Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3)

by Joy Elbel

  Rachel nodded her head, avoiding his Medusa-like gaze. “That’s what happened, officer.” “I’ll need to get your information in case we have further questions for you.” He took out a pen and a notepad, jotting down Rachel’s name and address as she gave it to him. Then he turned to me.

  I was sunk! He was going to get my info and then take me straight home to my still-sleeping father and I was never going to get to see Zach again. This is what I get for trying to help someone else out? Go ahead, Misty, stick another pin into that voodoo doll you have of me—I dare you! Things couldn’t get any worse!

  Captain Donaldson scribbled furiously as I gave him my information. When he was done, he looked up at me. “So did she?”

  Did she what?! What was he talking about? I was afraid to speak for fear that I would incriminate myself in some way so I cocked an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.

  “Did she talk you out of running away?” “Ohh,” I said with profound relief, “Yes, she did. It was a stupid idea in the first place. All I really needed to do was vent and get it out of my system. I’m totally ready to go home now.”

  “Good. Now that you’ve seen firsthand what can happen to teenage runaways, maybe you’ll appreciate your family a little more.”

  Teenage runaway? Crimson wasn’t a runaway—she was a missing person. I was curious about his comment so I boldly challenged it. “That’s the body of a missing person not a runaway, right? Crimson—Charisma Cox. She’s been missing since Halloween.”

  Captain Donaldson shook his head no. “Portia Demetri, 15—runaway from Pittsburgh. Last seen November 27th at an ice skating rink just outside of Monroeville. Her family thought she ditched town to be with her boyfriend. Guess they were wrong.”

  I didn’t know whether to be excited or to be sick. Could that be the same ice skating rink that Lucas took me to? Could he be the boyfriend she left Pittsburgh to be with? Had Zach been right about Lucas all along? Rachel didn’t seem to get the dual meaning of what we’d just heard. All she caught was that the body on the steps wasn’t her friend.

  As we drove back to Rosewood, Rachel gushed about the fact that Crimson might still be alive. “I mean I totally feel bad for Lexxus or Mercedes or whatever the hell that poor girl’s name was but at least it wasn’t Crimson! But this does prove one thing, though, I’m afraid. There’s definitely a serial killer on the loose!”

  I remained quiet, not ready to face the fact that Lucas might be tied into this whole thing somehow after all. What I really needed to do was get the full story on Portia’s disappearance. I was sure that after that, Lucas would be completely exonerated.

  I snuck back into the house without my parent’s ever even knowing I’d left. Good thing, too. My wellspring of lies and excuses was bone dry. Work was only about three hours away—it would be pointless to even try to go back to sleep. Not to mention impossible. I’d just seen my first real dead body. Not a centuries old bones and dried flesh skeleton like Levi’s in the tunnels beneath the house but a real live corpse. One that had been breathing within the last twenty four hours. One that I could have helped if I’d only found her earlier.

  So I made a cup of French vanilla cappuccino and sat down with my laptop. Portia Demetri. I typed the name into the search engine and waited for the results to pop up. The top entry was a website her family set up in the hopes that someone would know where she was. I clicked the link and sipped at my drink while it loaded.

  The first thing I saw was a picture of the girl whose body I’d just found, alive and smiling for the camera. She was a pretty brunette with green eyes and bright red highlights in her hair. The picture was taken on an athletic field where she posed in uniform with a soccer ball. The caption below said that it was the last photo taken of her.

  It was so strange to read the posts from a family hoping to get their daughter back alive when I knew that she was dead before they did. I was a morbid voyeur, peeking into strangers’ lives and possessing information they didn’t have. How did I get involved in something so dangerous? I had serious misgivings but it was too late to turn back now. Mine wasn’t the only life in danger.

  So I rummaged through the website gleaning any information I could. Portia was last seen at the Diamond Blades rink near Monroeville—the same skating rink Lucas took me to. After her disappearance, friends told police that Portia had met a new boy there less than a month before her disappearance. She dated him in secret because, as she told friends, “my parents wouldn’t approve”. When asked why, she claimed that they would just think he was too old for her. Diamond Blades employees never recalled seeing her with anyone. The only description of her new boyfriend she gave to friends was vague at best. Brown hair, brown eyes and that he would be famous one day.

  Physically, that description applied to Lucas as well as countless millions of other boys in the world. But the part about being famous—that applied to Drake. He was a rookie in the NFL, about to make his mark in the world of football. He was suspended from playing shortly after Crimson’s disappearance and could easily have gone to Pittsburgh in search of another victim. I went to that website thinking I would find evidence against Lucas, something that might clear Drake’s name. Instead, I was caught in an avalanche of proof that Drake probably was the killer after all. Two questions remained—where was Crimson and why did he kill Portia first?

  Enough Nancy Drew for one day. I closed my laptop and got in the shower to clear my head. Ghosts, killers, dead bodies—all of it needed to vacate my brain. The most important thing was to figure out a way to get my dad to stop hating Zach. Shelly had gotten him to limit my grounding to two weeks but he wouldn’t budge on the Zach issue. I was not to see Zach outside of school—he was clear about that. If only that second package hadn’t arrived, he probably wouldn’t have been so immovable on the subject.

  He looked at the lingerie as a defiance of his authority. Zach didn’t send it but Dad was convinced that he did. Protesting Zach’s innocence only brought one question—if he didn’t send it, then who did? Who indeed. Maybe I could track down the store where the gifts were purchased and find some answers that way? The only way to prove that they didn’t come from Zach was to find out who did send them.

  Satisfied with my new plan of attack, I went to work with a smile on my face and a renewed sense of purpose. Things would eventually work themselves out in the end, wouldn’t they? I knew all too well from personal experience that lies and deceit had a way of unraveling themselves if you just gave it enough time. But as I stepped up to the front door of Something Wick-ed, my positivity melted away. There was a white box with a red ribbon perched neatly on the doorstep. A card on top bore my name in bright red permanent marker.

  28. A Killer Solution

  Surreptitiously, I looked up and down the street for any sign of who might have left me the package but saw nothing. The only other sign of life was the librarian, Mrs. Tuttle, and her prissy little Shih Tzu, Mandy. They looked guilty, alright, but I quickly discerned why—Mandy was taking a “shih tzu” of her own right there on the sidewalk.

  Satisfied that no one was watching me, I opened the door to Something Wick-ed and swiftly locked it behind me. I threw my keys and bag on the counter and focused on the box, anxious to find out what was inside it. Then I paused. Maybe I didn’t want to see what was inside it.

  So I stared at for about thirty seconds before making up my mind to open it. Who was I kidding? Of course I wanted to see what was inside! One tug on the ribbon released it and I picked up the lid. A familiar looking card lay on top.

  “I hope you like games, my bride. I want you to have as much fun hiding it as I will have seeking it.” Tossing the card to the side, I reached into the box and pulled out a white lace garter. And that’s when it hit me. These gifts weren’t from an admirer—they were from a killer.

  Letting go of the garter instantly, the elastic snapped back and sent it flying across the store. Allison, Crimson, Portia—every one of them had dark hair streake
d with red. Just like me. Both Allison’s and Portia’s bodies were found at the church, dressed in wedding gowns. Some sick psycho wanted me to be his next “bride”. Grounded or not, I picked up the phone and dialed Zach’s number. Drake dated two of the victims for sure, maybe a third. And the night I met him at the Halloween party, he complimented me on my hair. He had to be the killer.

  “Ruby! It’s so good to hear your voice! Rachel told me everything that happened this morning—are you okay?” Just hearing his voice on the other end of the phone made me feel safer. I hadn’t told him about the lingerie because he would have assumed it was from Lucas. Breaking the news that I’d hidden something so important from him was the least of my worries—I was being stalked by a psychopath!

  “Zach! I think I’m next on the killer’s list of victims!” I cried into the phone. Hurriedly, I explained about the last two gifts and the similarities between me and the other girls.

  “That’s it, Ruby! I don’t care what your dad says—I’m coming over there right now. I’m not letting you out of my sight until this killer is caught! Stay on the phone with me until I get there!”

  Gladly. Ten o’clock came and went but there was no way I was opening the door to the shop while I was still alone. The prospect of selling one dog candle to Mrs. Tuttle wasn’t worth risking my life over—even Rita would have agreed. So I waited patiently in the back room with Zach’s soothing voice to keep me company.

  Even though I knew it was him, his urgent knock on the front door almost knocked me out of my seat. On a good day, I was happy to see him. Today, he was my savior. I unlocked the door and threw my arms around him.

  “Zach!” There were so many words floating around in my brain but his name was the only one that made it past my lips. Then, the tears came. “Oh, Ruby! Don’t cry!” he said stroking my hair out of my face. “I’ll protect you.” Just what I didn’t want to happen. If I had to keep running to him for help, I would never know if that was his main attraction to me. Dammit! Why couldn’t I ever seem to take care of myself? But it was too late now and, let’s face it, I needed his help with this.

  “I know you will but I can’t always rely on you like this!” “Yes, you can, Ruby! I would do anything to protect you!” He tipped my chin up until we were eye to teary eye. “I’ve told you before, I would take a—”

  I stopped him right there. “No, Zach! I don’t ever want to hear you say that again!” The thought of him dying in the line of duty was all too real now. People were actually dying—the next victim couldn’t be him. If I lost him, I would lose everything.

  “Fine—I won’t say it. But it’s true.” He glanced out the window and saw that we had company. Mrs. Tuttle had tucked Mandy into her oversized purse and was staring at the closed sign with a hardened scowl. “You better open the store before she calls Rita to complain.”

  Now that Zach was with me, I felt safe enough to open the door. Mrs. Tuttle scooted in ready with a reprimand. “You can’t just be in here making time with your fella when you have a business to run, young lady!” Mandy gave me a shrill bark in agreement. Mrs. Tuttle glared at me sharply. “Rita will hear about this!” As she turned toward a table filled with dog shaped candles, she took note of who my “fella” was.

  “Oh, Zach! I didn’t realize that was you! You need to stop by the library one of these days. I miss seeing that handsome face of yours, young man!”

  Mandy perched her paws on the edge of Mrs. Tuttle’s bag and looked up at Zach with the cutest little puppy dog eyes. Geez, even the dog was under his spell!

  “And I miss seeing your beautiful smile,” Zach replied, wiping away any chance there was of that mean old rat tattling on me to Rita.

  Zach kept Mrs. Tuttle occupied while I got the register set up and the rest of the store ready for business. After I rang up her purchase and sent her on her way, I noticed Zach was busy stuffing something into his mouth. A cookie. A chocolate freakin’ chip cookie!

  “Where did you get that?” I asked as I picked a stray chip from the folds of his shirt and popped it into my mouth. “Mrs. Tuttle—she had some in her bag. I’m sorry. I should have shared with you, shouldn’t I?” My big, strong warrior now looked like a five year old caught with his hand in, well, the cookie jar.

  “In her bag? Under Mandy’s rear?” I remembered the gift I’d seen her deposit on the sidewalk earlier and began wiping my tongue with a tissue to remove any bits of chocolate that I could. That better have been a chocolate chip I ate and not just something that got stuck in the fur of her hindquarters!

  “Relax—it was wrapped in plastic!” he said, waving the empty bag in my face. “But it’s nice to see you smiling again.”

  I didn’t even realize he’d made me smile until he pointed it out to me. What would I do without him? I gave him a playful shove and he kissed me on the cheek in return. “So tell me everything you haven’t told me yet. And I do mean everything.” Rachel had already filled him in on our gruesome discovery so I started with the lingerie. Zach’s eyes widened as I recounted the story of how I came home and found my father holding it up for me. And how mad he was at Zach.

  “What—does your dad think I’m suicidal?! I would never send you something like that! Especially when we haven’t even had sex yet!” He shouted the word “sex” then glanced guiltily around the shop for customers.

  “Don’t panic—we’re alone!” I giggled inside over the fact that he’d hit the nail on the head when it came to my dad’s reaction. “I told him it wasn’t from you so he accused me of having a relationship with Lucas on the side. That’s when I pretty much got grounded for life. If it weren’t for Shelly, I probably still would be.”

  “You’re still grounded from seeing me, though. At least now, I kind of understand why. That’s going to make protecting you a bit tougher but I think I have a way around that.” He smiled with satisfaction at what he apparently thought was the world’s most brilliant idea. “I just need a partner in my new bodyguard business and I have the perfect person for the job—Boone.”

  “NO!” I shouted forcefully at him. “His brother is the prime suspect in this—Bonne can’t be trusted.” Try again, Einstein.

  “We can trust Boone—he and I have been friends for like ever! And I thought we were supposed to be clearing Drake, not lynching him.”

  I recited my reasons for thinking the police had gotten it right in the first place. With every point, he tried to come up with a counterpoint but failed each time. When I got to the part about the things I had in common with the previous victims, Zach ceased his rebuttal.

  “I swear to God, if he lays one hand on you, this ‘wedding’ will turn into his funeral!” Shades of the insanely jealous Zach flashed in his eyes. As long as his rage remained focused on someone who deserved it, we were okay. I didn’t want his months of anger management classes to go down the drain on my account.

  “So do you understand now why we can’t include Boone in this little venture? Hell, we can’t even tell Rachel! This has to stay between the two of us, Zach.”

  “And the police, right? You do plan on telling them, don’t you?” I shook my head no. “I can’t—there are way too many things I wouldn’t be able to explain to them. Sorry, it’s just you and me.”

  “I wish you would reconsider, Ruby. I can’t be with you every second of the day, you know. One missed day of work Andy will forgive. Every day, not so much.”

  He was missing work to be with me. I was in such a panic when I called him that I never even thought about that. “Zach, I’m sorry—I wasn’t thinking! Of course you can’t! I’ll just have to be extra careful on my own. At least now I’m aware of the danger—I’m sure if the other girls had been, they’d all still be alive.” Where exactly could I get my hands on a stun gun and pepper spray on such short notice?

  “No way! We have to at least find one other person to help. There has to be someone else we can trust.” Zach sat deep in thought as I pondered whether or not to offer my suggestion. I gave
him time to come up with nothing and then went for it.

  “There is someone—Lucas.” I couldn’t exactly explain it to Zach but Lucas was the obvious choice. He’d told me he loved me. He would protect me—I just knew it. I waited for Zach to hit the roof but he didn’t—he just looked disappointed.

  “I don’t think we can trust him, Ruby. What if he tells the wrong person and it gets back to Drake? You’d just be putting yourself in more danger.”

  Weird. Not the argument I was expecting. What made him downgrade Lucas from The Big Bad Wolf to nothing but a loose lipped pup?

  “I know for a fact that Lucas can keep a secret. Even big secrets like this one.”

  Zach’s look of disappointment turned into one of full blown defeat. “Really? What secrets is he keeping for you?” Open mouth, insert foot. Zach didn’t know that I’d explained my supernatural abilities to Lucas. Oh well, it wasn’t that big of a deal, right? It’s not like I professed my undying love for him or anything.

  “He knows that I can see ghosts. I told him a few weeks ago and he hasn’t breathed a word of it. He’ll keep this secret for us, too.”

  Zach sighed heavily. “Us? He won’t be doing any of this for me. Face it, Ruby—the guy’s in love with you.” Yes, he was. But I was in love with Zach and Lucas knew that. Asking him to help keep an eye on me wasn’t leading him on or anything, was it? No, as long as I was straightforward with Lucas, everything would be just fine. And with Zach, too, of course.

  “Even if he is, it doesn’t change things between us. I haven’t taken your ring off, have I?” I held my hand out like a model. “See—you have nothing to worry about.”

  Zach smiled sadly. “I have plenty to worry about but keeping you alive is top priority. Give him a call. Just do me a favor—don’t tell him that we’re not allowed to see each other. He might see that as an opening.”

  “I won’t,” I agreed. Zach nodded and handed me my phone. So I dialed Lucas’s number and set off a chain of events I never anticipated. Bringing together the two halves of my heart didn’t exactly make it whole. Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde.