Chapter 4 — Caleb inspects the laundry basket contents closer — Until he finds a foreign item left beside the phone
Caleb pressed the power button on the device to illuminate the main screen once more.
He swiped downward to access the recent notifications menu.
The incoming call from the unknown number registered at exactly four-forty-two in the afternoon.
Directly underneath that log entry sat a string of three missed calls spanning the last twenty minutes.
Evelyn gripped the edge of the living room sofa to steady herself.
She had been standing right beside the kitchen counter twenty minutes ago.
Her phone had been resting right next to the fruit bowl.
She never left it unattended in the main living space.
Caleb turned his attention back to the wicker laundry basket resting by the sofa.
He knelt down on the hardwood floor and began unloading the top layer of folded laundry.
A stack of cotton towels came out first.
Then a few of Chloe’s everyday garments.
He set them carefully onto the rug.
Nestled near the very bottom of the basket sat a thick grey wool blanket.
Caleb lifted the heavy blanket by its corner and tossed it aside.
Something metallic glinted under the dim ambient light filtering through the living room windows.
Caleb reached into the deep crevices of the wicker weave and pulled the item out into the open.
It was a small set of silver keys attached to a weighted black leather key fob.
Evelyn stared down at the foreign object resting in her husband’s palm.
She shook her head slowly from side to side.
Those do not belong in this house, she whispered.
Caleb turned the metal keys over in his hand, inspecting the unique engravings along the serrated edges.
He held the key fob up toward the window to catch the afternoon glare.
An embossed corporate logo gleamed faintly against the dark leather surface.
Evelyn stared at the emblem for a long, silent second before her eyes widened in sudden recognition.