Page 24 of In Her Fears (Jenna Graves #8)
Jenna bolted upright with Lina’s warning echoing in her mind.
The sheets twisted around her legs like restraints as she fumbled for the bedside lamp.
Weak light flooded the room, revealing her still-clothed body and the disorienting glow of the clock—she’d been asleep less than two hours, but her mind blazed with terrible clarity.
“Phone,” she muttered, patting the rumpled bedding around her. The phone must have fallen while she slept.
She dropped to her knees beside the bed, scanning the floor. There was a faint gleam in the dust beneath the bed frame. She stretched her arm into the narrow space, straining until her fingers brushed against the cool metal case.
She dialed Delgado’s number. Her throat felt parched, her voice rough when the officer answered.
“Delgado.”
“Maria, it’s Sheriff Graves.” Jenna paced to the window, pulling back the curtain to reveal the full moon in the night sky. “Who’s there with you at Harrow’s place right now?”
“Just me and Mike Donovan,” Maria replied, her voice low and professional. “I’m covering the front entrance, and Mike’s watching the back of the house.”
Jenna pressed her forehead against the cool glass. “Has anyone entered or left the house since Eric Edwards departed?”
“No, ma’am. It’s been quiet—too quiet, honestly. No movement, no lights coming on or off. Nothing.”
“You’re certain?” Jenna pressed. “No sign of Elias at all? No one at the windows? No sounds from inside?”
“Nothing, Sheriff.” A note of concern entered Maria’s voice. “Is there something specific I should be watching for?”
Jenna hesitated, unsure how much to share about her dream-induced revelation. It would only raise questions.
“Just... keep a close eye on the house. Call me immediately if there’s any change.”
“Will do,” Maria affirmed.
Jenna ended the call and released a shaky breath. If Delgado was right and no one had entered or left, then Elias was still alone in his house—still safe, at least for now. But for how long?
She dialed Jake’s number next, still unsteady as she punched in the familiar sequence. He answered on the first ring, as if he’d been waiting for her call.
“Jenna? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said automatically, then corrected herself. “No, actually, I’m not. But I’m back in the game now.” She hesitated before plunging into the revelations from her dream. “Have there been any developments with Ashworth?”
“None,” Jake replied. “Spelling’s officers report he’s been home since returning from Gildner. No suspicious activity. I also paid a visit to Claire, managed to smooth things over somewhat.”
“Jake,” she blurted, “I think I know who the killer is.”
A beat of silence. “Tell me.”
"There was more trouble than we knew between Elias Harrow and Eric Edwards. Eric was having an affair with Lina Harrow before she died. Elias found out and confronted them both during a picnic in the woods, the very night she committed suicide. That night is what started it all."
“Whatever happened, that was seven years ago.”
“But it changed both men’s lives permanently. I think that pain festered in their minds until it had to find a means of expression. And since Elias isn’t actually capable of carrying out these murders … “
“Slow down,” Jake said. “What brought you to this conclusion?”
Jenna sank onto the edge of the bed, suddenly aware of how her revelation must sound. “I had another dream, Jake. A lucid dream. Lina was there, and she said that she and Eric were lovers, but she was breaking it off.”
To his credit, Jake didn’t dismiss her. She described the moonlit clearing with its abandoned picnic, Lina’s words about the confrontation between Elias and Eric.
“You’re saying Eric killed those people because... what? Some twisted revenge against Elias for driving Lina to suicide?” Jake asked when she finished.
“I think it’s more complicated than that,” Jenna replied. “Maybe guilt, maybe rage that’s festered for seven years. But whatever his exact motive, I’m also convinced that Elias is his next target.”
“And the paintings? The other deaths?”
"I don't understand it yet. The images are a product of Elias' tormented mind.
But Eric has his demons, too. Maybe the murders are some kind of strategy to make Elias look guilty, even to convict him of murder.
All I know is that the night of Lina's suicide changed them both.
And I think it finally turned Eric into a murderer. "
“If you’re right,” Jake said, his voice tight with concern, “at least Elias is safe for now. Delgado and Donovan would have seen if Eric returned to the house.”
A cold weight settled in Jenna’s stomach. “That’s assuming there’s only one way in and out.”
“What do you mean?”
"Remember what Eric told us about Elias's house? Was it once a station on the Underground Railroad? Does it have hidden rooms and passages? Well, in my dream, Lina was in some kind of tunnel. She said that it 'once led to freedom, but now leads to death.'"
The silence on the other end of the line stretched for several heartbeats.
“Jake, what if Eric knows about some old escape passage? What if he’s already inside the house? Or what if Elias has left through one of them?”
“Where would he go?” Jake asked.
“The clearing,” Jenna said immediately. “The picnic site where everything went wrong seven years ago. Eric mentioned it earlier. That’s where they had their final confrontation before Lina died.”
“We need to find out if Elias is still inside that house,” Jake said.
“That’s right,” Jenna said. “I’ll call Delgado again right now. I’ll get back to you after.”
She ended the call and immediately dialed Delgado, her thumb slipping on the screen in her haste.
“Delgado here.”
“Maria, I need you to check if Elias is still in the house,” Jenna said without preamble. “Knock on the door, call his name. I need to know if he responds.”
“Right away,” Maria replied, her tone shifting to reflect Jenna’s urgency.
Jenna heard muffled movement through the phone, then the sound of Delgado’s footsteps on the creaking porch. Her sharp knocks reverberated.
“Mr. Harrow? This is Officer Delgado. Sheriff Graves needs to speak with you.” Maria’s voice carried clearly through the phone. “Mr. Harrow? Please answer the door.”
More knocking, louder this time. “Mr. Harrow!”
The seconds stretched into a full minute of silence, broken only by Delgado’s increasingly forceful attempts to rouse a response.
“Sheriff, there’s no answer,” Maria reported finally. “Do you want me to force entry into the premises?”
“No,” Jenna decided quickly. A dream wasn’t enough reason to tell her officer to break into a private home. “Stay where you are. I’m on my way. “
She ended the call and immediately dialed Jake again, her mind racing. If Elias wasn’t answering, it could mean several things—none of them good.
“He’s not responding,” she said as soon as Jake answered. “I think we need to get to that house immediately.”
“I’m already on my way to pick you up,” Jake replied, the sound of his car engine humming in the background. “ETA three minutes.”
A silence fell between them. Jenna closed her eyes, trying to recall every detail of the dream. But there was only so much she could learn from a dream. They were going to have to figure the rest of this out the old-fashioned way, through a real-life investigation.
“We have to check the house first to confirm whether Elias is gone, then find that tunnel,” she said, grabbing her jacket from the back of a chair.”
“I agree,” Jake replied. “I’m turning onto your street now.”
Jenna moved to her window and spotted Jake’s headlights approaching. “I see you. I’ll be right out.”
She ended the call and took one last glance around her bedroom, the site of the dream that had changed everything.
Her service weapon was secure at her hip, but exhaustion still clung to her bones despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
She had no idea if she was physically ready for whatever lay ahead, but she had no choice.
Elias’s life could depend on her clarity and speed.
She hurried out of the house just as Jake pulled into her driveway.
The night air hit her face, cool and crisp, momentarily sharpening her senses.
The full moon loomed overhead, casting silver light across her lawn—the same moon that had presided over Elias’s tortured visions, the same moon that had witnessed Martin Holbrook and Alexis Downey’s final moments.
The same moon that might now be witnessing another murder in progress.