The Murder in Stall 4

by Marski, Renee

  Clara turned to look at her.”Really? Which one is he?”

  Tracy turned red.”You know the one with the blonde hair and the big shoulders? That’s Timmy. He’s really sweet and I know he really likes me, but he’s afraid to say anything. So, I keep asking him out in the hopes that he’ll get up the guts to ask me to be his girlfriend.”

  Clara nodded in agreement. “Persistence pays off.” She turned to Hannah. “Hannah?”

  Hannah blushed. “Besides Alex? No one. I’m waiting for college. The only guy here whom I had any interest in is married, so I’m not gonna waste my time on any others. They’d be only second best and that’s not what I want.”

  “You really liked him that much, huh?” Clara whispered.

  She nodded. “At one point, I thought I might have a chance, considering that Betty was gone, but he never looked at me like that.”

  Stacy chimed in with, “Well, Clara, I like your brother.”

  Clara stared at her, slack-jawed. “Rodney, really?”

  Stacy nodded.”I’ve seen him around and, man, he’s a cutie. I saw him hanging out with Samantha, though, so I don’t know.”

  “But isn’t she dating Andrew? I thought they were pretty serious,” Tracy said.

  Hannah snorted. “Andrew is never serious. He just thinks that he’s supposed to be with her. I doubt they’ll last.”

  Clara didn’t say anything. This wasn’t her story to tell. “I don’t think Rodney is interested in Samantha like that. He’s not big on cheerleaders,” she said, grinning at Stacy. “Why don’t you talk to him? Ask him out or something?”

  Stacy shrugged. “I don’t know. Not sure he’d be interested.”

  Clara looked Stacy up and down. Tall, athletic, tanned skin, thick blonde hair – she was definitely Rodney’s type. “He’s a little older than we are, but girl, you’re definitely his type. I can mention it to him if you want,” Clara suggested.

  Stacy nodded gratefully.”I’m 18; it’s not like its illegal or anything.”

  Clara grinned. The night was turning out better than she’d thought. This was a really great group of girls and she was glad that she fit in. Finding Rodney a girlfriend was just a bonus. She couldn’t wait to get home the next morning to tell him.

  “OK, Clara, your turn. Whom do you like?” Hannah had a mischievous gleam in her eye as she asked.

  “Well, actually, I like Anthony – Alex and Andrew’s older brother. He’s so cute and that voice is to die for!” Clara exclaimed, dreamy-eyed. The other girls started laughing. “What?”

  “Oh, honey, he’s a lost cause. He hasn’t dated anyone since coming back from college.” Stacy said, patting Clara’s hand.

  “Why did he come back?” Clara asked.

  “Alex took Betty’s death so hard, their parents asked Anthony to come home. They figured he could use Anthony’s support.” Hannah scratched her small nose. “Anthony and Alex are really close, closer than Alex and Andrew. Sometimes I think Andrew is jealous of that.”

  Clara shrugged. “A girl can only hope. All I can do is put myself out there, you know? The worst that can happen is that he turns me down.” The other girls nodded but Clara could see that they were skeptical. She’d prove them wrong once all this craziness was over.

  …

  At home the next day, Rodney sat in shock as Clara told him that Stacy was interested in him. “She really thinks I’m cute?” Rodney asked incredulously. Clara nodded. “Seriously?”

  Clara hit his arm.”It’s not like you’re ugly or anything, Rod,” she said.

  He shrugged.”Yeah, but girls have never flocked to my door either.” He stood and rubbed his chin. “She’d be OK if I asked her out?”

  “Do you think I would’ve told you if she wasn’t?” Clara asked.

  He eyed Clara and then picked up his cell phone.”OK, I’m going to call her. If this is a prank, I’ll kill you.”

  Clara looked hurt. “Rodney, I’m mean, but not that mean.”

  They both looked up as Jasmine came in the front door. She had pulled her hair up in a messy bun and the bags under her eyes stood out against her pale skin. Her clothes hung off her body, baggy in places they hadn’t been before. Jasmine pushed her hair out of her face and made a failed attempt at a smile. Then she rushed past them and up to her room.

  Clara looked at Rodney. “I’m so worried about her but she won’t talk to me.”

  Rodney shook his head. “I don’t know, Lil’ Sis. Something is up with her but she’s shutting out all of us. Never wants to come out of her room. I mean, I know being a teenager is rough, but not that rough. And Ma said to just let her be, so I don’t know.”

  Clara nodded and decided to change the subject.”So, did you get those files yet?”

  Rodney’s phone was halfway to his ear. He stopped and looked at her. “I’m gonna bring them home tomorrow.”

  “Are there autopsy reports?” Clara asked quietly.

  “Clara, you can’t read an autopsy report. You won’t know what it says,” Rodney said candidly.

  Clara crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m looking for only one thing. It can’t be that hard to figure out.”

  Rodney shrugged and went back to his phone.”What’s Stacy’s number?” he asked, changing the subject.

  Clara rattled it off and Rodney headed into the kitchen to talk to Stacy. Clara grinned to herself as she headed up the stairs. At the top, she knocked on Jasmine’s door.

  “Jas? Can I come in?”

  There was no response.

  Clara opened the door, surprised to find it unlocked, and then realized why. Jasmine was gone. Her window stood open, the curtains flapping. Clara sighed and closed the door, then headed into her own room. “Why even come home if you’re just going to sneak out the window again?” She sat on her bed and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the clock and decided to call and check on Samantha.

  9.

  SAVING SAMANTHA

  S amantha didn’t answer the first time Clara called her. Nor did she answer the second time. Clara started to get really worried; she had a bad feeling in her stomach. It wasn’t very late, and Samantha had been pretty much locked up at home since Andrew had broken up with her.

  Clara went downstairs to find Rodney. He was still on the phone with Stacy, talking about random stuff. Clara tapped him on the shoulder. He put his hand over the receiver and looked at her, quietly demanding. “What?”

  “Hey, can you come with me? Samantha isn’t answering her phone and I’m worried,” Clara asked, sorry to spoil his conversation.

  Rodney relayed the message to Stacy and then handed the phone to Clara.”Clara, what’s wrong?” Stacy asked worriedly.

  “It’s just a hunch, but I have a really horrible feeling. Since the breakup, Samantha has been a real homebody. I’m worried something may have happened to her. I mean, we all know that Andrew has a temper. What if she says the wrong thing to try to get back together and he hurts her?” Clara asked.

  She heard Stacy’s breath increase in pace. Clara prayed that she wouldn’t have to tell Stacy the real reason why she was worried about Samantha.

  “OK, I’m coming, too. Pick me up on the way,” Stacy said into the receiver.

  Clara hung up and she and Rodney headed out, yelling to their mom that they’d be back. Mrs. Young poked her head out of the kitchen as the door closed and shook her head in disappointment.

  Stacy ran out to the car at full speed, her blonde hair streaming out behind her. She looked like she had just tossed on whatever was on her bedroom floor, as her clothes were wrinkled. She jumped in the car and said, “Let’s go!”

  Clara pulled out of the driveway and took off down the street, trying not to speed too much. Stacy had to tell Clara which house was Samantha’s. Her dad was a computer genius who worked for a software company and the family lived in one of the nicer houses in town. With its enormous yard and long driveway, Clara almost missed it entirely.

  Pulling up the drive, she could see t
hat the lights were out. Clara stared up at the three-story house, spooky looking in the dusk light. The front yard had no trees, just some shrubs close to the door. Columns on either side of the front door created the impression of a palace. White shutters on the windows were open but the house seemed so still, it was like no one was home. The house was red brick and every floor had at least five windows on the front side alone.

  Clara had barely put the car in park before she was climbing out from behind the wheel. She ran up the steps to the door, Rodney close on her heels. She knocked on the door but heard nothing.

  “Maybe she’s asleep?” Rodney suggested, peeking into the front windows.

  “No, I don’t think so. Not this early. And where are her parents?” Clara looked back at Stacy.

  “Might be out on a date? They like to go out to dinner sometimes,” Stacy suggested.

  “And leave her alone?” Clara asked doubtfully.

  “She usually hangs out with Andrew when they do. I guess they decided not to change their plans,” Stacy said with a shrug.

  Clara turned the front doorknob, shocked that it opened. “It’s unlocked!” She charged inside without waiting and ran up the stairs. “Which room is hers?” she called over her shoulder.

  Rodney was on Clara’s heels. “Just for clarification, you came in here and called me, OK?”he said.

  Clara nodded and continued up the stairs, past pictures of smiling faces that lined the walls of the large wooden staircase leading up to the second and third floors of the house.

  “Third one,” Stacy hollered back. Rodney had pulled his gun at this point and tried to stop Clara from going any farther.

  “Let me go first,” he implored.

  She nodded and stepped back.

  Rodney called out Samantha’s name and slowly opened her bedroom door. Clara looked past him and saw Samantha lying on the floor. Her blonde hair laid strewn around her and she wore a pair of black shorts and a white tank top. It looked like she had attempted to reach her bed; her comforter laid crumpled on the floor next to her body, arms flat at her sides.

  Clara ran past Rodney without thinking and dropped down to Samantha’s side.”Samantha!” She felt for a pulse and sighed in relief. “She has a pulse and she’s breathing. But look at her wrists!” Both wrists had been slashed, blood gushing down them and onto the carpet . Stacy pulled out her cell.

  “I’m calling 911,” Rodney interjected, grabbing a blanket off the bed to put over Samantha’s body. Clara held Samantha’s head in her lap.

  “Come on, girl, hang in there. Help’s on the way.” Clara could hear the sirens down the street. She prayed they’d make it in time.

  As the paramedics bandaged Samantha’s wrists and stabilized her, Clara told them about Samantha’s condition as quietly as she could without the other two overhearing her. They loaded Samantha into the ambulance and Clara followed in her car with Rodney and Stacy.

  At the hospital, they ran into Samantha’s parents. Her mother, an older version of Samantha, small, petite, with curly blonde hair graying at the temples stood grasping a handkerchief to her face. Her big brown eyes were red-rimmed, as tears ran down her thin cheeks. A small, straight nose made her look pixie-like. Samantha’s dad was big and strapping, with broad shoulders. His black hair was peppered with grey and his blue eyes were hard not to notice. He had a very commanding presence that dwarfed his wife. His rugged good looks were slightly diminished by his weak chin. His nose was larger than necessary, and at the moment, his nostrils were flared in frustration. “I demand to know what is going on with my daughter!” Clara heard him yell as she walked in.

  She walked over to them and cleared her throat.”Are you Samantha’s parents?” she asked slowly. When they nodded, she continued. “I’m Clara. Did Samantha have any plans this evening?”

  Both parents shook their heads.”She’s been locked up in her room for days,” Samantha’s mother said.

  Clara nodded. “I was worried about her when she didn’t answer her phone this evening. I went over to check on her and found the front door unlocked. I found her in her bedroom, injured. The doctors should be able to tell you more. I just found her.” Samantha’s mother burst into tears and hugged Samantha’s father. Clara patted her shoulder as she walked away.

  “Thank you. You may have saved her life,” Samantha’s father said gratefully.

  “And the baby,” Clara added. Samantha’s parents exchanged a look. “You did know, right?”

  Samantha’s father grunted and walked away. Her mother watched him, then turned to Clara, saying, “Yes, we know. But her father is difficult. He’s upset that she wants to have the baby. She’ll have to wait a semester to go to college. They’ve fought a lot about it.”

  “Did Samantha seem more upset than normal?” Clara asked.

  Her mother shook her head. “No, not really. Not any more than you’d expect. I mean, Andrew wasn’t talking to her, which explains why she was locking herself up. But I figured it was normal.”

  Clara nodded and looked over to where Rodney and Stacy were standing. She gave Samantha’s mom a quick hug and then walked over to them.

  “I think I know who did this. She would’ve let him in the house, so excited that he wanted to talk to her,” Clara said, almost to herself.

  Stacy looked confused. “Who is ‘him’?”

  Clara leaned in so only Rodney and Stacy could hear. “Andrew. He’s the only one who makes sense. He has so much anger in him; I could see him being capable of this. And she trusted him. She would’ve opened that door for him in a heartbeat.”

  Rodney shook his head. “You won’t be able to confirm that until she wakes up, Lil’ Sis.”

  Clara nodded. “I know. But that’s what I think. I also think he killed Betty because she was pregnant. What I don’t know is how Natalie managed to survive.” She looked at Stacy questioningly.

  “Alex wouldn’t let her out of his sight when she got pregnant. I think Betty’s death scared him. Whether he suspected his brother or not, I don’t know. But he really didn’t want to let her be alone,” Stacy declared.

  Clara nodded. “So, Andrew never got the chance with her; I can’t believe he’s gotten away with this for so long.”

  “No one suspects the high school football star,” Stacy reminded her.

  Clara chewed on her lip.

  “We should probably head home. There’s not much we can do right now,” Rodney said, heading toward the exit. Clara nodded and followed Rodney out of the hospital. When they dropped her off, Stacy agreed to have dinner with Rodney the following weekend. Clara drove home in silence, her mind on Samantha.

  In her room, she pulled out her notebook and wrote, “Samantha was attacked tonight. I think Andrew did it. I also think he murdered Betty. There’s something deeply wrong with that boy. How he has managed to hide it this long, I don’t know. But I have to figure out how to prove he did it. And figure out what’s wrong with my sister.” Clara closed the notebook and got ready for bed, a plan forming in her mind.

  10.

  MORE VICTIMS

  T he next day after school, the girls sat around the table at the ice cream parlor. Clara took a big swig of her chocolate shake and looked at Hannah. “Rodney is bringing me the files today so that I can go through them. Maybe I’ll see something the cops missed.”

  Hannah shook her head. “They thought they had a suspect. But there wasn’t enough to hold him.”

  “So, they suspected someone who wasn’t Andrew?” Clara asked.

  Hannah nodded. She sat back against the bench. “Look, there’s something you should know. I skipped school that morning. Met up with someone and then decided to go to school anyway. That’s why I found her. I went into the bathroom before going to class and found her there.”

  Clara looked at Hannah in surprise. “You skipped class? Why?”

  “I was hanging out with someone, I told you,” Hannah reminded her sourly.

  Clara leaned in and asked, “Who?�
��

  Hannah looked down at her sundae and sighed. “Andrew. He seemed interested in me and we always had fun when we hung out.”

  “You were with Andrew? So, he has an alibi?” Hannah shook her head slowly.

  “Not really. He was late showing up. That’s why I chickened out and went back to school. He was really mad at me and didn’t talk to me for ages,” she mumbled into her drink.

  Clara leaned in closer, her hair brushing Hannah’s. “Did he say why he was late?” she asked in a whisper.

  Hannah shook her head. “No, just that he’d had to take care of something before he got there. By then I was so antsy, I just left.”

  Clara leaned back and asked, “Did he have anything with him?”

  Hannah gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?”

  “Did he have a backpack with him? Or a bag or something?”Clara asked.

  Hannah scrunched up her forehead in thought. “He was carrying a bag, but it’s not one that I ever recognized. He has a gym bag, but this wasn’t one that he’d ever carried before.”

  Clara nodded, thinking out loud, “A kill bag, maybe? He keeps everything he needs in it to do what he needs to do.”

  Stacy held up her hand. “Wait, wait, wait. That would imply that Andrew has done this before. As far as we know, there’s only Betty and Samantha. And Samantha made it,” she added.

  “Right, but what if there are others? I mean, sure this is a small town, but there are other towns around here. Did he ever spend lots of time out of town?” Clara asked.

  All three girls shook their heads. “No. Andrew really isn’t the traveling kind. Although, he did see Anthony for a couple weeks when he was in college.” Hannah said, taking another bite of ice cream.

  “Hmm, goes to visit his older brother, but why? Like, was Anthony on break or something?” Clara prodded.

  Tracy piped up. “No, but Anthony was seeing a girl at that time and Andrew claimed that he wanted to meet her.”

  Clara sat up.”Any chance she got pregnant?”

  The other girls looked at each other. Stacy answered. “We wouldn’t know that. Only Anthony would.”