Officer Sarah: Dispatch, Unit 204. Cancel the tactical squad, but send Detective Miller and a forensic team to the residence immediately. We have potential evidence in the Vance missing person file.
Officer Clara: Good. Now let's see who actually lives here right now. The property records showed the home was sold to a private holding company three years ago.
Parrot: DONT HURT ME! ARTHUR, PLEASE!
Officer Sarah: It breaks my heart hearing that, Clara. The parrot is repeating a terrified woman's voice. Look how it shakes its wings every time it screams that name.
Officer Clara: Arthur Vance's wife was Eleanor Vance. When Arthur disappeared, she claimed he took off with a mistress after embezzling money from his firm. She collected a four-million-dollar life insurance settlement two years later.
Officer Sarah: And where is Eleanor Vance now?
Officer Clara: She moved to Europe shortly after the settlement cleared. Or at least, that’s what the public files claimed.
Suddenly, the sound of footfalls resonated from the floorboards directly above their heads. Heavy, measured footsteps were moving quickly across the ceiling toward the back of the house.
Officer Clara: Head up! Someone is upstairs!
Officer Sarah: I thought you said the house was supposed to be vacant according to the neighborhood watch report!
Officer Clara: Somebody has been living here in secret. Move quietly up the main staircase. Keep your flashlight ready.
They crept up the carpeted stairs, avoiding the creaky wooden edges. The footsteps above grew more hurried, followed by the metallic scraping sound of a heavy latch being thrown back.
Officer Clara: Police! Stay where you are!
At the end of the top hallway, a tall man wearing dark clothing turned around sharply, his hand resting on a concealed handle hidden behind a decorative bookshelf that had been swung open.
Man: What are you doing in my home?! You had no right to break down my front door!
Officer Sarah: Hands where we can see them! Step away from that hidden door right now!
Officer Clara: Well, well... look who came back from the dead. You're Arthur Vance, aren't you?
Arthur Vance: You're making a massive mistake, officer. I don't know who Arthur is. My name is Thomas Blake. I own this property management firm!
Parrot: ARTHUR! HIDE THE MONEY, ARTHUR!
The screeching voice of the parrot echoed up the stairwell, bouncing off the high ceilings with crystal clarity. Arthur Vance’s face drained of all color, his lips trembling as he stared past the officers toward the stairs.
Officer Sarah: The bird knows your real name, Mr. Vance. And it seems to know what you did in this house six years ago.
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