The police station was cold, overcrowded with the ten police officers that dragged themselves out of bed after receiving a personal phone call from my Aunt herself. They hurried around the small room, carrying files, going through their old computer systems, and even calling the nearby towns to Id this unfortunate woman. No one seen nor took a glimpse at this woman before, not even the nearby towns could figure out where she came from nor even a simple name.
Gabriel and I sat in the waiting room, watching the cops hurry by, we fiddled with our fingers while waiting for Aunt Joyce to give us further instructions. "This is going to take all night." He whispered in my ear.
"Maybe you should check on your dad, Aunt Joyce called him first and he's not here."
"I'll give him a call, but he's probably knocked out from the NyQuil." Gabriel pulled out his phone while walking outside to get a quieter setting that did have shuffling papers, and phones ringing.
"Where's Gabriel?" Aunt Joyce finally broke away from work to check in on us, she already looked worn out from the potential investigation or a deeper one she's already on.
"Calling the sheriff. Did you find anything yet?"
She sighed heavily and shook her head no, "You two should go home. I'll hang back and hopefully be at the house before dawn, just stay in the house Zaire- please. If this girl is related to the killings of..." She couldn't finish, her eyes fluttered closed and hand squeezed into a tight fist. Even Aunt Joyce is still haunted by the deaths, I can't go to sleep without thinking about Yolanda and Courtney; their fear, the blood, and their faces. "Get some rest," Aunt Joyce wrapped her arms around me and gave me a warm kiss.
"Aunt Joyce, you're embarrassing me." I whispered while she smothered me with her tight hug, even though I loved it.
"Oh, nonsense." She pulled away slowly before tugging a strain of my hair back into my messy ponytail. "Go on."
I slide out of the uncomfortable chair and out the door to feel the chilly breeze on my skin, Gabriel was outside having himself a cigarette- the smoke burned my nose immediately. "Those things are going to send you into a early grave." I stated. I try not to speak about his habits as much, it would only piece him off, but from time to time I voice my thoughts. "You never mentioned how you gotten caught up into the bad habit."
Gabriel threw the kill stick to the ground and stomped on it as if it were a spider. "After my mother's death, I turned to something that could take away the stress and pain. I was exposed to the habit by my grandmother, I would see her sneak out the house after her and my dad have one of their arguments. So, a day after the funeral I snuck a cigarette and after that moment I felt amazing- safe."
I stepped closer, placing my hands on his arms, and pulling him into a hug. "I'm scared, Gabriel."
He hugged me back, his large hands were firm on my back as his lips planted several kisses on my forehead. "It's okay to be scared, it's normal."
****
I picked at the dry lettuce coated in ranch and other toppings that makes the healthy meal look a little bit tasty, my stomach wasn't up for eating like a rabbit during spring. Actually, I wasn't up for eating- just entertaining myself with the silver for pushing the cherry tomato around the bowl as if it were hockey.
"Are you going to keep picking with your salad or are you going to eat it?" Tracie huffed in frustration while finishing her own salad. "Let's get down to business, shall we? What changed your mind?"
Many things changed my mind, one of them being I wanted to end this thing before any other poor innocent soul. "I have my reasons. Just know, our business will be simple; I give you some info to broadcast and you keep my name out your mouth. I don't want anyone to know I'm apart of this, nor Gabriel."
"So he doesn't know?"
I shook my head no, I've changed my mind too much to even confess this to anyone; not even myself. Besides, he'll make a big fuss of it and we'll have another 'argument', I don't feel like going through that. Maybe I'm scared that I've been defeated and scooped down to Tracie's level, high possibility that I did and haven't realized yet. "If you already read the diary, you know a few things. One: Everyone mentioned in the book that's an easy target is dead. Two: Naomi's killer was a stalker. Three: Each girl held a secret, that's apparently out in the air already."
"Four: this Bow guy can still be the killer."
"No, he's not."
"How can you be so sure?" She picked us the clean spoon on the side and checked her reflection while fluffing her hair, then I remembered she's a Delts; it's kill or be killed to them, man for themselves. I was basically working with the devil's Advocate, signing my soul to a demon; this was a mistake. Unfortunately I can't back out now, my soul was already eaten.
"I'm sure," I said with much confidence I could muster up. "If you're worried, than interview him yourself. He hangs around at the Ladin biker club, go give it a try."
"That dirty run down place, no thanks. Where should we start next?"
"Go back to last night's crime scene. See if we can find anything in the woods; blood, cloth, anything that can give us a clue."
Just mentioning nature made Tracie shiver, she swears up and down she's not like her family; but the characteristics begs to differ. "The last time I've been hiking was in high school with my ex." She fluffed the back of her hair, lips twitched into a wicked smile as she recalled her wicked deeds. "Anyway, meet me there by two."
"I was hoping we go now, while it's still daylight. The more sun time, the more time we have to explore."
"In these stilettos, I think not." Tracie collected her items before rushing out the restaurant, of course placing her tab on the table. The salad in front of me was still untouched, drowning under ranch dressing and other vegetables. It was the cheapest thing I could get under my twenty dollar budget, that and bottled water. I walked outside and climbed on the old back I haven't used since freshman year. The metals were rusted and I had to teach myself how to change the chains with a lot of cursing and bleeding.
"Zaire," Katy stepped onto the sidewalk, hands tight on the purse strap as her hazel eyes turned wide slightly from my sudden appearance.
"Katy, hey."
Her eyes scanned my source of travel, lips twitched into a small smile as she tried her best to not laugh. "Nice bike."
"Thanks, I guess. What brings you out?"
"A little shopping." She showed the Claire's bag from her purse. "How about you?"
"Nothing, just had some lunch." I cleared my throat from the awkward atmosphere around us. "I'm sorry, for what I said..."
"Air over my head. It doesn't matter, forgive and forget. There's a church party tonight... technically it's in the afternoon and end at six before curfew. You and Gabriel should come."
"We'll stop by. I should get going."
"Oh okay, see you there." Katy walked into the same restaurant I just came out of. No teenage girl was able to buy a full course meal in there, especially a girl who parents didn't allow her to get a job before college. I sat there, looking through the window to Katy walking all the way into the back, waving at the figure in the booth; a tall, young man stood up to greet her with a hug and kiss on the forehead. I felt that kiss, it was familiar, the same kiss Gabriel would give me when I'm upset or happy. I sighed heavily before kicking off for a fresh start.
****
The crime scene was already clean as if the Jane Doe did not die on this very street, but no one dared to drive through this way to school; they take the longer way in, along with the buses. I parked the bike on the side of the road behind some shrubs before checking the time. Thirty minutes from two, Tracie and I could of been done by now; if it weren't for her fashion sense.
I didn't know exactly where the woman actually crawled out of, but I can detect it was somewhere that had its own small path. Slowly walking along the concrete, I reached into my detective skills to find anything that'll help me out.
"What are you doing?" I didn't have to turn around to hear the high pitched voice, nor smell the expensive perfume, or hear the foreign car pulling up behind me a few seconds ago.
"It's called investigating." However, I did turn to see Tracie sliding out of her fast red race car that stands out more than a cold sore in this town. "You had to drive that here. Satellites can even pick that thing up."
She slammed the car door close, displaying her outfit; which wasn't better than the last one. The reporter still wore heels- only it was styled as timberlands- camouflage jacket, dark jeans, and her hair was pinned into a tight bun. "I'm not made of money, I can't have a extra car when I'm doing my scandals."
"What are you wearing?"
Tracie scanned her outfit, "My hiking outfit. Isn't it cute."
"You do realize you're going in the woods; mud, branches, bugs and..."
"Don't remind me. Are we gonna do this or not? Now what have you found?"
"Nothing yet." I looked at the ground to see the fresh tire tracks. "If the woman place footprints in the mud, it's already covered."
Tracie huffed while walking to my side, not before slipping and stepping into the thick mud and leaves. "Dammit!" She tried her best to scrap the leaves and mud off on the concrete, having no success whatsoever.
It was comical, a good laugh for the day. My eyes flickered to the footprint she placed on the ground to see a flicker of sunlight reflecting on silver. I leaned down and pulled the cold silver from the mud to see a chain necklace. "It's not rusted, a little bent. What do you think?"
Tracie gave up on trying to clean her shoe and finally became apart of our investigation. "Wouldn't it be possible that the killer would of taken all her jewelry off?"
"True. She was in lingerie when Aunt Joyce almost hit her with a car. I'm gonna keep it just in case." I stuffed the dirty jewelry in my jacket pocket and took out a thick row of thread.
"What is this? Hansel and Gretel?"
"What's with you and fictional characters? This helps us trace our steps, just in case we actually get lost. These deck of the woods go past the border in Rayers Town. That's fifteen miles. Now, I'm going to tie this to the tree like so." I did triple notes to make share nothing in nature could break this. "And we just go. Don't get lost- blondes tend to..."
"Die first in a scary movie, so does African Americans- so we're basically screwed. Lead the way."
I slowly roll my eyes at her before pushing the shrubs and branches to the side so I can squeeze through. The forest always had an 'Alice in Wonderland' sense to it, everything in civilization did not matter and/or was forgotten when walking through the natural landscapes. The sun peeked through the opened spaces in the between the branches, making the area sparkle as if the land were enchanted. "Isn't this beautiful?"
Tracie scoffed while dodging many potential natural thins that could trip her up. "No, nature and I doesn't have a good contract."
I shrugged my shoulders, obviously not carrying what the 'suburban' girl had to say about the awesome wonders of life itself. The woods was slightly opening up with a narrow path that the woman could of ran through to get to the road, the other ways had many obstacles and tight spaces; considering she one had a few scraps on her cheek, I doubt she would go through there.
"What's with you anyway? What's your story?"
"I don't have one." You can say it was quite mysterious of me to say that, but my past and probably future would be boring.
"Seriously? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. Christ, wouldn't think I would use that phrase in my life, usually someone is saying it to me and it's twice as creepy than hearing it." She chuckled, proving that high schoolers back then were the same now.
"You already know the jest of me from your sister. It was the talk of town when she found out about why I'm here in the first place and not back in Seattle."
"Seattle? That's where you're from? I've suspected a city life in you. A very misfortunate mishap."
I slowed down pace in front of a broken twig hanging on its last thread, I tied the string around it as a marker. "When I tie the strings around here, it'll indicate as markers to show how close we are to the entrance/exit."
Tracie crossed her arms in front of her chest and shivered, "Do you feel like someone is stabbing you?"
I wanted to scoff and scream out yes, but kept it in when I felt that familiar shiver go up my spine. "Yeah. Just stay close, do you have your pepper spray?"
She nods her head yes and showcased the black and green bedazzled weapon tied securely to her jeans loop. "Always, I have one to match each outfit. With this town full of rapist and perverts, you can never be too careful. How about you?"
My lips twitched into a small wicked smile when I leaned down to pull up my pants leg to show the small hunting knife strapped to my ankles. "Unfortunately, I don't have one with every outfit." I wiggles the pants leg back into place before continuing on.
"Virgins really do have a lot of hobbies."
My lips turned thin from the name: virgin. Not that I'm much of a feminist to hate the word, it was the only word that separated the girls from boys; the word of pride and self respect to a woman. Although her words were out of context, I did not throw back a witty remark.
Tracie eyes went wide immediately, her lips became wide as if the Grinch were smiling. "You're not a Virgin. Oh my god, for the very first time, my virgin radar was incorrect."
"It's none of your business." I continued on, steadying the string so it can lay on the branches to be discreet.
"Did Gabriel Pop the cherry?"
"Why would a twenty-five year old want to know about a eighteen year old sex life?"
"Because my dear friend, I use to be that age and my statement of mind is at a stage to give advice to anyone that needs it. My sister has already past that market for advice, she's more opened than the church doors. If it wasn't Gabriel, than who?"
It's true, I'm not a virgin; it was a mutual arrangement between a classmate and I, before Gabriel and I were actually connecting. Sophomore year I lost my virginity, the only time I had sex. "Why would I tell you? You're only blab about my... experience."
"No one would believe me even if I did. Hell, even I can't believe you're not a virgin and you lost it to someone other than that biker boy. Those he know."
No... "It doesn't matter."
Tracie laughed out in humor, slapping her bone dry knees while doubling over. "Seriously? Who?"
"If I tell you, would you shut up about it."
"Yeah, for sure."
"It... it was Thomas De'Vange."
Tracie paused immediately, the name was really familiar in this town- in a good way. "Thomas? The star quarterback? The one that's dating my sister now."
I nod my head in confirmation, "Only back then he was just getting into football, and we were great pals. We dated over the summer, but of course the whole cliche growing into different crowds thing." I shrugged my shoulders, it wasn't a big deal to me; I was his first time too and I hardly remembered every detail (actually, I do, but that's not important).
"De'Vange?" Tracie was still on it, I guess she couldn't wrap her mind around that a girl like me would even hang out with a star quarterback and to have the star quarterback be sloppy seconds to her own popular cheerleading sister. "Whoa. That's..."
"Interesting, I know. Eventually I'll have to tell Gabriel, but I don't even know how to bring it up. I know it's going to hurt him, but all the times he told me about his adventures..."
"Guys are fickle. They tell you those things to impress you, to show you that he knows what he's doing. No matter how disgusting it is."
I groaned in disgust before focusing on the narrow path ahead. The sunlight was decreasing by the minute, I hate daylight saving time; by three the sun was going down. "We should of left soon after the restaurant, now we're losing daylight."
"All you do is nag. I think is see silver hair growing in your scalp."
My nagging and worrying has kept me alive for years, it doesn't matter. I did another marker and took a deep breath, the smell of burning wood caught my attention. "Do you smell that?"
"Mud and shit?"
"No, wood. Could be a home nearby.."
"Or a entrance to hell. Let's go check it out." Tracie ran off with a smile upon her face- she's the true definition of blonde in horror movies.
I finished tying the marker before following behind, all while discreetly placing the thread in the branches. Tracie stopped behind a thick set of trees, her head peeled out from hiding to see the are. It was a field with a cabin, it wasn't like the shack (creepy and ugly), it was more of a vacation home in the middle of nowhere. The chimney coughed out black smoke, the door opened and slammed closed to show an old lady with a mug of tea and blanket draped over her lap.
Tracie leaned on the thick tree and sighed in content, "I love the cabin, it reminded me when Andre took me to a sky resort in Canada. How romantic."
I stood behind the tree beside her while eyeing the scenery closely, "It's near the border line, no other entrance in nor out... hold on, I see another path down there but it's not big enough to ride a car through, not even a bike. Who the hell would live out here?"
"A person who wants peace and quiet."
"Or needs space to kill their victims. Old lady, her husband could be inside, how do you want to handle this? Fake like we're lost or..."
"Yoo-hoo!" The blonde stepped out of the thick tree line and waved her arms in the air as if she were on fire.
"What are you doing?" I said in a hush tone full of anger before tying another marker near the tree line and hiding the big roll of thread behind shrubs.
"Hello, we're lost!" Tracie carefully walked down the hill, dragging me along with her to the lions den or lamb herd. Either way, it was a huge possibility that we were going to get killed on this cool fall day.
The old woman stood to her feet, setting the mug of warm substance on the wide railing along with the blanket. She looked kind, her silver long hair, crystal blue eyes, wrinkly skin, and small smile. "Hello, odd seeing two lovely young ladies in the middle of nowhere."
"Yeah, it's odd." I voiced. "We should get going, back where we came from."
"Remember sis, our car broke down and we came searching for help. We're new to town and got lost."
"Right," I snapped my fingers. "My sister here got a little wacky in the head and ran into the woods. If she doesn't take her medicine, she gets a little loose."
Tracie nudged my side hard, I would of choked on air if it wasn't for the old woman staring at us as if we were loons, instead I chuckled and pinched the skin on the back of her thigh hard. "I hope you don't mind if we can use your phone, we don't have any service on it here."
The old woman tapped her chin while thinking, "How about you two come up here, I have a landline. Harold!" As soon as she got the H out, an older man stumbled out with a tray of food; cheese and grapes. He had the same silver hair but with green eyes and less wrinkles. "This is my little brother Harold. Harry, these girls.. what's your names again."
"Ashely," Tracie practically screamed out with a goofy smile upon her face.
"Tanya." Maybe it wasn't a good idea to use her sister name, but from the brighter smile upon the reporters face- she had no problem with it.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Harold rubbed the silver hair on his chin while scanning Tracie up and down.
"I just have that face."
"I'm Martha, by the way. Please, come in." Rather eagerly, Martha went inside to only come out with two mugs of tea. "Lemon tea?"
The porch was more spaced out from down their, I could smell pork chops cooking in the oven; it was faint but it was enough to make my stomach growl- I should of ate that salad. "Can I use your bathroom?"
"Yes, take a left then it's your first door on the right." Harold answers while balancing the tray on the wide wooden railing.
"Thank you," I gave Tracie a look to keep them distracted, which is the best thing she could do. I hurried into the large cabin, following the short directions. The bathroom was was half the size of my closet, a cozy squeeze with a small window. I moved the baby blue curtains to the side to see the large backyard, a stone well was boarded up with a lock. Of course it would be impossible for anyone to crawl out of there, but anything is possible during a murder.
Taking several breaths, I opened the window and crawled out- of course not before locking the door. I wasn't a feline where I could land on my feet, of course the creator couldn't give me that simple miracle that could of saved my ass- which I landed on. "Fuck," I said in a hush tone. "Got damn hard ground, I swear..."
The lock on the well wasn't latched, rusted and squeaky. It was a high possibility that I can find a dried up patch of dirt at the bottom of the well or suffocating girls. Either way, I opened the heavy boards to see nothing but darkness. "Shit." I whispered.
***
"That was a dead end." I voice while raveling the thread back into the roll.
"Actually it wasn't. While you were investigating, I did a little interview of my own. Apparently, Martha has another home in Ladin that her son is renting out."
"What does that have to do with anything?" We were finally at the entrance of the path, I haven't felt so free from Tracie when I stepped through the wall of twigs. Stuffing the roll of tread in the little basket of my bike, I pulled my ride out from the shrubs.
"There's another clue, a place to try. All you have to do is find out he address, get that boyfriend of yours to hack some database." She snatched more than five twigs and leaves from her loose bun, her cheeks were flushed and her heels were dirtier than my daily sneakers.
"How can I? He doesn't know, remember." I climbed onto the old bike that surely needed repairs after this day.
The blonde chuckled while climbing into her car, that surprisingly did not catch the wrong attention. "The big cheat, I say. You gotta tell him sweetheart, it's for the best. For the mean time, call me when you have something." She drove away immediately, waving goodbye as she smothered me with dust.