The Four Before Me

by E H Night

  “Tiff,” a voice came from behind her. “I need your help cleaning a mess in the kitchen.”

  “Ugh. Fine. I didn’t want to know anything anyway,” she mumbled under her breath as she followed her coworker into the back. She turned around one more time before continuing on, defeatedly. “Dammit.” she thought.

  Detective Darrow delicately grabbed the paper from Eric.

  “Missing”

  It was the original flyer that used to hang outside of Medley’s for Jessica before the other names and faces were added to the list. Eric’s tough exterior suddenly cracked, and a few tears welled in his eyes.

  “It’s the only picture I have of her,” he said with a strained voice. “I keep it with me all the time.”

  “I understand,” Detective Darrow replied and patted his shoulder from across the table. “Can you tell me anything about her that might help me find out who did this?”

  Eric shook his head, not really declining, but just because he didn’t know for sure. “We talked on the morning she disappeared. We were supposed to go to the movies that night, but I got into a big argument with Brooke. I ended up losing track of time while trying to calm things down at home. I accidentally stood Jessica up. When I finally remembered our date, I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer the phone.”

  He wiped a couple tears away with the palms of his hands, and then blew his nose quietly into the napkin that had been wrapped around the silverware. “At first, I thought she was just mad at me, so I called a few more times. I left her a message on the answering machine, but she never called me back. I didn’t think much of it, because it’s not like we talked every day or anything. But then, a couple of days passed and I saw this poster hanging up at Medley’s.” He broke down again, and folded the poster back up, placing it into his jacket again with shaking hands.

  Detective Darrow patted his shoulder some more and stared down at the floor beneath the table. He knew that the situation was really unusual, but he could feel Eric’s sincerity. He’d seen so many guilty people before, and this wasn’t one of them. Still, he needed to question things.

  “Can you tell me about those scars on your hands?” he asked.

  “Oh, these?” Eric sniffled and extended his hands onto the table, palms down. “That barber, Benji — I’m sure you know him — he was teaching me how to sharpen blades the right way. I inherited a bunch of antique knives when my grandpa passed, but they were dull and rusted. I heard that Benji was pretty good at that sort of stuff, so I asked him to help me learn how to restore them. I ended up not being very good at it, apparently.”

  Detective Darrow inhaled deeply. “Benji? Hmm.”

  Chapter 15

  “Murder, She Wrote”

  Saturday was much colder than Friday. Alice shivered as she stepped out of the shower and reached for her towel. The water that remained in her hair cooled instantly when the air touched it, causing her skin to cover itself with tiny goosebumps.

  “I thought the weather was getting warmer, not colder,” she thought to herself. “I wonder if that’s why this place is called Wintersburg. It’s always so damn cold.”

  She shivered from within her little makeshift cotton cocoon for a moment, and then continued to dry herself off, making sure to soak up every last drop of icy water. The bathroom mirror was foggy from the steam, so she wiped away at its surface with the side of one of her hands. Her reflection became visible for a brief moment, before fogging over again.

  Alice walked to her room and started rummaging around in her closet for something nice to wear. Tiffany had convinced her to go out again. She wanted to look a little more presentable than the last time, especially considering that Kirt’s Pub would be even more packed than the previous night. It was always wild on the weekends. She was eager for another night out, even though Detective Darrow had hinted that she should stay inside after she’d told him about her plans. He had expressed that he didn’t think it was a good idea for any young woman to be out at night anymore, especially not at the bar. Alice didn’t completely disagree with his opinion, but she didn’t want to spend her life waiting around. She decided that she’d much rather live than to simply survive. Besides, she still intended on being careful while there, and after just a few drinks — and maybe a little bit of dancing — she’d be on her way back home. It seemed like a solid plan.

  She quickly finished getting ready, and then walked next door to Tiffany’s house.

  Tiffany stepped out, and locked the door. Her copper hair was teased a little more than usual, and she looked like she was ready to have a wild night. “Let’s get out of here,” she said in a singsongy voice. “Look. I put on my dancing shoes!”

  Alice looked down and watched Tiffany tap her feet on the concrete porch, playfully. The shoes were definitely unique. They were bright red pumps with black checkered bows across the toe area. Needless to say, they were difficult to miss.

  “Those are awesome!” Alice said, laughing. “I thought I was going to be the one sticking out with these hot pink heels, but it looks like you’ve got me beat.”

  Tiffany fluffed her hair in an exaggerated way, and blew an imaginary kiss into the air. “As I always do, darling,” she said, with a hysterically poor posh accent. “Besides, you wear those all the time. I’m sure people are used to seeing them by now.”

  “You’re right, I guess.”

  Alice grinned and followed Tiffany to the car. She hopped into the passenger’s side and used the mirror to touch up her lipstick one more time. It was good to see Tiffany so lively. It was so difficult to predict her moods sometimes.

  The car chugged along for a few blocks until it reached the edge of town. The pub smelled strong as usual. The odor was so strong, in fact, it could be smelled from the gravel parking lot. The girls went inside and leaned against the bar top. All of the seats appeared to be taken for once, so they were left with no choice but to stay on their toes.

  Kirt approached them, visibly stressed from the crowd. “What’ll it be this time, ladies?” he asked, fanning himself with a stack of napkins as he spoke. Glistening lines of sweat decorated his tanned neck.

  Even though the air was colder than usual outside, it was still hot and sticky inside the bar.

  “Just a couple shots of whiskey, and a pitcher tonight,” Tiffany replied.

  “Alright then. Just a second.” Kirt poured the drinks, and then brought everything over to them. “It looks like that handsome barber is back,” he said, motioning over to one of the pool tables. “I’d pay good money for him to do more than just run his hands through my hair, if you know what I mean. He winked and continued staring at Benji.

  A chill went down Alice’s neck when she looked at him, and she shuddered. “He’s pretty good looking, I guess, but he doesn’t seem to have the best personality,” she replied.

  “Honey, with a body like that, does he really need anything else? As long as he’s not completely insane, he’s a keeper, as far as I’m concerned.” He said, laughing, before walking away to refill some drinks for another group nearby.

  Alice looked at Tiffany and noticed that she seemed a little less vivacious than she had been on the way over. “What’s the matter? You seem tired all of a sudden.”

  “It’s not that,” she replied. “I just don’t really like that guy very much. He dated Sarah for a while, but he always seemed like a total weirdo.”

  “What did he do that was so weird?” Alice asked, thinking back to her conversation with Roger. “Sarah’s uncle told me that Benji didn’t handle it very well when she broke things off with him. Is that true?”

  Tiffany nodded. “That’s really all it is, I guess. He never did anything too crazy, at least not that I heard about, but he always made me feel uncomfortable when he was around.”

  “Well, let’s just forget about him. There are tons of people here. We can just ignore him and have a good night. It’ll be like he’s not even around. What do ya say?”

  Tiffany smiled
at the suggestion, and straightened her posture. “You’re right,” she said. “Let’s just forget about him and have some fun.”

  They raised their shot glasses into the air and gulped the liquid down. Tiffany hardly made a face, but Alice struggled to hide the fact that the whiskey had burned her throat.

  “Kirt!” Tiffany yelled, “Two more, please!”

  He gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and poured the girls another round.

  ◆

  After a couple of hours of laughter and dancing, the pair drove over to Medley’s to pick up some snacks. While neither of them should have been behind the wheel after so much drinking, poor judgment had taken control of their actions. Fortunately, they made it to the store safely. They grabbed a few things to make sundaes, a few bags of chips, and some sodas, and then hurried to the cash register. Wonderbread Will was standing near the exit, pacing back and forth.

  “That’s Will,” Tiffany whispered, trying not to make it obvious that she was talking about him. “I’ll tell you more about him when we get back to my place.”

  Alice nodded and paid for the groceries. They hopped into the car and drove carefully to Tiffany’s house. Once inside, Alice followed her into the kitchen and they sat the food down on the counter-top.

  “Let’s both just stay here tonight,” Tiffany suggested. “We can eat all of this junk-food and see if there are any good movies on TV.”

  Alice was happy with the suggestion. “Sounds good to me,” she replied. “Oh, and what did you want to tell me about that Will guy? I’ve seen him with Betty before, but I don’t know much more about him.”

  “I almost forgot!” Tiffany exclaimed. “He was Sarah’s uncle. Her mom, Betty, has been taking care of him for a while. He’s a strange one.”

  “Roger spoke to me a little bit about that, but he didn’t say much. What’s wrong with him?” she asked.

  “Well, I heard that he used to be pretty normal when he was still a kid. Apparently he was playing baseball one day with Roger and his friends, when he was about ten years old. The other boys were a couple years older than him, so they were a little stronger. Roger was upset for some reason and threw the baseball bat, not realizing that Will was still standing right next to him. It flew in the air and cracked him right on the head! He had to stay in the hospital for a long time. Apparently, he has been a little strange ever since then.”

  “What? That can’t be true” Alice replied. “Who told you that story? Someone’s probably just pulling your leg… Can someone’s personality even be changed from something like that?”

  “Actually, Sarah told me all about it one night. I’m pretty sure it’s true. She went on to explain that Roger has always felt responsible for his brother’s issues, so that’s why he pays for all of his bills and stuff. He seems to be tough on Will sometimes, but if you look a little deeper, you can see that he probably cares about him more than anyone else does.”

  “That’s so awful,” Alice said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I can’t even imagine having the bear such guilt...”

  Tiffany lit a cigarette and blew a small puff of smoke into the air. “Oh, it gets even sadder, believe me,” she continued. “People have made up crazy stories about him over the years. Even though he’s a grown man, the local kids still tease him all the time. I feel so bad for him whenever I see him walking around, always pulling that silly red wagon. He throws cans, and other things in it to sell at the recycling center for spare cash. I figured I’d point him out to you to let you know that he’s actually pretty sweet, even if he seems scary sometimes. You know, since you’ve been a little anxious lately, too. I don’t want you to get nervous if he says something weird to you. That’s just how he is.”

  “Thanks for letting me know,” she replied. “I really just wish people weren’t so cruel to each other.”

  “Me too,” Tiffany said while flicking ash into a little glass tray. “People are pretty evil sometimes.” She finished her cigarette and changed the subject. “Anyway, let’s not dwell on sad stuff any more tonight. Let’s make these sundaes,” she abruptly suggested. “But first, let’s do one more shot. I have some more whiskey on the shelf above the sink.”

  Tiffany walked over and giggled as she poured a small amount into two empty coffee cups. She handed one to Alice. They both threw their heads back in unison, and gulped it all down quickly. After, Alice put her cup on the counter and reached into the grocery bags. She pulled out all of the items they’d bought, and examined the assortment.

  “Crap. How could we have forgotten the whipped cream and cherries?”

  “What? No way…” Tiffany said, surprised. “We definitely can’t risk driving now, either.”

  “You wait here and find us a movie to watch, okay?” Alice suggested. “I’ll walk back over to Medley’s really quick to get what we need.”

  “Hmm, I’m not sure about that. You know it’s not safe out there, Alice.”

  “It’s whatever. I’ll be fine. Just give me your flashlight and I’ll be back before you can even miss me.”

  Tiffany nodded and tossed her the flashlight from the drawer.

  With both of their judgment impaired, it really didn’t seem like such a bad idea for Alice to be alone in the night’s darkness. They were both sober enough to be concerned, but too inebriated to take more caution.

  “You’ve got thirty minutes, kid, and then I’m going out to find you.”

  “Deal!” Alice said. “I probably won’t even be gone for twenty of those minutes anyway.” She shoved the flashlight into her purse and walked out the door.

  ◆

  Alice made it all the way to the store without any issues, aside from a little bit of stumbling along the way. After she paid, she started her journey back to the house with a can of whipped cream, and a jar full of sweet sticky red cherries stuffed into a grocery bag. She swung them around daintily as she turned the corner, leaving Medley’s parking lot.

  A car drove up beside her, illuminating the entire street with its bright yellow lights. It continued to drive for several more feet before it came to a stop just a little bit ahead of her. She could see the silhouette of a person leaning over to the passenger’s side, cranking the window down.

  She considered crossing to the other side of the street, but her legs continued to carry her in the direction of the car. Just as she was becoming a little nervous, a voice called out to her from inside of it.

  “What are you doing walking around out here all alone at this hour?” the man’s voice asked, trying to sound friendly. He wasn’t able to mask his concern entirely.

  “Blake! You made me nervous. Um, I forgot to pick up a few things and had to run out really fast. It’s not a huge deal.” She walked up to the window to see him face-to-face. She was used to seeing him inside of his patrol car — not in his personal one.

  He smiled and pointed to the door. “Hop in. I’ll take you home.” He paused to look at the grocery bag, and then raised an eyebrow. “What was so important that you needed to walk to the store alone, and —” He inhaled sharply before continuing his sentence. “— while smelling like you took a bath in bourbon?”

  Alice laughed for a moment and pushed her fluffy hair out of her face. It had tangled a lot over the course of the night, and the damp evening air had made her hair products turn into a sticky film that coated each teased strand like fragrant honey.

  “Well, this is going to sound kind of stupid, I guess, but I needed some toppings for sundaes.”

  Detective Darrow’s face went blank, and his voice sounded flat. “You’re out here… for sundaes?” A little bit of life’s confusion found itself in his tone, and he was suddenly full of questions. “For sundaes... Are you kidding me right now? Who thinks that ice-cream is an emergency? I mean, I’m not your boss. You can do whatever you want, but... really?”

  He let out a small laugh and peeked into the bag.

  “Whipped cream,” he said, raising his eyebrow with a little more interest than
the last time. “Are you sure you got this for sundaes?”

  She smacked him playfully on the shoulder. “What else would it be for?” she asked, knowing exactly what was going through his mind.

  He shrugged and smiled.

  “And what’s with that smirk? Don’t make me cover it up!” She reached into the bag and pulled out the can, taking the lid off quickly. She pointed the nozzle toward Detective Darrow like a weapon that she was fully intending on using.

  “You wouldn’t dare,” he dared.

  “Then you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” She swung the can toward his mouth and squirted a glob of whipped cream across his lips and chin. Most of it fell onto his shirt and into his lap, making a mess. She fell back into the seat, and belly-laughed, wiping tears away from her eyes with the knuckles on her free hand. “I’m so sorry,” she said between breathy laughs. “I didn’t think that much would come out all at once.”