Rising Darkness Read Free Page A

herself when she went into town, but Joe did not see any of the cars missing out front. Unless she had one of her friends pick her up and the two went on a spa day or something. That was something that Tracy did a few times a month, but she always sent him a text with dinner instructions and to let him know where she was going to be.
    It was weird. For some reason Joe was starting to get a strange vibe. The butterflies began to twist and turn in his stomach. He had to find out what was going on here. He tried to calm his nerves as he began to jog up the stairs. It was remotely possible that she’d had another migraine and retreated to the comfort of the bed. This happened rarely, but when it did the pain rendered her completely bedfast. She had to lie perfectly still in a pitch black room with no sound whatsoever and sleep. This usually lasted about four hours and she was often fine when she woke up again. Joe hoped that was all that was wrong, but he had that horrible feeling in his stomach again.
    “Tracy? Are you here sweetie?”
    As he opened the door to the bedroom he didn’t see what was right in front of him. His eyes would not take it in and tell him what he was seeing. It just appeared to be his ordinary bedroom, with a blurry bit of red everywhere. It took a few seconds for his eyes and the reality of what was happening to sink in.
    Tracy’s lifeless body was laid sprawled out on the bed.
    There was so much blood…
    So much blood…
    All became dark.
    ****
    “And you were gone how long?”
    The question was starting to sound very repetitive. Joe had been sitting in his living room drinking some hot tea and trying to get his body temperature back to normal after having the shock of his life. It was warm outside but it felt completely freezing inside. He did not know what to make of it. His body would not stop shivering.
    “I was gone since this morning at eight o’clock. It was just a typical workday, really,” Joe replied. He found that his voice was very monotone and it did not sound anything like him. He had to struggle to keep one word in front of the other.
    “And when did you have this party? Last night?”
    “Two nights ago. Why are you asking something like that for?” Joe asked.
    “Well, it’s possible that someone at the party was scoping out your place and figuring out the best way to get in here to attack your wife.”
    “Why would anyone want to hurt her? Everybody loved her.”
    “Well, apparently everybody didn’t love her. You have no idea who might have held a grudge against her? Anyone at all?”
    Detective Roy Andrews was staring Joe right in the eyes with every question as if he was asking him to lie to him so he could rip him a new gizzard. The guy had the most intimidating stare that Joe had ever seen; and he was pretty sure that Roy was not even aware that he was doing it. Joe liked to think that he had his own strong poker face due to his experiences in the business world, but he did not trust anyone who wanted to lock you up under any segment of the government that tried to take away some of your basic rights.
    “No. If I had any idea I would certainly tell you.”
    “It might not be so obvious. I need you to search your mind and your subconscious to pick up some details that you might not even know you have.”
    “How do I do that?”
    “You close your eyes and just try to replay the scene over and over again in your mind. It takes a bit of practice, but it has been proven to be very effective in recalling traumatic experiences.”
    Joe sighed. “I don’t have time for any mumbo jumbo. I want to find out who killed my wife!”
    He was aware that he was screaming now, which was the exact opposite of how to act cool and collected. He hated to stand out, but if he started acting that way he was going to stand out like a sore thumb. He had to breathe and just regroup. He just had to get a hold of himself.
    “Mr. Payton, we are just trying to gather the facts. This will be