Page 73 of Hell’s Half Acre

“I don’t like anything being this close to us.” Reyes stood and pulled her gun from her desk drawer. “Let’s go see what’s up.” She secured the gun to her belt.

Sorcha followed them to the stairs.

By the time they reached the main floor, Ryan, Christian, and Yuichi had joined them. The only ones left in their office were the ghosts.

Sorcha wasn’t sure what to make of it as they headed for the house with all the police tape being put in place.

Rory was on the street, waiting for them.

“What’s up?” Sorcha asked.

A uniformed officer came running from the house to regurgitate in a bush.

That was never a good sign.

Rory ignored him. “Just follow me.”

Dread consumed her. Especially when they entered the home where a very loud song filled the air. I Think I Love You by the Partridge Family.

Up until this moment, it’d been a favorite of hers from childhood. Now, it seemed sinister. Even more so as they passed several other officers and detectives who were praying, crossing themselves, and visibly shaking.

How had she never noticed before how eerie this song sounded? Yeah, it definitely was something a serial killer might use to torture victims.

Luke scowled. “Last time I saw this many cops unnerved there was a possessed girl on the ceiling.”

“Hold that thought.” Rory led them upstairs to the room where the music was the loudest and a group of cops stood frozen outside of it.

Placing his back against the wall, facing the hallway and not the room, Rory gestured for them to enter.

Sorcha was dumb enough to go first.

Holy Hell…

Her stomach cramped at the unbelievable sight in front of her. A woman in a pink negligee sat in the middle of the floor, rocking and singing along with the song as if she were happy and celebrating.

Unfortunately, she was saturated in blood…as if she’d bathed in it. Carrie White at the prom had absolutely nothing on this woman.

Lying on the ground in front of her was what was left of a nude man who’d been slit open from his throat, all the way down his chest to his groin. Sorcha assumed the killing had been done by the crazed woman.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. Oh no. The woman had pulled out the man’s intestines and tied them in a perfect bow around his neck.

A. Perfect. Bow. How was that even possible? She would never get this image out of her head. Ever.

Sorcha gaped in utter repugnance and disbelief. “I’m never going to sleep again.”

“I am never wrapping another gift as long as I live.” Bernadette placed her hand over her mouth and returned to the hallway.

“I’m never tying my shoes or anything else.” Ryan made an equally fast exit.

The men in the hallway just stared at Luke.

He stared back at them. “What? I didn’t do this.”

“Yo,” Rory said from the hallway. “Big guy. Come out here, please.”

The fact that Rory was being so nice to Luke was almost as creepy as the blood-soaked couple in front of her.

Sorcha followed Luke to the hallway. Yuichi and Christian came out of the room right behind her and kept going to the stairs. Obviously, they didn’t want to hang around the scene any longer.