White Space Season 2

and look for any items that might have been in Roger’s office. Digging through the Hellers’ life was an invasion of privacy. Milo hated to think he might find a vibrator or something else equally personal. While he might have thought it hot for Mrs. Heller to own a sex device at one time, that thrill faded with her murder.
    After Milo searched through a good chunk of stuff that looked like it was from Roger’s office he decided to head upstairs to see if anything was left behind. He froze in his steps, swallowing as he saw blood in the hallway — a crimson trail leading into Aubrey’s room. He followed the trail and nearly vomited as he saw more blood caked into the carpet.
    His stomach churned and legs wobbled. He had to slap his hand against the wall to steady himself.
    Oh, my God, so much blood.
    Why didn’t the police clean it?
    Seeing the blood, and so much of it, somehow sickened Milo’s already soured reality. It wasn’t just blood from a wound, it was blood from a murder, and not just any murder, but the massacre of his best friend and his family. Maybe in a way, Mr. Heller had been murdered, too.
    Can’t think about that now.
    So much blood, that was once inside his best friend and his best friend’s mother, now stained the carpet before him. A surreal violation.
    Milo wasn’t sure if he was more scared or angry, but his clenched fists hovered by his side as he deeply inhaled and exhaled, chewing his lip as he narrowed his eyes at the room. He swallowed, then turned and stepped back into the hallway, quietly closing the door behind him.
    He finished walking the hall and stepped into the Hellers’ bedroom, where there was an even larger mess, maybe the biggest so far: boxes overturned, sheets torn from the bed, and a mattress ripped open, gutted like a fish from Schooner Bay.
    Someone was definitely looking for something.
    Sorrow seeped through Milo’s anger as overwhelm threatened to send him from the room. He gathered his breath, then turned to leave. Something pulled his attention back to the chaos, then yanked it, drawing his eyes toward an old copy of The Princess Bride.
    Pick it up , his inner voice said.
    Milo crossed the room, remembering the sweet, but corny, engagement story he’d heard many times before, from Alex, Mr. and Mrs. Heller, and even one time from Katie, as if he hadn’t already heard it more times than he could count, straight from the tap.
    There wasn’t a flash drive in the book. That would have been too convenient. But there was a bookmark with something written on it, and in Roger’s handwriting. Milo wiped the blur from his eyes, then stared down at the list of names. As he ran down the list, his heart fell into his gut with the sickening realization that the names belonged to the victims. Well, all of the bodies except Sarah Hughes, who had been struck by a stray bullet in the next classroom and was likely an accidental victim, and Jessica. Manny wasn’t on the list, either.
    It was Roger Heller’s “To Kill” list.
    All the others on the list, were dead. Except one name.
    The book fell from Milo’s fingers and onto the floor.
    Katie.
    He meant to kill Katie, maybe instead of Manny!
    Milo swallowed, then tried to swallow again, but couldn’t. He tried catching his breath for nearly half a minute before he started to suck air through his teeth, still staring at the scrap of paper in his trembling hand.
    Milo wasn’t sure exactly of the list’s meaning, but it felt like a massive discovery that surely meant something . He had to get the list to Don.
    Roger had definitely written the list. Milo had stared at the teacher’s whiteboard through enough mornings to know Mr. Heller’s handwriting. And if he had written the list, he no doubt intended to shoot his victims. The murders weren’t random, and Milo could no longer pretend they had been. Roger Heller went to school that morning with the full intention of ending every life on his list.
    But why?
    And why is Katie on the list? Why hadn’t he shot her as planned? Why did he instead shoot Jessica?
    Milo heard the front door open downstairs, immediately followed by the sharp crackling of radios — the kind worn by both cops and Paladin officers.
    Shit!
    Milo looked around, wondering what the hell to do as he heard at least two men talking back and forth. There was no urgency in their tone, and they didn’t seem to be there for him. They were laughing, but he couldn’t hear what they were laughing