and Johnson check the backyard, Torres. Look around the house, Martinez.
As the officers approached the backyard, I watched in horror. However, Torres was shaking his head when they returned fifteen minutes later.
"Chief, nothing back there. A typical backyard with a few vintage gardening implements.
"That's not possible!" I cried out. "Mrs. Huang observed Marcus excavating!"
However, Mrs. Huang remained silent and simply gazed at me with those vacant eyes.
"Detective Chen, you're starting to realize that you're not
in control here," Elena said in a whisper so quiet that only I could hear it. However, this is only the beginning of my capabilities.