Free A Killer's Watch by Tallulah Grace Page B

grandchildren.”
    “I’m sorry, I just assumed,” Monique apologized. “Well,
we’ll just hope that he finds the right woman soon, so you can enjoy your
grandchildren while you’re young.”
    “Yes, thank you,” Belinda patted her gray coiffed hair.
“You’re very kind. Thomas will show you to the basement, now. I wish you the
best of luck finding those poor girls.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Grant.” Chloe answered, then followed the
butler out of the room. She waited until they were out of earshot before speaking
to Thomas.
    “Thank you for taking the time for us,” she began. “I’m sure
that you have your hands full, managing a house this size.”
    Thomas nodded, but said nothing.
    “Is Mr. Grant at home? Perhaps we can meet him, explain why
we’re here,” Monique asked.
    “No, Mr. Grant is out. Here is the door to the basement.
Pardon me if I leave you to it.” Thomas opened the locked door with a set of
keys he pulled from his pocket. “The light switch is on the left.”
    “Certainly, thank you. We won’t be long,” Chloe answered,
surprised that he didn’t escort them down.
    Flipping the lights on did little to illuminate the stairs,
but the space became brighter as they descended. The ceilings were low,
compared to the twelve-foot height of the upper floors, but they were still
high enough for both women to stand.
    “There’s nothing here,” Monique turned in a circle when they
reached the concrete floor.
    “That’s probably why Thomas didn’t mind us coming down here
alone,” Chloe commented, listening for sounds of dripping water. There were
none.
    “We may as well walk the perimeter, check it out while we’re
here. There may be a doorway that we can’t see from here,” Monique told her,
then followed the wall away from Chloe.
    “I’ll go this way,” Chloe turned in the opposite direction.
“Why would you have all of this space, and not even use it. It’s great for
storage.”
    “Maybe they have nothing to store. Did you notice the
furnishings? Everything was an antique, but still in excellent shape.”
    “Surely they have a Christmas tree, or garden tools,
something that normal people store in cellars.”
    “There’s an attic, or three, I’m sure,” Monique answered,
finding nothing but more space as she walked. “And they probably have a
gardener, so no need for tools.”
    “True.” Chloe stopped talking as she got farther away from
Monique. Searching this basement was certainly easier than the other two they
had searched so far. Most people had spaces like this crammed with forgotten furniture,
boxes of trinkets, old books, and anything else that no longer fit their
lifestyle.
    “There’s nothing here, let’s go,” Monique said, as the women
met in the middle of the opposite wall.
    “Nope, nothing here,” Chloe agreed.
    Thomas met them at the top of the stairs, his face devoid of
expression.
    “Thank you, we found nothing,” Chloe told him.
    “Of course not,” he responded. “Follow me, please.”
    He led them to the front door via a different route, one
that did not pass through the parlor. Both women noted that the doors to
Belinda Grant’s sitting room were closed.
    “Please thank Mrs. Grant for us,” Chloe told him, as he
opened the door.
    Without a word, he nodded and closed the door behind them.
    “Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry,” Chloe mumbled as they
crossed the wide front porch.
    “What?” Monique asked, not familiar with the expression.
    “Nothing, he wasn’t sorry to see us go.”
    “No, but at least we can chalk this place off the list.”
    “Yep, one more down, fourteen to go.”
     
    ~~~
     
    “That never gets easier.” Jeri placed the phone on the car
seat beside her. “She’s destroyed, the whole family is destroyed. One son of a
bitch, intent on his own disgusting depravities, destroys the lives of so many
people.”
    “And he’ll keep doing it, until we stop him,” Ethan felt
Jeri’s impotent rage. “It was a