Fifteen
Ash watched in anticipation as Bernard used the key she dug up to open up the upstairs apartment. Many of the storefronts in the plaza had living spaces for the families that run the stores. Ash had always wondered why the space was never used.
“Got it.” Bernard said.
They walked in to see papers and pictures tacked onto the walls. A large desk covered in folders, a small couch with a blanket draped over it. Ash walked to a corkboard above the large desk. It had various colored strings connecting pictures together. She studied them reading the sticky notes with her mother’s handwriting.
“Papa…was this the case she was working on?”
Bernard walked over and took in the scene. “Dear Gods.”
There were pictures of people in black robes surrounding what looked like a concrete slab. Another featuring a large bonfire with the moon high and red in the black sky. Another picture featured what looked like chains that had been discarded.