A/N: A shout out to cinderella1268. Glad you liked it! Hope this chapter helps with the suspense. ;)
Chapter 21
"I know I'm retired but does anyone else smell what I smell?" Munch wanted to know.
"If you mean decomp, then yes," Nick swallowed hard.
"Ok, it isn't just me then," John smirked slightly despite the situation.
"Given the freezing temps out, we shouldn't be smelling anything," Elliot said, his senses told him that what they were going to find wasn't going to be good.
"Yes but the house isn't as cold as it is outside," Nick pointed to an electric heater that was plugged in the corner of the kitchen. It was obviously working so as John had pointed out, the house was still in use.
"No lights on so they are trying to make it look like nothing is going on in here from the outside. The unlocked door makes me think that whoever was here isn't anymore. We've missed him," Elliot cursed their bad luck. They continued the sweep of the house but could not find the source of the smell.
"Well there is only one place left to check," Munch pointed to a door which undoubtedly led to the basement.
"All right. I'll go first," Elliot volunteered and grabbed the door handle. He slowly pulled it open and the three began their trek down the stairs. Much like the upper staircase that led to the second floor, this staircase was showing its age. The steps bowed and buckled, groaning as weight was put on them. Cobwebs hung everywhere and colonies of spiders were scurrying about, no doubt shaking their fists at the intruders, Munch had joked. The dirt on the wooden steps had been disturbed and they all knew that that meant someone had definitely been here before them. As they descended though, the smell of decomposing flesh got stronger, telling them that their quarry was definitely in the basement.
At the bottom of the stairs, Elliot went left, Nick went right, and Munch headed straight out in front of the stairs. The sounds of their own footsteps were the only things that filled the air but the blood that pulsed in their ears made them think every little noise was something that was coming for them.
"Over here," Nick called. Elliot and Munch quickly headed to his position.
"Yes that is definitely a dead body," John practically gagged. It had been a while since he'd smelled that horrible stench.
"And it seems our guy was smart about his choice," Nick pointed to the two electric heaters that had been plugged in near the body. They were cranking out heat and Elliot could feel his toes starting to thaw.
"Those heaters are allowing the body to decompose naturally without letting it get frozen. We're definitely missing something when it comes to Martin Price. This guy doesn't commit all these murders and end up getting caught for assault," Elliot said as he looked over the body. At least a couple of days of decomposing had occurred thanks to the heaters by his guess but it was still obvious that it was a blonde female.
"So up to a pay phone to call it in?" Nick asked.
"Yes, let's get out of here. We may have already worn out our welcome," Munch said.
"Agreed. Carefully head back up the stairs and scope out the backyard before we get caught here. With any luck our presence has gone unnoticed," Elliot nodded. They quickly headed up and kept low so they could examine the backyard. It seemed empty and Nick went to the living room and noted that the front yard was empty as well. Leaving the way they came in, they crept out toward the sidewalk, their weapons back in their holsters. When they got to the edge of the yard where the street light got shown upon the sidewalk, they ducked behind the bush that had sheltered them before. It was late enough that no one was on the street and the nearby homes were dark, their residents safely snug in bed.
With a quick nod between them, the three emerged and headed back toward the bus stop. They heard a car coming as they cleared the distance between them and the house while gaining on the bus stop. They all feared bumping into the officers they'd met before but played it cool and did not turn around as the car went by. With their hoods up, the driver could not tell who they were from behind and they kept their heads down as they plodded toward the bus stop. The car went by and Elliot noted that it was a local police car. There was nowhere to hide as the residential street had yet to turn into the street of the center of town. But the car kept on going, as if it was just out to reach its destination.
Soon the street became larger and the street lights more frequent. They reached the bus stop with no trouble and Elliot noted that the last bus of the evening would be by soon. They had lucked out so far and he couldn't help but smile as he saw the bus coming down the street, having turned off another cross street.
"Evening, gentlemen," the bus driver nodded as they climbed aboard.
"Evening," Elliot smiled as he paid the fare. The rest of the trip back to the hotel was silent.
"Here you boys go," the driver smiled as he opened the door that led to the bus stop only feet away from the hotel parking lot.
"Looks like something big is going down here," Elliot remarked with all the police cars in the parking lot.
"I guess so," the driver shrugged as they got off the bus. The police tape blocked their entrance to the hotel.
"What is going on?" Munch asked one of the hotel employee's, who was trying to keep warm.
"Some guy came in and tried to rob the restaurant," she rolled her eyes.
"That happens a lot?" Munch wanted to know given her reaction.
"No but if he was that desperate then he has no idea how little was in the till and now he's going to jail. Mostly stupid stuff," she heaved a sigh. Her coat was warm but her pantyhose were not.
"Gotcha," Munch nodded.
"We have to get back inside and make a phone call," Nick said.
"Going to be hard to do, given the situation," Elliot shook his head.
"Just play it cool fellas. We may not have to make the call anyway," John said.
"Why?" Nick gave him a look.
"Because they just pulled Martin Price out in handcuffs," Munch explained.
To Be Continued…