Chapter 4

Seth watched from his office as Jake Baker read the note. Seth grinned as Jake's eyes widened. Jake looked nervously at Seth's window. Seth stayed hidden in shadows so Jake couldn't see him. He couldn't take the risk of being exposed. Not now. Not when everything was going so well. He didn't want to kill Jake. But he would if he had to. If Jake or his friend got too close again, Seth would have to take care of them. Jake closed his windows and pulled down the blinds. Seth snickered to himself and turned on the lights. He still had a lot of work to do. Mr. Anders would be expecting his money in 24 hours. Seth sighed and got to work.

…….

Connor couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about the knife. What did it mean? Did Seth Murdock murder someone? Or maybe he cut himself? Connor jumped when he heard a noise outside his room. He gulped as he slowly got out of bed. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Connor licked his lips nervously and headed towards his bedroom door. He could see a shadow coming under the bottom of the door. Connor gulped and pulled the door open. His little brother, Toby, shrieked. He had been coming back from the bathroom. Connor sighed and leaned his head against the door frame.

"Toby, why are you sneaking around outside my door?" asked Connor, giving his brother an evil look. The eight-year-old giggled.

"Sorry, Connor. I must have gotten lost," apologized Toby. He pouted his lips and gave Connor an innocent look.

"Go to bed. You're going to get us both in trouble," warned Connor. Toby shrugged and hurried off to his room. Connor sighed and walked to the bathroom to splash water on his face. His heart was still pounding. He turned on the sink and splashed water on his face.

"Calm down, Connor. Calm down," mumbled Connor to himself.

"You OK, pal?" asked a voice from behind Connor. Connor shrieked and spun around. David was standing in the doorway, a worried expression on his face.

"Dad. You startled me," groaned Connor.

"Sorry. What's wrong, Connor?" asked David, walking into the bathroom. Connor shook his head.

"Nothing. Just a little jumpy I guess," replied Connor. David cocked an eyebrow.

"Your mom told me you got upset today," explained David. Connor. Just what he needed now. His parents worrying about him.

"I'm fine, Dad. Really I am," assured Connor. David nodded in agreement.

"OK. Off to bed then. It's late," ordered David. Connor nodded and retired to his room. David sighed. He wished he could be there more for the boys, especially Connor. But work needed his full attention these days. David sighed and went to catch a few hours of sleep himself.

……….

Jake slept in till ten. Kate didn't disturb him and made sure none of the other kids did. Rest was one of the best things for Jake. Jake groaned as he woke up. His head was throbbing. He reached for the Tylenol next to his bed and popped one into his mouth. When his head stopped throbbing, he went over to his window and peeked out at Seth's house. His office window was closed and the drapes were pulled shut. Jake sighed and looked down at the garbage. It still hadn't been moved. He figured he had two days until it was collected. The only hope to catch Seth was to get Connor's dad involved. He was the only one who could search the garbage legally and maybe if they were lucky, search Seth's house. Jake picked up his cell phone and dialed Connor's number. Connor picked up after one ring.

"Hey, dude. What's up?" Jake told Connor about the note and how he wanted to involve Connor's dad.

"Oh my God. He sent you a note?" asked Connor, gasping.

"Yeah. He definitely doesn't want us to fid whatever is in there," replied Jake.

"The knife."

"Maybe. We need to tell you dad about this."

"No way, Jake. I'd so be grounded if he found out I was snooping in someone's garbage."

"Connor, this dude killed someone and he'll kill us if he catches us on his property again! Your dad is the only one who can help us." Jake could hear Connor sigh on the other end of the line.

"OK. I'll tell him about what you saw. But I'm not mentioning the knife. I don't want to be grounded this summer. I missed out on spring break because of you." Jake chuckled. Jake and Connor had skipped school one Friday and had been caught a few days later. They both got grounded over spring break.

"OK. Call me back. I'm not going anywhere." Jake hung up and continued to watch Seth's house. No sound or movement came from inside. It gave Jake the creeps.

…………..

Seth was woken up by his phone ringing. He had slept in. Damnit. Seth groaned and picked up the phone.

"Yes," he said.

"Mr. Murdock, I was supposed to be hear from you this morning," growled the caller. Seth sighed. It was Mr. Anders.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Anders. I meant to get in touch with you. I had a long night last night," apologized Seth.

"I'll let it go this time. Has the body been disposed of?" asked Anders.

"Yes, sir. Everything is ready for the next step," assured Seth. Just have some loose ends to tie up, said Seth to himself.

"Excellent. You have done well, Mr. Murdock. I will get back to you soon with your next assignment," explained Anders,

"I'll be waiting to hear from you," replied Seth. Murdock hung up. Seth sighed and put the phone back in the cradle. He had to get rid of those boys. He couldn't let them jeopardize the mission.

…………..

Connor arrived at the Baker house to find Sarah Baker being scolded by her parents. Apparently she had snuck out of the house late last night to meet up with friends.

"That's it, Sarah. You're grounded for a week. Go to your room," snapped Tom Baker. Sarah scoffed and stormed off to her room, followed by Tom who was still snapping at her. Connor winced as she slammed the door. Kate turned to look at Connor.

"Hi, Connor. Jake's awake. He's upstairs waiting for you. Try to avoid Sarah and Tom's wrath," warned Kate. Connor chuckled and headed upstairs. Jake's door was ajar so Connor knocked and opened it up some more. Jake was on his bed, watching the TV that had been moved in to his room.

"Hey. Come in," greeted Jake.

"Couldn't talk to my Dad. He had already left for the day. He has a big case he's working at. Two guys were shot to death at a gas station," explained Connor.

"Bummer," replied Jake, shutting off the TV.

"Yeah. Have you seen him this morning?" asked Connor, nodding his head towards Seth's house.

"Look at the garage," said Jake. Connor went over to the window and looked at Seth's garage. The door was slightly open.

"Oh ma. He left his garage partly open," exclaimed Connor, his eyes widening in excitement.

"He left about ten minutes ago. You should go down there and check it out. Maybe the body is in there," suggested Jake. Connor bit his lip. That was not only illegal but if Seth was a murderer, it was very dangerous. But Connor didn't want him getting away with murder.

"OK. Get the walkie talkies," ordered Connor. Jake pulled them out of the drawer and threw one to Connor.

"Be careful," warned Jake. Connor nodded and headed down the rope ladder. Jake kept a watchful eye out.

"Red one to red two. Heading towards garage," said Connor through the walkie-talkie.

"Roger. I'll keep an eye out," assured Jake. Connor slowly crept through Seth's yard and headed towards the garage. The inside was dark. It took a few seconds for Connor's eyes to adjust to the dark. His eyes fell to the floor. He gasped. Some blood was smeared on the concrete. There was some on the wall too. Connor took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of it. He was convinced now. Seth had killed someone.

"Red one to red two. Jake, there's some blood in here. A lot of it," gulped Connor. "I took a picture of it."

"That's good. Evidence. Head back to base now," urged Jake. Connor quickly left the garage and headed back to the rope ladder. Neither he nor Jake noticed the pair of eyes peeking out at them from an upstairs window.