He crouched next to the body of a woman, putting two fingers to her neck. After a second he stood up. “She’s dead. Probably not for long.” “But why? What is this?” Virginia could barely get the words out. The woman was lying on her side, blood on her left temple and matted in her long blonde hair. “Jesus,” she whispered, turning quickly away. The pounding on the front door sent them both running in that direction. “Police!” “Thank God.” Virginia was glad that help had arrived. Aaron didn’t look so sure. “We can’t open the door,” he called. “It’s padlocked. We’re going to open it with bolt-cutters. Step away from the door.” Once they had complied and the padlock by the sound of it was dispensed with, a cop came through the door cautiously. His gun was drawn. Aaron held his hands up and she mimicked the move, though she felt ridiculous, since this was the first time she’d ever done it. Of course there was a gun on her and a body in the other room, so better to be cautious.
