Catch & Neutralize Read Online Free

that standard dingdong fashion. No surprise there as the rest of neighborhood lacked just as much individualism and creativity.
    He pushed the bell again, and still no one came to the door. No barking dogs or other noises emitted from inside. Mark slipped between a row of snow coated bushes and the house to peek through the front window. Snow crunched under his shoes. That sound always made him smile, but not this day. This day, Mark hardly noticed it.
    The window gave sight into a living room, minimal and neat. Nothing out of the ordinary: sofa, chairs, and tables situated around a wall mounted TV. No sign of a fireplace, which Mark thought a crazy oversight in this area of the country. Although flaming hot in the summer, winter temperatures often dipped below freezing.
    Back at the door, Mark tried his luck ringing the bell one last time without answer. He took a look over each shoulder and turned around, sliding hands into pockets.
    No one in the area. In fact, most of these houses seemed unoccupied. Possibly the result of a housing developer gone mad with house building lust. Maybe the idea had been: Build it and they will come. Mark wondered how much money had been wasted and chuckled without humor at the general idiocy of the housing market.
    He placed his hand on the icy knob and gave it a turn, heard the click of admittance. The skin between Mark’s brows furrowed. Doors should always be locked for safety, whether someone’s home or not.
    He slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside, cautious and listening. He cleared his throat and called out: “Mr. Pilfer? Are you home?”
    No answer except for a ticking clock and the hum of appliances.
    Mark made his way through the living room and into the kitchen. Nothing spectacular there either. Clean, not a single dish in the sink.
    He pulled a sleeve over his hand as protection against leaving prints and opened the refrigerator. A simple case of curiosity, nothing more. He believed one could tell a lot about a man by the type of consumables he buys in addition to those items kept past expiration dates. Mark felt fairly certain Mr. James Dean Pilfer was a neat freak that kept everything in order and with nothing expired laying around.
    Mark’s breath caught as he peered into the fridge. He was wrong. Mr. Pilfer definitely had at least one expired thing. He repressed a gag, letting the door thud shut.
    Hard to tell if male or female, it could go either way with short black hair, sunken cheeks, eyes swollen, and crooked teeth with some broken. The human head wrapped in plastic did not belong to Angie. The photo Mark downloaded from the cheater’s website showed Mr. Pilfer with short black hair.
    Could it be his?
    Question after question fired inside Mark’s head.
    Who is James Dean Pilfer? Is he a murderer, a hitman? What’s Angie’s involvement? Why is she in constant contact with this person? Is Angie having an affair? Is she planning to hire Mr. Pilfer to kill me?
    Mark burst from the house. He’d had enough weirdness for one weekend… and now the fear. The fear circled around his wife, a cavernous, hardcore paranoia for his beautiful beloved.
    What is she planning? When is she planning to do it?
    Uncertainty ran the length of Mark, sticking and coagulating, turning his thoughts to gravy. He found himself driving on autopilot towards ALGS. Even with genetic testing being so unpredictable, work seemed the only constant in his life.
    Driving to the lab gave him time to calm down, especially after stopping and downing a couple of miniatures. Nothing special, just a quick stop at Allsup’s Convenience Store and two shots straight from tiny plastic containers behind a dumpster. It would’ve been comical if not for the situation. He considered buying a pack of cigarettes to go with the alcohol but thought better of it. After the drinks, he took it easy in the SUV, trying not to think until the shakes dissipated.
    En route to ALGS, the liquor fully kicked-in.