Chapter 2

The basement was cold and damp.

Together, Caleb and Brenda dragged the body — stuffed inside a black plastic bag — across the floor to the oversized chest freezer against the wall.

Veronica had bought that freezer herself, to store imported seafood. Now it was going to be her coffin.

"Open it." Caleb ordered, breathing hard.

Brenda's hands trembled as she lifted the freezer door.

It was packed full of frozen meat.

Caleb didn't care. He shoved the bag in anyway.

There wasn't enough room. The legs stuck out over the edge.

"Push them in!" Caleb snapped at Brenda, his eyes wild.

Brenda gritted her teeth, pressed both hands down hard on the knees, and forced them down.

Crack.

The lower leg bones snapped.

Brenda flinched at the sound, but Caleb didn't stop. He folded the legs in and jammed them into the gap along the side of the freezer.

Then he grabbed the frozen pork sitting nearby and layered it on top of the body, piece by piece.

Thud.

The freezer door slammed shut.

Caleb pulled out the plug and let out a long, slow breath.

Then, from upstairs — the doorbell.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

It rang fast and sharp, echoing through the empty house like an alarm.

Brenda flinched so hard she nearly fell, clutching Caleb's arm with both hands.

"Who is that? In the middle of the day!"

Caleb's brow furrowed. He pressed a finger to his lips.

He crept up the stairs and into the living room, lifting the edge of the curtain to peer outside.

Two uniformed cops were standing at the front gate. One of them is pressing the doorbell.

"Co— cops!"

Caleb's breath caught. Cold sweat soaked through his shirt instantly.

Brenda had followed him up. The moment she heard the word cops, her eyes rolled back and she started to crumple.

Caleb grabbed a fistful of her hair and hauled her upright.

"Shut up," he hissed, glaring at her. "swallow it!"

"It had to be Mary, that old woman!"

He remembered now — Mary was timid by nature, but completely loyal to Veronica. She'd been right outside the bathroom door earlier. She must have sensed something was wrong and set up a scheduled emergency text in advance, or sent a message to her daughter away at college.

"What do we do, son? The cops are at the door, we're done!" Brenda slapped herself on the face in a panic.

"Calm down! Go to the kitchen and wash the dishes. Act like nothing happened!"

Caleb took a deep breath, scrubbed his hands furiously with soap to get rid of the smell of blood, then arranged his face into an expression of mild annoyance and walked to the front door.

He pulled it open.

Two officers stood on the front steps, their sharp eyes scanning him.

"Caleb?" The younger cop's hand rested on the body camera clipped to his belt, his tone hard. "We received a call reporting a violent assault at this address."

Caleb blinked, then let out an exaggerated laugh.

"Officers, what are you talking about? A violent assault?"

"The caller gave her name as Mary. She said she works here as your housekeeper." The older cop fixed his gaze on Caleb's eyes. "Where is she?"

"Mary?" Caleb rubbed his temple and sighed. "She stole some of my wife's jewelry this afternoon. My wife caught her and quit her. She's probably holding a grudge and filed a false report just to mess with us."

The older cop said nothing. His nose twitched.

"Strong smell of disinfectant."

He lifted his head sharply, his gaze cutting past Caleb's shoulder into the interior of the house.

"Scrubbing floors in the middle of the day?"

Caleb's heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to stay calm.

"We have a dog. Goes wherever it wants. My mom's a clean freak — she's been disinfecting."

"We've been standing at the door for five minutes," the younger cop said coldly. "Didn't hear any dog bark."

"It's at the pet shop." Caleb didn't flinch.

The older cop stared at him for a full ten seconds.

"Alright. A report was filed, so we need to do a routine check. Where's your wife? please have her come out."

"She's on a business trip. Left this afternoon."

"Where to? What's her flight number?" The older cop pressed.

"She… she went to San Francisco. Drove herself there."

The older cop nodded, then suddenly stepped forward into the house.

"Show us around."

Caleb had no way to stop him. He had no choice but to follow.

The house was eerily quiet.

Brenda was standing in the kitchen doorway, a dish rag in her hand, her legs trembling so badly she could barely stand.

When she saw the officers, the color drained from her face. Her lips quivered. She couldn't get a single word out.

"Ma'am." The older cop narrowed his eyes. "Why are you shaking?"

"I'm… I'm not. I'm just cold." Brenda stammered.

The older cop ignored her and walked straight into the kitchen.

His eyes swept the room and landed on the door leading down to the basement.

Caleb's heart shot into his throat. He clenched both fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.

"What's down there?" The older cop pointed at the door.

"Storage. Just junk." Caleb managed a thin smile.

"Let's take a look."

The older cop reached for the door handle.

He can't go down there.

The basement didn't just have the chest freezer with the body in it — Mary was down there too, knocked out and chained to the heating pipe.

Out of the corner of his eye, Caleb spotted a pot on the kitchen counter. A fresh batch of bone Broth , still boiling hot.

He didn't hesitate for a second.

He lunged forward, grabbed the pot, and let his foot slip out from under him.

"Whoa—!"

The entire pot of bone broth came down squarely on Brenda's arm and back.

"AHHH—!!"

Brenda let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed to the floor, writhing and clutching her arm. The skin turned red and blistered almost instantly. It was brutal.

"Mom! Are you okay!"

Caleb threw himself toward her, his face twisted in exaggerated horror.

The sudden chaos caught both officers off guard.

The older cop immediately let go of the door handle and rushed over.

"Quick — run it under cold water! She needs to get to a hospital!"

The kitchen erupted into pandemonium.

Caleb seized the moment. He scooped Brenda up and bolted for the door, shouting as he ran: "Officers, my mom's burns are serious — I have to get her to the ER right now! The whole report was a misunderstanding, I swear. I'll have my wife come to the station first thing tomorrow morning to withdraw the case!"

The older cop frowned and see blistering burns covering Brenda's skin. Finally, he waved them off.

"Go. But tomorrow, ten a.m. — your wife comes in. In person."

"Absolutely. We'll be there!"

Caleb shoved Brenda into the car and floored it out of the neighborhood.

He watched the police cruiser shrink in the rearview mirror until it disappeared. Then he let out a long, slow breath.