“Do you think we should be doing this?” Marnie asked, putting a hand on Val’s arm, trying to pull her back. “I think we should call the police.”

Common sense told Val to leave Julia’s house and call Gavin, but she felt compelled to keep going. It was the food on the countertop that made her move forward.

On the counter sat a box of spaghetti and a jar of sauce. Two bottles of Merlot were next to the jar. A bread maker looked poised and ready for action. Everything was there to make the dinner Julia was supposed to cook. She couldn’t be far with dinner ingredients left on the counter. The only thing missing was Julia.

She yelled Julia’s name several more times.

Again, there was no response.

“We should call the police,” Marnie said, tugging on Val’s arm harder this time.

“Let me try calling her once more,” she said, struggling with a decision on what to do now. “I wouldn’t want to call the police if she just went to the store for something.”

Val pulled out her cell phone, punched in the numbers and waited. In the distance, in another room, she heard ringing. Confused, she pulled the phone from her ear. A ring could clearly be heard on her cell followed by an immediate ring coming from down the hallway.

“It’s coming from inside the house,” Marnie said, her eyes wide.

Julia’s voicemail came on and the ringing stopped.

“Where is that coming from?” Val asked frantically.

“I don’t know. It sounded like it came from upstairs.”

“I thought it was down the hallway.” Val immediately hit redial and the ringing started again. Every time the voicemail came on, she hit redial. Following the sound, the two went up the stairs, where it began to grow louder.

“It’s coming from in there.” Marnie pointed to a door, which was ajar.

Val took the handle and pushed the door open just as the voicemail came on. The women walked into what appeared to be Julia’s bedroom. The bed was at the far end of the room, but the dresser on which Julia’s cell phone rested was close to the door. Val picked it up.

“What’s that smell?” Marnie choked. “It’s burning my throat.”

Val agreed and began to cough. “Smells like strong laundry detergent. Something must have spilled. Does Julia have a washer and dryer up here?”

“I’m not sure if she has a second-floor laundry.”

Val looked around the room, her gaze lingering on the bed. What is that? She walked closer, focusing on the pillow now. Then she stopped just a couple of feet from the bed. It couldn’t be real. Was this some type of joke?

Then she saw one of the photos.

Marnie looked too and shrieked loudly before running out of the room.