Murder Blog Mysteries Boxed Collection

by Pamela Frost Dennis

  Tommy’s tail wagged enthusiastically as he quickly worked the area, ending at the curb, where he became agitated and pawed the ground. Everyone knew what that meant. Lindsay had gotten into a car. But had she been forced? Tommy couldn’t tell them that.

  Angela returned to Belinda. “Could she have gone off with a friend or a relative?” she asked.

  “No. She would never have done that knowing I was coming, and she would never have left her favorite sweater behind.” She put her hand over her mouth to muffle her shuddering sobs. “Oh God, Lindsay. Where are you?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  DEAD GIRLS DON’T BLOG

  1996

  Friday, May 10

  Lindsay felt the tension escalating between her captors as they drove beyond Santa Sicomoro’s town limits and into the oak-studded countryside, passing ranch homes set back far from the road. Horses grazed on spring grass in the warm sun, oblivious to the frightened girl trapped in the car passing by.

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going, Erik?” Phil asked.

  “Just keep going.”

  Several miles out of town, they passed an old general store and gas station.

  “We could have got supplies there,” Jake said, reading a faded wood sign. “They even have ice cream and bait.”

  “I forgot about that old place. It’s where campers load up before going to Santa Sicomoro Lake,” said Erik. “How’s our gas, Phil?”

  “Still close to full, but it would be nice to know where the hell we’re going. I’ve had enough of this.”

  A few miles later, they passed the historic “Rusty Spur” saloon, built in the 1850’s. Near the road a sign was posted advertising an upcoming Willie Nelson concert.

  The saloon was closed, but it made Lindsay feel safer thinking that even all the way out here, there might be people around to help her, especially if a big star like Willie Nelson would come here.

  Erik glanced back over his shoulder. “Shit. We missed the turn. Go back.”

  Phil slowed and when he reached a wider section of road, he made a u-turn.

  “See that little road just past the saloon?” Erik pointed up the road to the left. “Turn there.”

  After another few miles, the paved road turned to dirt, and when Phil slowed the car, Erik said to keep going.

  They’re going to kill me, Lindsay realized. Why else would they bring me out so far?

  “Now I know why you were checking the gas,” said Phil. “This is ridiculous.”

  The road dipped down and they drove through a shallow creek bed swiftly flowing with spring run-off.

  “And now you know why we took your car,” said Erik. “You’re the only one who has four-wheel drive.”

  “No, I don’t,” said Phil.

  “But it’s an SUV,” said Jake.

  “So? It’s just a glorified station wagon, that’s all. You guys are brilliant, you know that?”

  “Well, that’s great,” said Jake. “What if we get stuck?”

  “Relax. We’re not gonna get stuck,” said Erik.

  Phil yanked off his mask, tossing it onto the empty front passenger’s seat.

  “Hey. Put that back on,” said Erik. “Do you want her to see your face?”

  “It’s too hard to drive, let alone breathe, with that damn thing on.”

  Lindsay couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “You said you just wanted to talk to me,” she spoke barely above a whisper. “Please don’t hurt me. Just tell me what you want.”

  “She’s right. Here’s as good as anywhere,” said Jake. “Let’s tell her what we want, and then get out of here.”

  The car was climbing a steep rise and the tires were spinning and spitting loose dirt in its wake. There was a steep drop-off on the right side of the narrow road, and the SUV’s rear-end fishtailed dangerously near it.

  “Slow down!” screamed Jake. “Do you want to get us killed?”

  “The road’s in bad shape. It’s a washboard, and it’s really hard to drive on,” said Phil. “I’m only going fifteen miles per hour. I’m afraid if I go any slower we might slide backwards and I’ll lose control.”

  Lindsay’s fear level escalated. What if we go over the side?

  “Then gun it and let’s get up this hill.” Erik pulled out the flask again and tipped back several swallows.

  Jake leaned across Lindsay and swatted the flask away from Erik’s mouth. “Stop drinking. You’re going to screw everything up.”

  “Worry about yourself, dickhead.” Erik drank some more before putting it back in his pocket. “Come on, Phil. Let’s go.”

  Phil thought, the hell with it, and stomped on the gas. The tires spun wildly, then gained purchase, causing the SUV to leap forward. It swerved crazily until he got it under control and reached the top of the rise, where he stopped the car.

  “That’s it. Enough.” Phil put the car in park, and turned to face the backseat. Lindsay saw his troubled, angry brown eyes and recognized him as the nice boy who’d first given her a soda at the party. “This road is dangerous and we’re all going to wind up dead.”

  Erik yanked off his mask and glared at him contemptuously. “We made it to the top without crashing, right?”

  Phil didn’t answer. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and he wiped it away with a shaky hand. He was furious for allowing himself to get entangled in this ludicrous plan, and now he could see no way out of it. He focused on Lindsay. “I’m so sorry about this. About everything. We were all really drunk and never meant you any harm.”

  This confused Lindsay. Maybe they weren’t as bad as she thought. Except for Erik. He was horrible. Why wouldn’t the other two stand up to him and let her go?

  “Look, we’ve gone this far and we’re almost there,” said Erik, switching to a patient tone, as if speaking to a toddler. “It’s not like you can turn around here anyway.” He pointed over the seat through the windshield. “It should be right around the next bend up ahead. It’s a church camp. It’s not in use this time of the year, but I’ve been out here a couple of times, camping with friends. It’s a good place to talk where we won’t be disturbed.”

  When Erik said they wouldn’t be disturbed, Lindsay’s fear spiked. Okay, Lindsay, focus and breathe. She took a deep, shuddering inhalation, exhaling slowly. It didn’t help.

  Phil put the car in gear and descended the hill, picking up speed. The bend in the road turned out to be a hairpin turn and the SUV was traveling too fast to safely negotiate it. He pumped the brakes, but the vehicle was already sliding in the loose dirt as if on black ice.

  A gray squirrel darted across the road. Without thinking, Phil slammed hard on the brakes. The backend spun to the right and the rear wheels slid off the road, causing the car to tip up, heave backwards, and roll out of control, crushing through the brush down the steep hill where it rear-ended with a metallic, shrieking thud into an outcropping of granite boulders.

  Lindsay was not belted. On impact her head snapped back, then forward, smashing her nose against the front seat, but adrenaline shielded her from immediate pain. Stunned, she slowly straightened, gingerly touching her nose and glancing at her captors.

  Jake was unfastening his seatbelt and appeared to be uninjured. He removed his Terminator mask and turned to her. Without his disguise, his young blond, blue-eyed looks weren’t so scary to Lindsay. “Are you all right?”

  “My back really hurts.” It didn’t hurt that much, but she said so anyway. She felt a trickle of blood leak out her nose and she swiped it away.

  “Erik, what about you? You okay?”

  “I’m okay, but I don’t think Phil is.”

  Phil wasn’t moving. Blood was smeared on the cracked window next to him, where his head rested. Jake clambered out of the car and slowly opened Phil’s door. Still held in by the seatbelt, his body slumped towards him.

  “Shit. He’s bleeding bad.” Jake pushed Phil’s body to a sitting position as Erik got out and came around the car. “I think he’
s dead.”

  “No way.” Erik felt Phil’s neck for a pulse. “He’s not dead, he’s unconscious.”

  “We need to get him out of the car, before it explodes.”

  “The car’s not going to explode, idiot. That’s only in the movies.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well, I smell gas.”

  Erik stepped to the demolished rear of the car to investigate. “Yeah, you’re right. I smell it, too.” He crouched to peer under the car. “I can see a drip. Probably nothing, but we better get him out.”

  Phil was mumbling incoherently as Jake held him erect while Erik unfastened his seatbelt. While doing this, Jake asked Lindsay how her back was.

  “Really hurts. Maybe I broke it.”

  “We’ll help you in a minute. Just stay still.”

  “Okay,” she whimpered, with a pained expression.

  Jake said to Erik. “We need to move him carefully, in case he’s broken his neck or something.”

  They gently shifted Phil’s legs towards the open door and leaned in to lift him out.

  “I don’t know if we can do this. He’s a dead weight,” said Erik. “Phil. You need to wake up.”

  Phil lifted his head. “Whaaass...”

  “I guess his neck’s okay,” said Jake. “Phil, do you think you can walk?”

  Phil’s eyes rolled up and his mouth dropped open.

  “He’s out again. We need to carry him,” said Erik. “Hold on.” He pulled his flask from his pants pocket and drank, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  They eased Phil’s arms around their shoulders and lifted him to his limp feet. Phil’s head flopped forward and blood trickled from his wounds, splattering in the dirt. They laid Phil on the ground, then Jake scooped him up under his armpits while Erik held his legs.

  “Let’s take him to those rocks over there,” said Jake, jutting his chin towards a cluster of boulders about thirty yards from the vehicle.

  While Erik and Jake struggled to move Phil, Lindsay groaned to cover any noise she might make as she inched her way across the seat to the side where Erik had left the door open. She slid out and crouched on the ground.

  Lindsay peered back through the SUV to check the boys’ progress. They still had a long way to go before they’d reach the boulders and neither was looking back at her. This was her chance.

  She sprinted in the opposite direction to a grove of giant eucalyptus trees about twenty yards from the SUV and hid behind the first tree she reached. She checked the boys. They were still staggering towards the rocks with Phil, but it wouldn’t be long before they returned. She moved deeper into the forest.

  Lindsay wore flimsy sandals and her feet and ankles were already scratched and bleeding as she forced her way through the nearly knee-deep, tangled carpet of peeling bark for which eucalyptus are notorious. Each step crackled and snapped as her feet sank through the coarse, woody debris. Running for cover in the trees had been a mistake. Once they came looking for her, it would be impossible to move without giving away her location.

  Two minutes later, she heard the boys shouting. She squatted low and watched them, trying to think what to do.

  “Lindsay!” called Jake. “Come on. We said we weren’t going to hurt you.”

  They searched the perimeters of the SUV. Then Erik pointed to the grove of trees and they started walking toward it.

  The only thing Lindsay could think to do was to bury herself under the tree litter and pray they wouldn’t find her. As quietly as possible, she cleared the leaves, broken branches, and bark away, then lay on the damp, cool earth and covered herself. It was the hardest thing she had ever done.

  “Come on.” Erik’s voice slurred. “We don’t have time for this shit.”

  They were at the edge of the trees now, maybe fifteen yards from her hiding place.

  “What a mess. She could be anywhere in there,” said Jake. “How are we going to find her?”

  “I’ve had ‘nough this shit.” Erik pulled the flask from his pocket again.

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough of that?”

  Erik shook the flask and the contents sloshed inside. “Apparently not.”

  Jake stepped into the clutter, calling Lindsay’s name. She held her breath as she heard him moving closer to her hiding place. Erik took a few steps into the grove, watching Jake struggle through the debris.

  “What if we can’t find her?” Jake said.

  Erik picked up a long roll of dry bark. “We can always burn her out.”

  “Are you crazy? This whole place will explode, and we could all be trapped and killed. There is no way we could get away fast enough. Especially with Phil unconscious.”

  Lindsay held her breath, trying not to cry out. Oh, please, dear God. Help me, Mommy.

  “Phil’s not my problem,” Erik said.

  Jake knew Erik was drunk, but he was still astounded. “Phil’s your friend. And she’s an innocent girl. I am not about to become a murderer on top of everything else.”

  Erik thought a moment. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  Jake turned toward the center of the woods and cupped his mouth, shouting, “Lindsay! I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can… You’ve probably figured out who we are. I just want you to know how truly sorry we are for everything that’s happened.”

  “Yeah, we’re sorry,” Erik sneered. “Real sorry.”

  Jake ignored him. “We never meant you any harm. We were really, really drunk that night and didn’t know what we were doing. That’s no excuse, I know, but it’s the truth. We’re still kids, not that much older than you. If you turn us in, our lives will be ruined forever. We’re not bad kids, I swear.” He dropped his voice and said to himself, “Really, we’re not bad.” He spoke louder again, “So, we want to make you a deal. Erik’s rich—”

  “Yeah, rich,” said Erik. “Mega-rich.”

  “And he’ll pay for your college education, if you promise not to tell anyone it was us.”

  Lindsay listened to Jake’s bizarre plea. Did they seriously think she would go for something so stupid?

  “So, what do you think, Lindsay? A college education at the school of your choice?” Jake paused. “At least then maybe something good will have come out of all of this.”

  “And if you don’t want to go to college, I’ll buy you a car. You want a car?” Erik lowered his voice and spoke to Jake, “Do you think she’s listening?”

  “Yes,” Jake said, and then spoke to Lindsay again. “So what do you think, do we have a deal?”

  Lindsay shivered in the moist menthol-scented leaves. The sun was low in the sky and she was freezing in her damp clothes. A deep all-body ache was settling in and her joints were stiff. She would wait for them to leave and when she was sure they were long gone, she would find a house where she would call her mother to come get her. Now she knew who her attackers were and could tell Detective Angela.

  After a couple of long minutes had passed, Jake said to Erik, “Either she’s not here, or she’s just not going for it. Let’s go.”

  “Fuck it, Jake,” said Erik. “We can’t just leave her here so she can turn us in.” He shouted to the center of the grove, “Here’s the real deal, Lindsay. You tell anyone, I mean an-y-one, who we are, and we will. Kill. Your. Mother. Got that?”

  Jake shoved Erik. “What the hell? We’re not killing anyone.” He shouted for Lindsay to hear, “Erik didn’t mean it. He’s drunk. No one’s going to hurt your mother. I promise.”

  “Do you really want to risk it, Lindsay? I’m not nearly as nice as Jake and Phil, and I’ve got a lot more to lose than they do, and no way am I going to lose it over a lousy, drunk fuck. So yeah, if you go to the police, I swear to God I will get to your mother before the cops get to me. But if for some reason I don’t, I will pay someone to kill her. I got a lot of money, Lindsay, and I promise you, I can make it happen. Your mommy will never be safe again.”

  Jake said to Erik, “God, I hate you. I truly, fucking
hate you.”

  Erik shrugged. “Hey, somebody’s got to have some balls.”

  Overwhelming fear consumed Lindsay as she brushed away the blanket of leaves concealing her trembling thin body and called out, “Please don’t hurt my mom.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  DEAD GIRLS DON’T BLOG

  TUESDAY • APRIL 16

  Posted by Katy McKenna

  Petition Distribution Day

  First stop: Santa Lucia High School. My old alma mater. I still have nightmares about getting caught in the hall without a pass. And I can’t find my locker, and when I finally do, I can’t remember the combination!

  The parking lot was jammed, but I found a spot at the end of the lot near the flagpole. I started for the office when a soft breeze fluttered the flag and its rope clanged against the hollow metal pole. The sound pulled me back in time to a candlelight vigil held around the pole for Lindsay after she’d gone missing. Throughout the ceremony, the rope had tapped its mournful metallic song.

  This might sound a little crazy, but as I stood there clutching my petitions, I sensed an otherworldly presence join me. It was like being infused with a warm, loving, positive energy and I whispered without thinking, “I got your back, Belinda.”

  The office windows were decorated with posters announcing an upcoming mock rock concert. At the counter, I was greeted by Mrs. Watkins, the office manager. Her black hair was now silver, but she still wore her signature black-rimmed glasses and crimson lipstick. She was prettier than I remembered.

  “May I help you?” she asked.

  Thank goodness she didn’t ask if I had a hall pass. “Do you remember Lindsay Moore?”

  Her head dipped and she exhaled slowly. “How could I ever forget that poor little girl? Such a horrible tragedy.”

  I put the petition on the counter facing her. “One of her murderers is up for parole, and I would like to stop it from happening.”