Even after Her Death by Rita Bond

Chapter 310 The Shop's Secret

Behind Carter, police officers were setting up a perimeter, indicating something serious had occurred ar the shop:

I couldn't help but feel uneasy as I glanced at him. "Is it okay for me to be here?"

"Don't worry. All the cameras have been turned off."

That reassured me. He wouldn't put me at risk.

"You should've been inside. It's freezing out here."

I just wanted to see you sooner. He offered a soft smile.

For a brief moment, almost forgot how he used to be Why had I once thought of him as so frightening?

I gently pushed him toward the door. "What happened today?"

"I had some people stir up trouble at the shop. As soon as they heard we might call the police, they tried to pay to make it go away. But when money didn't work, one of them shut the place down."

I stopped in my tracks. "They were planning to force their way in?"

"Yes. A bunch of thugs, really. They didn't expect us to be prepared. We had backup waiting outside, and when the scuffle started, they ran into the underground tunnel."

I'd figured out where the tunnel was, but now I worried. With so many people around, I feared the decoy might have gotten into trouble.

100

"Did anyone get hurt?" I asked, anxiety rising. I had only wanted to cause a bit of a stir, not out of hand.

Carter's face grew dark. My stomach twisted. "What happened?"

things get

"They're badly injured. They meant to scare them, but the situation escalated. They broke into a secret underground base. If that secret leaks, the whole shop is done for. That's why they never planned to let anyone leave today. "Do you remember the guy who used to fix our cars? He stepped in to protect them. He got hurt, but at least he's alive."

I remembered him well. I'd added him on WhatsApp, chatted with him a few times.

He hadn't been at the shop long, so he likely didn't know anything too important.

I'd gone through his posts. He was a cheerful guy, came from a small town in the mountains to support his family. He had a younger sister who was excelling in school.

He was kind too. When he couldn't afford to buy food for stray cats, he'd give them half-of his lunch.

1had always liked him. The first time I met him, his bright personality reminded me of a little sun. 1/4

210 The

caught up in

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been. Once inside the dege, I to the police had taken control, Officers were investigating, looking

the floor

an agreement, giving us permission to enter

sight of blood stains on the floor made me

were werely injured,

"Where's Captain Turker? tasked.

the basement, Carter

there?

just a few words. You'll get

hidden passage. Just as I expected, the

coated with cement, and the air was thick with a musty, rotten scent, mixed with the overpowering smell of blood. The

expression

replied, though my

place you've been

paths. "Yes, the room I went to was down

I walked

heart beat. My palms were slick with

gently, patting the back of

I stepped inside, I was hit by the sight of the stone bed in the middle of the room-it was

I said. "This is

man with dark skin enter.

gloves, opened a nearby cabinet. It was

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09:16 Fri, Dec 13

310 The

of them made my

me in

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studied the assortment of tools. His anger was

motionless beside him,

I said, Trying to steady my voice,

was only one. I wiped away my tears quickly. "What's in the other

out soon enough," Carter

stepped into the next room, and the

rooms had been bare and unfinished. But this

all sizes, an operating table, and tools that