by Amber Malloy
“Yep, all roads lead to Dale.”
A sketchy-looking dude slipped out of the gates of the facility. He glanced around before hoping into a car sitting by the curb. Since they were hidden in the dark, she felt safe that they wouldn’t be seen. After a minute of dicking around, he finally pulled off and they got out of the truck.
“Hold on, hot stuff.” Levi reached into the back of the cab and handed her two beat-up but empty moving boxes.
“Should I ask?”
“Nope, just go with it.” He took two of his own and led her to the gate. They waited in front of the camera.
“Good to see you, boss,” a voice came over the intercom. The fence opened as he saluted the screen.
“What makes you think the next shift won’t call Shawn?”
“Lettie used to work for the resort. I offered her a weekend stay if she let us in after hours … therefore, if we get caught, so does she.”
“Smart thinking.”
They slipped into the facility. Five separate rows of garage-style pods lined the property.
With plenty of light to guide them, she followed behind Levi. He stopped in front of the orange container in the second row.
“We’ll go through the boxes then return them.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out the key. Unlocking the garage-style door, he yanked it up. “Hopefully no one will know they were missing.” Five boxes with Shana’s name written on them were mixed in with a bike and broken-down canopy bed. The boxes in their hands matched the ones in the storage unit perfectly.
“Are we going to fill them up with anything?”
“Nah,” Levi said. He removed Shana’s stuff and replaced them with the dummies. After checking that he positioned everything correctly one last time, he shut the door. “What’s the point? By then the ruse will be up.”
****
They stayed up all night digging through a teenage girl’s short life. Levi tapped out around three. Cayden made plans to join him but never made it to bed.
Friendship bracelets and blue ribbons filled the container to the brim. It was more or less teenage junk, but Cayden kept her focus on the yearbooks. She started with junior high, where she attended St. Geneva’s Hamilton Middle School. She was given a scholarship to Chesterfield, and not that many kids signed the girl’s freshman yearbook. By the time sophomore term rolled around, Shana seemed part of the “in” crowd.
She participated in several sports and ran for student council. After eleventh grade steamed through, Shana had quit the majority of her afterschool activities.
“Yeah, Wes.”
Cayden glanced up.
With the phone to his ear, Levi entered the family room. Dawn had broken and shone through the window. “Here she is.”
She signaled “no”, that she didn’t want the call, but he tossed his cell. The urge to dodge the phone washed over her but she caught it. No one wanted to be on the hook for a new iPhone.
“Hey, Wes, what’s up?” She put the yearbook down to flip Levi off. Decked out in his hunting gear, he winked at her and headed to the kitchen.
“Deny told me what happened and I don’t blame you for being mad. I spent time with Levi and I think he’s great. So to make up for it, I talked her into forwarding your files to one of her former professors.”
“Okay,” she said, annoyed, “shoot.”
“The killers were young and inexperienced, probably still teens. He took a look at the police report and noticed vomit at the scene. There’s nothing in the autopsy indicating it’s hers. One of the boys was a follower and the other was the aggressive leader.”
Levi clanked around the kitchen with Belle close to his heels.
“That’s good to know.”
“Also, check if anyone has been killed with similar characteristics as Shana … age, hair color.”
Levi pulled two mugs down and then seemed to change his mind by putting one up. He probably wanted her to go to sleep, which didn’t surprise her.
“Is there more than one?” She didn’t want to say serial killer out loud in case Levi was listening.
“The one who actually did the deed is probably still killing her over and over.”
“This is great. Thanks, Wes.” Cayden moved the contents of Shana’s locker and short life off of her lap.
“Did that help? Hopefully you can forgive Deny.”
“It paved the way. Stop worrying about this stuff and have a good honeymoon.”
“Thanks, I’ll try,” he replied before he hung up.
Cayden gazed down at a picture of the young girl’s face and wondered what the hell happened.
“I want to walk the trail,” she said.
“Wait for me,” he told her.
Cayden knew what his answer would be. Levi always hated the shortcut that led to Chesterfield. “Compromise … give me Belle.”
“Sure, but I still want you to hold off until I get back.” He walked into the family room, sipping from his mug, purposely baiting her.
“Stop being a shit and make me some coffee!”
“No, go to bed.” Levi laughed. “I’ll grab you Starbucks when you wake up.”
“And the dog,” she bargained. The call from Wes had spooked her more than she wanted to admit.
“Fine, she hates Bud’s dog anyway and I’m afraid she’ll try to rip its head off.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Now go to sleep.” Levi ripped a whistle once and patted the couch. Belle ran and jumped on her lap. “Time for some weird bro shit.”
She rubbed the blue beauty’s head. “Just try not punch anybody.”
“No promises,” he said while he put his mug down on the kitchen table on his way out. “What did Wes want?”
Still processing the information, Cayden knew Levi would freak out if the killings were still happening. “I’ll tell you when you get back.”
“Okay.” He stopped short at the back door. “I’m holding you to it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
May 2004—Prom
A few more weeks until graduation. At the beginning of school, Levi thought his senior year would be epic. Instead, one of his best friends died, he broke up with the most popular girl in school, and he loved someone not only out of his league but out of his hemisphere.
“We each pour one out then take a drink for Mike,” Greg explained. The four of them stood on the edge of the rock quarry with their bottles in hand.
“For Mike!” they repeated before tipping out their alcohol over the cliff. Everyone guzzled the rest of the whisky out of their bottles. Levi blocked the stream with his tongue as awkward silence engulfed the group.
The gang met the first day of kindergarten. Friends from that day on. Junior high changed a lot of cliques in school, but not them. In sync for over twelve years, they suddenly seemed off. Growing pains were a hell of a bitch, and he had feeling they wouldn’t ever be right again.
“Where to now? I heard they’re having a thing at 12 Pins,” Shawn suggested before Levi checked his cell.
“We can go tip some cows at Holloway Farms.”
“Is that even a thing?” Greg responded.
“Let me know,” Levi lied. “I’ve got to help my parents move crap out of the barn.”
“What?”
“You never said you had plans.” A chorus of grumbles rang out.
It never crossed his mind to confide in them.
“Why would they need you this late?” Bud complained.
He twisted the cap back onto his whisky bottle and tossed it to Greg. “I’ll try to catch up later. Text me.” Fighting the urge to run, he walked casually to his truck.
“How the hell am I getting home? You’re my ride,” Shawn whined.
He pretended not to hear him and snatched open the door. If he didn’t hurry, he would be out of time. Levi shoved the key in the ignition and threw the truck in reverse before he peeled out of the quarry.
Less than five minutes away from Chesterfield, he zipped down the deserted road. He ma
de it to the gates in less than three minutes. Hoping the girl from the concert recognized him, he waved.
“Hey.” Levi rolled down his window with a smile.
“No Foo Fighters today, blondie.” She leaned over the ledge of her window. Cayden told him scholarship kids ran the gates on weekends. Generally, he would have pulled out his Prince Charming bit but had a feeling she wouldn’t fall for it.
“I’m here to steal one of the chicks from the prom court.”
“Who?” When she screeched her question he figured he had a good chance of getting through the gate.
“Cayden Young.”
A devious smile changed the girl’s face. “Doesn’t she already have a date?”
“Not if I can help it.” He made sure to stay far away from the resort when Dale picked her up. Blinding hate for her date in front of his parents could be misunderstood. They took pictures of Cayden before she left, while Dale made promises to bring her home close to 1:00 AM.
After Levi got done at the pier, his parents had filled him in. He refused to look at the pictures. Cleaning up that night, he used the guys as his alibi to cut out of the house.
“Come on. I won’t tell anyone you let me in.”
The girl pushed her glasses onto her nose and then gave him a little shrug. “Dale’s a dill weed.” She opened the gate for his truck. “And I never saw you. Three buildings down on your left. Easiest way in is east entrance near the trail.”
“Thanks.” He sped off in the direction she gave. A lifetime ago at the age of eight, he helped cater an event there with his Aunt Sadie, who at the time ran the resort’s kitchen. If he remembered correctly, the school held all their dances in the same building.
He gunned it around the bend toward the building that resembled an auditorium. Instead of parking in the lot full of fancy cars and limos, he drove on to the grass closest to the trail. If he needed a fast getaway, the path back to his house would be wide enough to accommodate the truck.
Unlike the Hollywood-style lights that brightened the front of the building, a stark darkness covered the east end. Without the foggiest idea how he would find Cayden, he took to the stairs and winged it. Halfway up the stadium-style slope, the door banged open and the emergency alarm rang out.
As he considered whether to run or not, Levi’s heart slammed hard into his chest wall. This time if he got caught, his parents would kill him. Not willing to give up his mission, he stood still in hopes no one called the cops. As he started back up again, Cayden nearly bowled him over.
“Levi!”
He grabbed her around the waist, sweeping her off her fancy heels.
“What are doing?” he asked, holding her close to his chest.
“Leaving,” she huffed, out of breath. “Now your turn.”
“I guess helping.” He grasped her hand and ran down the stairs before a thought occurred to him. “Did something happen?”
“No, let’s go,” she said in a rush while she grabbed her door.
He raced around the truck and let himself in. “Holy shit, you won!” The light from the moon lit the fake jewels on her tiara.
As they got into the pickup, Cayden touched the top of her head and laughed. “Crazy, right? I’ve barely even been here a year.”
He started the engine and drove off the grass. Levi got back on the road and steered them toward Chesterfield’s entrance.
“Hey, blondie, you found her. Oh, my gosh, you won! I hoped you would,” the little girl at the front gate gushed.
Cayden reached up and pulled off the crown. “You want it?”
“No way?”
“Come on, take it.” She passed it over him to give it to her.
“I can’t believe this!” the girl screamed.
Scared they’d get caught, he smiled nervously and pointed at the gate. “Oh crap, sorry.” She pulled the lever that lifted the arm, and Levi sailed right through.
“That was really cool.”
“You think?” Cayden leaned back with a sigh.
He tried to keep his eyes on the road and not stare, but she looked beautiful. The hot-pink dress complemented her cocoa skin, while her long princess braid made her appear enchantingly sweet.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s something I want to show you,” he told her, expecting a barrage of questions. However, when he glanced over, she flashed him a simple smile.
“Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Present Day
A sparse number of leaves hung onto the branches, but not many. Winter knocked on fall’s back door. The mild weather and colors of the fall were almost gone.
Levi guided the guys through the fields. Hunting never sat well with him. He would give the rookies tours, but anything more would have to be someone else’s department.
“How are you feeling these days?” Shawn asked.
“As opposed to any other day?” Levi responded. They hiked up the hill. Everyone knew he hated this crap. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and considered bailing on them.
“It’s just that you’ve been kind of different lately…”
“You’ve been a dick and we want to know why,” Bud said, while his Labrador retriever, Petal, jogged ahead of them. “We have our theories, but we want to hear it from you first.”
“Hmmm, I guess it depends on how long you think I’ve been a dick.”
“A few months.”
“Closer to a few years,” Shawn butted in. “You know, when you got back from your tour.”
“Let’s cut the shit… I’m being voted out of the Eagle Scouts because I don’t like Dale,” Levi threw out, annoyed by the childish nature of the conversation.
“You’ve been different since you left. We’re worried that you have PTSD.”
Levi laughed. A fine time for them to bring it up, five years later.
“We’re serious.”
“Yeah, me too. Look, this didn’t come up until I kicked your fearless leader off my property—”
“It’s been for a while, but it officially got out of hand when Cayden came back.”
Fog covered the meadow. Once the sun rose high enough, it would burn their cover off.
“Do you still want to buy her out?”
In the past, he may have mentioned to Greg that he planned on restoring Goosebay Lake to the Scott family. However, they never really spoke about it in detail.
“We’ve decided to come up with the difference,” Bud told him. He looked through the scope of his rifle and dropped his backpack to the ground. The dog circled around him.
“That way you’ll be majority holder and we’ll hold a small share,” Greg chimed in.
“We’ll be your partners,” Shawn added. “No more Cayden. I mean, if that’s what you want, of course.”
When Petal bumped his leg, he reached down to pet her head. His finger twisted within the charms of the idiot dog’s collar. The retriever wouldn’t know its ass from a hole in the ground. Levi wiggled his index finger loose from the trinket.
“There’s two of them over here, if you want to get in on this,” Bud whispered.
With his anger simmering so close to the surface, he couldn’t even see what they were focused on. “Just to be clear, you three are discussing buying my resort?”
“We heard you wanted out from Cayden’s shit and thought we would help,” Shawn said.
“And what shit is that?”
At least Greg had the good sense to look away. He never spoke at length about Cayden with them. She was simply off limits, even from high school.
“I’ll get the first shot and you can get the jumpers,” Bud called out before he aimed his rifle.
“You know she uses the place to hide out or dump her fancy friends on you,” Shawn began.
“Orgies, stopovers on her way to orgies.” Bud laughed before he took his shot. “You know how those rich types are.”
The sound of the gun cracked through the woods, ripping apart the tranquilit
y of nature. Bud’s dog barked, the distracting sound of the charms around her neck jangling wildly as she ran ahead.
“Take your shot, take it!” Bud hollered.
Shawn tried to line it up. Light clicks from Shawn’s rifle caught his attention.
Levi had to dig deep to push down his anger before he snatched the rifle away from him.
“Hey, man!”
He cracked open the bolt to unload the bullets that Shawn had jammed into the chamber.
“Holy shit,” Shawn exclaimed. “That was a new gun! I couldn’t even tell it was jammed.”
The next shot would have been a misfire, if they were lucky. “To answer your question, Bud, I don’t know how the rich ones are, but maybe we should ask your wife, considering you still hit up the whore houses in Nevada on your annual firemen convention.”
“What the fuck?” Bud tried to stand while a flash of pure hatred shuddered through Levi.
Seeming to welcome the urge to pounce, Greg moved between them. “That was out of line.”
“No, you idiots coming here and bringing up PTSD when you don’t know shit about it is out of line.”
“We’re just trying to help,” Greg told him. “But since we don’t talk or hang out… I mean, you even ditched me at the award ceremony.”
“As for your bullshit concern about my health, screw you.” Levi threw Shawn’s rifle at his feet. “I don’t need you guys as my partners, and whatever that was you killed, get it the hell off my property.” He left them to find a way back down the meadow on their own.
****
After Prom—2004
After a quick drive from St. Geneva, they hit the outskirts of town and turned off at the Starlight exit. Cayden didn’t seem to know much about the area, so Levi had faith she wouldn’t figure out his surprise. He took the pickup onto the gravel road. His headlights guided their way on the tight lane. Once they got past the trees into the clearing, it opened to a spaced-out area.
The tires rolled over the rocks. He parked the truck in the center of the lot next to a speaker box. “You have no idea where we are, do you?”
Cayden, who hadn’t said much since they left her school, shook her head with a shrug and a smile.