Page 16 of Broken: Taylor

Chapter 6

It wasa beautiful night and after dinner, Allison decided it would be best if she took a walk to stop from going directly to bed too early.

She felt safe outside at night there in Laurel Creek. The street which she lived on was lined with tall lampposts every fifty feet or so, which kept visibility high. After she pulled on a hoody and running shoes, Allison bounded down the stairs and out to the sidewalk.

Once outside, she took a deep breath of the cool air, loving the way her lungs expanded.

“Hi Allie!” Tori called out from across the street as her friend rushed back inside the pizzeria. How the woman worked all those hours baffled Allison. Tori seemed to be at her restaurant from late morning until it after it closed at ten o’clock at night.

Three blocks down the main road, she crossed the street to go back on the opposite side. This would be her new routine. Finish the day with a leisurely walk. Catching sight of people through windows and whoever was out either walking their dogs or on their front porch felt therapeutic.

She would definitely feel better to get fresh air and exercise instead of going straight upstairs. Most evenings ended with a meal and entire evening in front of her computer watching videos or catching up on social media. There was plenty of time for that later.

So yeah, she’d probably still end the evening with the laptop, but today it would be after getting much needed exercise.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention just as she walked back toward her shop and home. A narrow side street was darker than the sidewalk and Allison hesitated just as someone jumped out of the shadows and for a second looked toward her. The person, a man, then raced in the opposite direction and disappeared into the darkness.

Interesting.

Curious, she took a step to where the man had been, but reconsidered. She’d seen too many scary movies where people died from being nosy.

Still something bothered her, so Allison looked across the street just as the door opened and a pair of tiny dogs rushed out into the fenced-in yard. Both stopped at spotting her and began barking, their small bodies bouncing with each sound. Yap. Yap. Yap.

Deciding it was all right to investigate since she was within view of the yappers and whoever owned them, Allison took a couple of steps into the darkened area only to stop at seeing what looked to be a human hand.

It could be someone seriously hurt, or a passed out drunk the other man had robbed of whatever meager belongings. She wasn’t stupid enough to go closer in case the drunk decided to jump up and kill her.

So instead, Allison yanked the phone from her pocket and called the police.

Turned out, it was worse than she imagined. The person lying on the ground was dead.

Whoever the dead man was, had been stabbed multiple times and from what she overheard had crawled to the spot in an effort to get away from his attacker.

Pausing in conversation, the officers would look to her as if she held some sort of secret.

Eric Hamilton came to where she sat on a bench outside the hardware store and patted her shoulder. In truth, Allison was not upset or frazzled. She hadn’t see the person up close, so she’d been spared the sight of blood and gore.

However, understandably since she’d seen someone beside the deceased, the police insisted she remain there for the time being. Meanwhile, the forensics team from the larger nearby town was analyzing the crime scene.

It was after nine at night now and the curious folks who’d come to find out what happened had gone home. The only ones still lurking were the people across the street. Allison didn't blame them. A murder had occurred just feet from their front door.

Other than the yappers yapping, most everyone spoke in murmurs and Allison rubbed her eyes wishing she were home with a laptop and cup of tea.

“They’ll need to interview you,” Eric informed her.

“Again?” Allison sighed. She’d not complain. Hell at least she could complain. The man, whoever it was who’d died, did not have that privilege anymore.

“Yes, it’s best to get as much information as possible while it’s all still fresh in your mind.”

She waited patiently until another officer came. The older man, with wisps of gray at his temples, met her gaze with understanding. Either he was well practiced at giving the impression of a well-meaning friend or he was a kind person. Either way, his presence brought a sense of trust.

He pulled out a pad and pen and lowered to sit next to her.

“You were walking in this direction,” he said, motioning toward her house. “The man who you saw, would you say he was young?”

Although he asked many of the same questions Eric had asked originally, this officer had a way of bringing out more information. Finally, after what seemed like an hour later, the detective thanked her and returned to the crime scene.

“Are you alright?” Leah finally arrived. Allison had called her best friend after realizing it would be a while before she could go home. Perhaps pretty selfish of her since Leah lived about thirty miles away, but then again, Leah would have been upset if she’d not called.