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Deanna looked up to him questioningly as he stood up and had to start pacing. That was a sign for her after noticing that he only did that when he was trying to piece things together to form a better picture in his head. She watched him move back and forth through the hallway they had camped out in waiting to hear from anyone that they had got to her siblings. They knew it had to be all at once, or one of them might disappear with some sort of knowledge of the others being picked up. This was bigger than this department should be able to handle. Deanna knew that, and so did Max, but he had faith that everything would work out the way it was supposed too.
“What did you find?” Deanna asked as she finally couldn’t take it anymore with watching him pace back and forth on the hallway.
“The curse,” Max said.
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Weathering the Storm 23
“How in the world?” the older man asked as he had sat through the entire conversation listening to the two of the people in front of him. With every statement made, he felt more disgusted that he could even have the smallest part in any of this. He looked Deanna over again as he tried to clear out his throat. “Deanna, I have known you since you were born. I knew your brothers and sisters from birth, as well. I knew your father. No, I am sorry, grandfather, since childhood. Though I had no idea what was going on, I do have to say I didn’t particularly like your mother. She changed him though only an old friend would notice those small changes. I dare say this shouldn’t be a shock as we all saw the favoritism she had with David and some of the other boys I never thought this could be happening right under our noses.”“Not many people saw
Weathering the Storm 24
Max walked out of the room for a second as some of the other officers had come back to the conference room. He looked over the group that had amassed in the station. There were sets of adults and groups of children everywhere. He did a headcount of the people and saw that the number was right. They had got everyone in one try unless there were more out there that they didn’t know about. Max had some questions for the people who were not blood tied to the family. The spouses of the siblings. They had to answer for everything as well. As he looked at their faces, he started to understand this family a bit more. He felt some sympathy for them as well. It was plain to see they had zero clue as to why they were all there. It was then that Max realized they had no idea at the lengths the siblings would do or had done as well. They had no idea their children were being used as well.The kids themselves stayed
Weathering the Storm 25
Cheryl looked up at him, and he could read the horror on her face. She couldn’t speak about it. She was pleading with him silently, not to ask her in front of everyone. “alright.” Max said as he motioned for an officer to go and retrieve the box from her car. When Cheryl handed over the keys, Max looked at her and motioned for her to come with him.They two walked down further into the hall, where they wouldn’t be overheard by everyone in the family. “It couldn’t have been easy to come here tonight,” Max said softly as he looked down at the woman.“it wasn’t.” She said softly, “None of them have even tried to see if the kids and I are okay since David went to jail. They have no idea what it is like, but I have a feeling they all will find out.”“Deanna tried to reach you.” Max
Weathering the Storm 26
The contents of the box were being taken out and labeled as evidence. As the process would take some time, he looked around the table for the thing already in bags. “Can I?” Max asked as he went to lift one bag up. The officer nodded, and Max lifted it up and began to look at the object in the bag. “What is it?”“Looks like some sort of torture device.” The man said from the other side of the table.“It wouldn’t be the worst he had,” Max said as he began to think of the rooms in the basement that had been lined with them. “This guy was into torture, among other things. He seemed to get off on inflicting pain to his victims.”“I think this is of your wife, Detective.” The officer said as he handed a picture in one of the bags to Max. Max took it and beg
Weathering the Storm 27
Max knew they had to be related to her somehow as well though she hadn’t figured that out just yet. The way they looked in the photos was too close to how she looked then and now. This family was giving him a massive headache. Though he never wanted a big case like this one on his shoulders, he was happy he was next to her as she looked up at him and thought the tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. They were still the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Max knew he could easily stare into them every day for the rest of his life. Even in the overwhelming idea that there was more hidden in the house, she had grown up in, she stood there with a backbone of steel. Though the day’s events were starting to take a toll on her in the way she stood and the completely emotional state she was in.“They will be there in a little bit.” The captain said as he nodded to the pair in the room.
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Max looked behind him and saw the row of cop cars coming their way. As soon as the large group all got there and heard the reason they were there, no one wanted to go into the house at all. Deanna walked up to the steps and took out her keys. She unlocked the door and pushed it wide. She reached into the house another the wall and turned on the first set of lights.The room didn’t improve with light, and she started to flip lights on as she led the way to the third floor of the house. She was looking around but couldn’t remember where the door was that she must have found by accident as a child. She leaned on the wall, and a flash of a sliver of a memory hit her. She saw a portrait that was in the same place. She wondered why she had thought of that one portrait. That one portrait had always scared her.It was on the second floor, not the th
Weathering the Storm 29
The walls were covered in what appeared to be tanned hides of smaller animals. At least that is what he was hoping for, but knowing this family as well as he did, he knew what they were. If Deanna realized she wasn’t reacting to it as he looked down at her. He was trying to stay focused, but the more he looked around, the more he wondered at the woman next to him and how she had wiped this mostly from her memory. The low light of the candles that lined the walls though he realized they were the type that was battery operated, but he could see they were newer. The dried wax was running down the walls in places in long strips. It added to the idea that this place was never really found by anyone else before.The other stains on the wall were there, and he had an idea as to what they were. As he looked around, he waited to see these other people that were here, but Max had begun to think he had already see
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Max looked at the three small girls and wondered what universe he had walked into though he knew whatever the person who had a hand in raising them as they had been raised to believe in a much higher purpose for themselves and everyone around them. Deanna looked at him and smiled softly as she looked back at the smaller girls. She nodded to them as her smile got bigger, “He is exactly that, my shining knight.”“Well.” Max started to say, but she cut him off, “Are there any more in here?”“Of course, there are.” The smallest of the girls replied. “We must always be at seven or thirteen.”“And how many are there?” Max asked.“Thirteen with all of us.” The little girl looked up to him.“Why tho
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