“Jasper, what is that?  Maybe we should call the police and wait until they get here.”  Martha’s voice shook so much that she could barely get the words out.

“What if Richard is hurt?  He may need our help before enforcement shows up.  I don't want it to be too late.”  Jasper walked into the window, disregarding the white powder.  Martha watched as he disappeared inside, a cloud of white powder appearing as his feet hit the basement floor.  Martha breathed in the white powder and sneezed.

Martha debated with herself whether or not to follow him inside.  She was pregnant and didn’t want to hurt the baby.

“Jasper! Do you see anything?”  Martha called to him, but he didn’t answer.  I guess it answers her question of whether or not to follow him.  Martha got down on the ground and crawled inside, feet first.

The basement was a disaster.  The mysterious white powder was scattered everywhere, like someone took a bag of flour and poured it in front of a fan.  Random scraps of wood were on the floor, looking like a tree exploded, and there were brown paper bags on the floor. Martha picked up one of the bags and read the logo, Milton’s Hardware and Tools.  Martha headed toward the stairs leading to the upper level of the house, trying to avoid stepping on the screws that were laying all over the floor as well.

She got to the bottom of the stairs when Jasper came charging down before she could get on the first step.  

“Don’t go upstairs.”  Tears where starting to form in his eyes.  He looked more pale than a ghost. His eyes looked shocked.

“Jasper, what’s going on?”  Martha needed to know. She instantly knew that Richard was in trouble.  “Jasper, what did you see upstairs?”

“Martha, please just trust me.”  Tears were streaming down Jasper's cheeks.  Martha has never seen him cry so much.

“How can I trust you, Jasper?  You are leaving me.” Martha shoved Jasper to the side and jogged up the stairs.  Jasper tried to catch her, but his mind was so overwhelmed that he couldn't concentrate.

The white powder trail continued through the house into the kitchen.  There were no footprints, just complete powder. Martha followed it through the kitchen into the living room.  Wood was scattered on the all the furniture. Little bits and pieces of huge splinters made it look like a forest threw up.  Through the living room and down the hall. The powder trail stopped outside the bathroom door, and turned into a red mush. Turning the corner, Martha looked into the bathroom and was shocked beyond belief.  

Her eyes first saw the puddle of blood, half way soaked into the linoleum flooring.  She looked up and Richard’s feet were dangling a foot from the floor, blood starting to dry and crust up in dripping form.  It was almost like deep red icicles were forming on his feet. Trailing her eyes up she saw two wooden daggers pierced through both of Richard’s thighs, the source of the blood.  Her eyes kept going up and she found out the daggers in the thighs weren’t the only source of the blood. Another dagger pierced through Richard’s heart, the heart that she once thought she loved.  Above his heart, Martha saw a rope. Richard was hung from the ceiling by his neck. The rope was hanging by another piece of wood that was badly cut into a someone square shape and was screwed to ceiling.  Martha didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t believe any of this was happening. The white powder was exploded all over the bathroom. Another Milton’s bag was in the bathtub. Blood was sprayed all over the walls.

Martha heard Jasper come in behind her as she looked over at the message on the mirror.  Written with a powder and blood mixture was an obvious note for her…

I SAID STAY AWAY!

Three police vehicles showed up twenty minutes later, Martha was still in the backyard dry heaving into the grass. Her stomach was empty.  She wasn’t able to eat her Fritos earlier. She couldn’t believe it. What was happening in the world? First Carter and now Richard? Someone was out to get her.  Someone was targeting her heart, but who? She didn’t think that she had any enemies.

“Martha?”  Jasper walked up behind her.  “Can I do anything for you?”

“I think I need to go to the doctor.”  Martha kept heaving into the grass.  She wasn't able to stop even if she tried.  She was thirsty, scared, and felt alone.

“Let me call Anne and see if she can watch Teegan overnight.”  Jasper pulled out his phone to call Anne.

“No, I want Teegan to come with us.  I can’t risk anyone else in my life getting hurt. He needs to be in my sight at all times.”  Martha felt like she needed to start protecting everyone around her. Even with the police watching the house, she still felt like her and her family were in danger.  She decided that from now on, she trusted no one.

“Martha, that’s crazy.  You don’t want Teegan seeing you like this.  You are under a lot of stress and you are not thinking straight.  He is safe with Anne and you know it. We can trust her.”

“No we can’t.  We can’t trust anyone Jasper!  I can’t trust anyone! My son is dead.  My coworker is dead! There’s a figure haunting me and disturbing my dreams!  There’s a truck following us! What is going on? I can’t even trust you anymore!”  Martha was babbling again. Her voice was shaking. Her mouth was dry and her lungs need air that she couldn’t inhale. This wasn’t the first time she’s had an anxiety attack, but she wasn’t pregnant at the time.  She didn’t want the baby to feel her stress. It was dangerous in this early stage of pregnancy.

“Martha, breath.  You can’t do this while you are pregnant.  Think about the baby. Breath in and count to ten.”  Jasper started rubbing her back. It was comforting to her, but her mind was still going in every direction possible.  Now he was thinking about the baby?  Jasper kept going back and forth.

“I think I am OK now.”  Martha knew she was lying, but she had to calm down for the baby.  She kept taking deeps breathes, in and out.

“What did you mean by you can’t trust me?  I haven’t done anything for you to loose your trust in me.  I didn’t cheat…” Jasper stopped right there. He saw the tears forming in Martha’s eyes and knew he had made a mistake.  

“You are going to leave me Jasper.  You are going to take my only son away and leave me.  I wanted to work things out with you and you agreed to do it with me.  I wanted to save our marriage and you agreed to go with me to therapy and fix everything.  Why can’t I trust you? Because you don’t want to be in my life anymore. Who knows what is going on here?  For all I know, you could have murdered Richard. Those were bags from your hardware store laying around in there.  You have easy access to murder weapons every day of the week. You could have poisoned Carter while I was at the hospital.  How do you explain the flour spilled all over Richard’s house? No, Jasper, you didn’t cheat. But you are the one giving up here.”  Martha's face was now soaking wet with tears, and her shaking got worse.

“Martha you are talking nonsense.  I didn’t murder Richard. Anyone could have come into the store and purchased those items.  And why would I kill our own son? Are you psychotic? What is going through your mind right now?”  Jasper hated having fights like this with Martha, accusing each other for things that were neither their faults.  The last time this had happened was after the miscarriage.  They kept blaming each other for something that neither of them could control.

“How dare you call me psychotic?”  Martha knew what he was trying to do.  He was trying to make her seem like the bad person.  He was trying to make it seem like everything was her fault and then she would understand why he would leave her.

“Martha, calm down.  You are not thinking straight.  You are over stressed and your hormones are on a roller coaster.  Just breath and try to slow down.”

“Did you kill Richard?”  Martha knew it had to be impossible, but her anxiety was taking over her sanity.

“Ma’am?”

Martha’s heart jumped a little.  She didn’t know Officer Marc was behind her.

“We are going to have to take you and your husband in for some questioning.  You are witnesses since you two were the ones to find him. Nothing to worry about.”

“I need to get home to my son,”  Martha insisted. She wanted to see Teegan.  She felt he was the only thing in her life that seemed real.  

“Would it be better if we came to your house?”

Martha and Jasper pulled up to their apartment twenty minutes later.  They drove home in complete silence, Martha munching on her Fritos. Officer Marc would be coming shortly, after dropping off photos and evidence at the station.  Teegan and Anne were waiting for them at the park next door. Teegan was swinging on a swing with no emotion in his face and Anne was swinging next to him, trying to strike up a conversation, with no luck.  

“Hi, guys!  How was the movie?”  Jasper tried to sound cheerful, but Martha knew his real emotion.

“It was great,” Anne said. “You know, if you’re a Teegan aged boy.”  She chuckled a little. Anne wasn’t into Marvel movies, but she was happy to take care of Teegan, like always.  “He didn’t eat anything though. It’s kind of concerning to me. Maybe give him one of my protein bars later.”

“I will certainly try.”  It was Martha’s turn to fake her cheeriness.  “Thank you for watching Teegan, Anne. We really appreciate it.”  Martha turned to Teegan. “Come on Teegan, it’s time for you to take a shower.”

As they headed inside, Martha realized that Anne didn’t ask about Richard.  Martha thought of it as a good thing. She didn’t want to break the news to Anne in front of Teegan about Richard.  Not this soon after Carter’s death.

Teegan got in the shower and Martha and Jasper waited in the kitchen for officer Marc.  Jasper sorted through the mail he’d left on the counter earlier, and Martha made them lemonade.  

“Martha, what is this?”  Martha looked over at Jasper and he was holding one of those manilla envelopes.  No return address.