Drained (Edgars Family #6) - Suzanne Ferrell Page 0,113

very normal, very neat—except for the outside door hanging by its upper hinge—suburban home.

“Aaron?”

“In here, Bri,” he said, using the nickname for the second time this evening. Abby had given it to her when they were in the orphanage and been the only one to call her that until now. She kind of liked that Aaron used it, too.

She turned to her right and entered a home office. Built-in wooden bookcases lined three of the walls. A solid maple desk and leather office chair sat in the middle facing the doorway. Aaron sat in the chair, looking at the computer screen.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking at his browsing history, hoping he left some evidence or clues about his killing spot, because there’s nothing here.”

Standing a few feet from the desk, taking in all the things in the room. A framed world map hung on the one wall not covered with bookshelves. Beneath it was an antique mahogany sideboard. On top of which sat the gilded-framed picture of a thirtyish woman with eighties-style highly-teased hair. “Do you think this was his mother?”

“I’d say that was a very good guess,” Carson said, stepping into the room. “Upstairs bedrooms are a bust. Nothing in the closets or under the bed or in the dressers. Armbruster’s very meticulous. Everything precisely in its place. Nothing out of place. The whole house looks like it came from a showroom.”

“So he’s a neat freak,” Aaron said leaning back in the chair. “I was hoping we’d find something that would lead us to where he’s holding these people long enough to drain their blood.”

His phone rang and he pulled it out of pocket to answer. “Yes, sir. No sign of him here. The blood bank was a bust, too?” he said, looking at Brianna and Carson, to let them know Armbruster was still in the wind.

“Yes, sir, we’re looking very carefully for any clue, but so far it’s looking pretty sparse. Even his computer has been cleaned.” He paused and glanced at his wristwatch. “I figure no more than half an hour, just to be sure we don’t miss anything.”

Then he hung up and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Your captain?” Brianna asked, going back to study the credenza. It reminded her of the one her adoptive parents had in their home.

“He wants us all to meet back at the precinct in thirty minutes. Jaylon and Matt came up empty at the blood bank. Ramos has started inventorying the blood and taking samples.”

“You know you’ll find matches to the two men,” Carson said over his shoulder as he pulled down books one at a time, then replacing them.

“Well, at least that will be some useable evidence.” Aaron stood and turned off the computer. “I’ll have the tech people come take this, maybe they can find something with a deeper dive. There’s nothing obvious in it.”

“This man is meticulous. He pays attention to details, Jeffers,” Carson said. “I wouldn’t have expected him to leave you a neon sign saying, here’s the spot to go search.”

“I’d settle for a breadcrumb right now,” Aaron muttered.

While the two men talked, Brianna slid her hand over the top of the credenza, slipping her fingers under the edge where it hung over the sides. She worked her way backwards from the middle front first to the right, then to the left until her fingers found the little button hidden near the back. Just like the one at her parents’ home.

“How about a secret drawer?” she asked as she pushed the button inward.

A hinged side panel popped open.

“What the hell?” Aaron asked hurrying over, Carson right behind him.

She grinned at them. “My parents had a hutch like this. Very old. They never knew there was a secret panel built in. I used to hide things in it when I was young. First little bits of money from my allowance, then my diary and finally pot when I took the chance of getting some as a teen.”

The hidden space at the back of the antique furniture was deep, the entire length of the credenza and about eight inches wide.

“I doubt he’s got any of that in there,” Carson said, bending over and shining his flashlight inside. “Yep, just as I thought. This is where he’s keeping his treasures.”

His hands already gloved, he reached in and pulled out a sweatshirt with Steroid Kyle’s high school emblem on the front. Next he pulled out Mia’s violin. He laid it on top of the credenza. Brianna started to reach for