"Dad?" Lucy called, she just was walking out of her room the moment Mr. Wilfred entered their apartment. She was wearing her usual sweat pants and tank top with her hair messily pulled back. Her same old warm chestnut eyes greeted him wearily as he tumbled in a little frazzled from that late night's events.

"Hey baby girl." Mr. Wilfred called out with a fake smile. "Just got home, what did you make for dinner?"

Lucy pulled a blank tired face at first, as if she was processing his words. But soon enough her genuine and warming smile returned. "Just pizza, it's in the microwave." She walked up to her father and hugged him. "I was just heading to bed, I was studying for that trigonometry test I mentioned earlier."

"Ohhh good job." Mr. Wilfred said putting his suite case down, heading towards the mini motel like kitchen. He opened the microwave to see half of an artificial cheese pizza waiting for him. At least it smelled good. Not particularly made with fresh ingredients but it still looked editable. 

Lucy was beaming a little bit more than usually, and she sat at the table with him like every-night. "How is the murder case going? I wasn't sure if you were coming home tonight." She said with a yawn. 

Mr. Wilfred ate slowly trying to piece her words together, he was thinking about the incident at the train station. He just shrugged it off and replied; "Oh fine, we found nothing yet. Things aren't adding up still, how they went missing. We found their bodies completely stripped naked, headless and heartless down by the river in the forest outside of the city. We have been investigating since last week all the houses were the bodies were located. We still have now found a strong suspect. We did notice though, one house deeper in the forest which has been empty for years. Some locals say there is light coming from the house at night now, with a piano playing through out the night. 

"Are you sure it's not just local teenagers trying to give a scare?" Lucy said in deep thought. She always wanted to help solve these types of mysteries. She was always thrilled of horror stories already so this case excited her. Which was surprising and strange since she wanted to be a school teacher, Mr. Wilfred thought she would work better in his line of work. 

"We aren't sure, but if someone reports it sweetie cops need to go check it out. With a murderer like this, I need to go and hunt for any clues the detective. Long  day it will be for me tomorrow huh?" He said finishing his half of the pizza, rubbing his hands together to clean it from the crumbs.

"I suppose." Lucy sighed standing up. "I better go to bed, night"

"Night" Mr. Wilfred said with a smiled. 

*********************************************************************

"Just one more house." Denis said looking over at Mr. Wilfred, who sat in the passenger seat of the police car.

"It's the one in the Forest correct?" Mr. Wilfred rubbed his balding head. "Yeah, Yeah one more? Fine, as long as you're buying the drinks tonight."

The two in the police car, had been driving outside of the city roads, where the forest flourished and grew like weeds. They stayed along the river and it's nearing houses, just looking around the parameters for any evidence that would help with the case. 

Denis often worked with Mr. Wilfred on scouting business. He was the best shooter but he was better known at the station, a man who could hold his liquor down better than anyone else at the station. 

Denis laughed half heartedly, as he slowed his car down. They finally parked in front of the gate, of the victorian house. They frequently had reports about this house being active on the inside, more or less this activity started when a ground of teenagers were found dead by the close by river.

This was the last stop both Denis and Mr. Wilfred dreaded. Whoever was inside was practically the suspected killer. Even today, they got even more calls saying the piano playing was growing louder each night.

Denis was much younger than Mr. Milfred, (three in a half decades in fact) but he still had his wits to know an empty house and someone purposely playing a piano loud inside, was not a good sign.

“It makes it more creepy that the moon’s full and it’s old and Victorian looking.” Denis said not appreciating the old house with the fallen broken porch steps.

“It’s beautiful, architects were more interesting back then, now all buildings and houses look the same.” Mr. Milfred said examining the lovely house past the iron fence.

“True, but all of the same, is easier to build and cheap. Too expensive to get creative, unless it is cheap.” Denis said in almost a robotic voice. As if he was brain was washed into his beliefs at the police academy. Another reason why, Mr. Milfred was a detective, he was granted to read history books and wasn’t having words shoved in his mouth with the same old reviewing knowledge. You have to think outside the box, to solve things in the box that don’t make sense.

This house didn’t make sense though, or the callers. It was completely empty looking. It was boarded up, all windows and the door was barricaded, as if to hold the evil within, trapped forever. “No reason to check it out.” Denis said dismissing the idea, as Mr. Milfred wisely pulled out his work phone and snapped a photo, just in case they ever came back and it looked different.

“Then let’s drink, I’m thirsty for something strong.” Mr. Milfred said with a faint smirk as they pulled away from the house, this time Denis speeded out from there. Mr. Milfred looked at the work phone and frowned. He zoomed in with his fingers at the right side of the house.

The basement doors, leading to the outside we’re open, although Mr. Milfred swore he saw them shut when he snapped the photo through the car window. But atlas, the photo showed them wide open with someone standing beside the basement. A dark lanky shadow coming out of the basement.

“Denis, did you see the basement doors opening? We’re they open?” Mr. Milfred said with chills up his spine.

“Hmmm your tired Hank, it’s been a long day.” Denis said pushing it aside as they speeded down the dirt road. Mr. Milfred shook his head shutting the phone off quickly. He would be drinking a lot, to forget that image on the phone.

*

“Five families have been reported dead and stripped naked. With having each head of the house hold's back, have a spider cut into them. But this time these dreadful attacks happened in the city all in one night. The police have been working eagerly for results but still cannot pin point these attacks, many citizens are moving out to the country side. Each attack has been proven to get gorier as if the murder is building up to a climax for ‘fun.’” Said the news reporter who was bold-fully standing outside of the police station with several cameras.

The head chief was not please, Mr. Milfred woke up the next morning with a hangover and an angry phone call. To Lucy who was listening to the phone call, thought it was frantic more than angry. She felt someone had to do something but she went to school quietly praying her father wouldn’t get hurt.

Mr. Milfred got dressed that morning and got even a more of a mouthful at the station, along his trusty companion Denis. It angered Mr. Milfred how Denis wasn’t effected of how much they drank.

In the end of the Chief’s snapping of how if things were not moving more smoothly than it should be both would be suspended if this continues. They were released to continue the case.

“It’s funny how he yells at us.” Denis snickered as both men entered the vehicle, “Everyone is working on the case but he yells at us!"

“Well you know what we have to do. We are head of the case when it comes into investigation" Mr. Milfred said with a sigh putting on his seat belt. “Let’s go back to that house."

Denis grew tenser but he started the police car. The dreary silence made the feeling worse on the way to the house again. At least the sun was still out when they got there.

Mr. Milfred and Denis slammed the car doors outside of the fence barrier. They pushed the gate together, to enter in the yard.

Big oak trees with falling autem leaves were making a sea on the dead grass, the chilly air made it the perfect season for a horror thriller movie. Both wouldn’t admit it of course, because they didn’t want to face the perimeters of this place. If a psychopathic killer slept here, it wouldn’t be wise to stick around.

Mr. Milfred went to the right side of the pretty house, with paint chipping off on the rotting wood. The steel doors at the angle on the ground were heavy and seemed like they were not open for years, these were the basement doors from the picture. Denis was making his way to the steps as Mr. Milfred stood a little relieved at the basement doors. They seemed like they could never be open again.

“Hey I wouldn’t go in there.” Mr. Milfred called out as Denis’s big eyes were soaking in the image of a haunting old door with a brass knocker. Mr. Milfred watched as Denis pulled out his hand gun as if he were positioning himself to undo the door.

“Come here Hank.” Denis hissed, his head looking, twisting and moved right to left.

Mr. Milfred came in the front his eyes widening a little. Some of the windows were not boarded, where are those boards? Candles were at the dark windows, and in fact they were all in the room’s floors. All the furniture seemed covered in white cloth but the big grand pianio in the middle of the room.

“It looks different and much alive when you look in." Mr. Milfred whispered taking a photo for prof. He took a large step to get on the porch with Denis and looked in closer. “Let’s head back, this is enough that we need. We should bring in a team to enter the house." Mr. Mildfred ordered confidently.

Denis nodded and the both carefully never having their back at the house entered the car doors. “Whatever is there, doesn’t want to hide anymore.” Denis whispered still, as he let the engine roar down the road making the dust fly everywhere with small pebbles flinging in the air.

Mr. Milfred's heart pounded too much to say anything. They went back to the station to tell the chief their report, who was glad there was some news, but he was suspicious with them, about the house suddenly not being barricaded and with candles all over the room they looked into. They were preparing a team for tomorrow to be safe, which meant Mr. Milfred got the rest of the day off. They would have done it today but the chief saw Denis and Mr. Milfred's face and knew, that today had been enough.