Miss Meurtre

Part 4

Elliot and Sadie stayed a far distance away from Benjamin. Sadie was getting nervous—she wasn’t even complaining about the cold anymore. Elliot stared ahead, her eyes fixed on Benjamin’s gun, not daring to blink.

Why does Benjamin have a gun? Did he kill Aunt Lizzie? Why did he shoot at us? She knew if Benjamin wanted to kill them, he would’ve, but maybe he didn’t want more blood on his hands. Or, maybe he wasn’t the person who had shot at them. Maybe Benjamin just happened to be carrying a gun. It would make sense, but Elliot didn’t know Benjamin had a gun license. She knew Theodore had one, but she had never even seen Theodore holding a gun before, let alone using it on someone.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage, but she tried her best to look natural as they stepped back into the house.

“Elliot!” Without even a second to spare, Mave was wrapping her daughter in a hug. “Where were you? We were worried sick. Thank god Benjamin found you…”

Elliot tuned her out. Beside her, Cady did the same to Sadie. But Elliot’s eyes were focused on Benjamin, as he tugged off his coat, as he so subtly grabbed the gun out of his coat pocket… She twisted out of Mave’s grasp, opening her mouth to say something, when there was a shout from upstairs.

From Lizzie’s room.

Elliot dashed for the stairs, ignoring Mave who was shouting after her. She threw herself into the room, where Bane and Theodore stood, the former seemingly the source of the shout. “What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked, breathlessly.

Bane nodded at the bed. “Look for yourself.”

Elliot moved slowly. What had happened to Mave’s body? Was it disfigured? Torn apart? Maybe even, she paused. Mave’s body wasn’t there.

The sheets were still stained with blood, but the body was gone. Elliot blinked, dumbfounded. Where could the body have gone? Her eyes glanced towards the window. It was open, just a tiny bit. So someone—possibly two people—wanted Lizzie’s body out and gone. Why? What did they gain from doing that? Was it possible that Lizzie was still alive and walked out herself? But that was impossible. She had no pulse or heartbeat, and her neck had been slit from ear-to-ear.

“The body’s gone.” Elliot turned around. Sadie was standing behind her, her eyes fixated on the empty bed. Elliot nodded. She turned around, scanning the room. The bed was in the center. Windows on the western side. Two empty shelves sat on either side of the bed. That was it. There were a few potted plants scattered about, but Lizzie had brought those.