by Viva Fox
It was along one of those trails that the abandoned barn sat. It had been sitting there long before the park was acquired by the county. Kids had been fooling around in there for years. Graffiti was no surprise.
A dead body was.
The woman’s body was found in the upper loft. Several years before, a not so bright prankster had spray painted a pentagram and the words “SATIN LIVES!” in orange paint on the wall. The woman’s body was found directly below it.
She was fully dressed, with the exception of her blouse being opened to expose her bra. She wore a button down shirt, jeans and hiking boots. County police believed that she had been placed there about a day before she was found. She was identified as Emily Watson, a thirty-year-old single secretary who had loved to hike the park on a regular basis.
Detective Laura Allbright was the first one called out. She was from Philadelphia originally, the opposite side of the state from the crime scene. She was one of the Pennsylvanians who fell into the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia divide. She rooted for the Flyers over the Penguins and couldn’t care less about their beloved Steelers. Coming to this part of the state might as well have required a passport.
Truth be told, she didn’t mind getting away that much. Her boyfriend was a Philly homicide detective as well. Well, ex-boyfriend to be more exact. He was that since she had caught him fooling around with her friend Stephanie. Since then, she’d been ignoring calls from both of them. So when the call to head out to Pittsburgh had come last night, she’d gotten right into her car.
The State Troopers eyed her suspiciously as she walked up to them. She always got that look. She was tiny, but well-toned. Her black hair had grown passed her shoulders in recent months, and it set off her dark eyes perfectly. This time of year, she was well tanned. She would never show up on scene in a dress. It was always a business pantsuit with her badge neatly clipped to the side like she was today. She’d skipped her dress boots today. She knew she’d have to hike up to the crime scene.
“Detective Allbright?” A trooper held out his hand to her. “I’m Officer Wright. I’m supposed to be your contact.”
“Of course you are.” She was pleased at the look on his face when she shook his hand. Laura did not have a weak handshake. “It’s good to meet you.”
“Likewise.” The man pulled his hand back. He pointed to two younger troopers behind him. “Right there is Trooper Ashcroft and Detective Jones, from our special crimes unit. They’ll be taking you up. The rest of my men are there.”
Detective Jones was a tall blonde man with green eyes. He was just as tan as Laura. But his face did not look pleased.
“Don’t know why they had to call out the Philly crew.” He grumbled as he offered her his hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“That’s Detective Allbright to you.” Laura shook his hand more firmly than she had the other officer’s. Trooper Ashcroft merely smiled, shaking her hand politely and quickly pulling back. “We were called out because bodies in the woods are our specialty.”
“Like they aren’t ours?” Jones motioned her to follow him. “The crime scene is this way, Detective. Follow me and stay on the gravel path.”
As if she’d go anywhere else. This man was an ass. He’d already showed that about himself in just the few minutes she had known him. Laura rolled her eyes but started up the path. She suspected it was probably a driveway at some time. It was wide enough for a car, and that was about it. She couldn’t imagine anyone trying to get up here in the winter.
They walked about half a mile until the gravel road ended in a field. Laura saw immediately that she had been right. This had once been a driveway. Apparently there had been a farm up here, and the gravel path had been the drive up to the barn.
The barn was nothing to look at. It was in reasonable shape, but it was speckled with holes. Laura wondered how it stood up to the western PA winters.
The two troopers led her around to the upper level. Laura stepped up and into the loft. The body had been removed. Now there was nothing but a chalk outline. Laura frowned at the words “SATIN LIVES!”
“Did we get an ID yet?”
“Yes.” Jones leaned back against the wall. Laura nodded to the writing on the wall. She pointed to it.
“Does that mean anything?”
“Heck no.” Jones shook his head. “That’s been here for years.”
“You’ve seen it?” Laura was momentarily surprised by his words. That meant that he had been here before.
“Kids have been partying out here for years. We get called up here to investigate.” He shrugged. Officer Jones looked bored. Laura was not impressed. She also had to wonder why they called the special crime unit up to investigate kids partying in an old barn.
“Ok. Let’s take a look around.” The loft was completely empty. Laura could see no trace of evidence up here. There wasn’t even any blood splatter. “What was the cause of death?” She jumped down from the loft, starting down to the bottom section of the barn.
“Strangulation.” Laura had figured as much. She made her way down the small slope. The bottom of the barn stood open, but had a concrete floor. Stepping onto the concrete, she found a row of feeding troths. And several oddities.
“What is that?” She pointed to a golf club propped against the troth. Jones motioned into the troth.
“Grab some gloves and take a look. If you can explain it, we’re waiting.”
Laura reached into a pocket to pull out a pair of latex gloves. She pulled them on before leaning over to look into the troth. She immediately frowned.
Inside the troth was a collection of golf balls in a plastic Easter basket. Beside it was a set of child’s gardening tools. Laying between the two was a note pad with the words SIGN IN HERE written in black Sharpie on the cover. She picked up the notepad, flipped it open, and read the first page. It just got weirder.
The first page was an entry written by the Clearwater Troll. The Troll claimed to live here in the barn. Similar entries followed. They rambled on about the height of the grass, losing golf balls and needing some sunscreen. Following it was a collection of sign ins. Apparently people were signing in to say hi to the Troll. He, or she, seemed to be very popular.
“The Clearwater Troll?” She looked up at the troopers. “What the hell-?”
“We have no idea.” Jones shrugged. “Might be something, might be nothing. We can’t be sure.”
“Bag it all up and get it in for evidence.” Laura put the book down in the troth. “We need to test all of it for finger prints.”
Jones walked off, grumbling something about how he’d never thought about something like that. Laura rolled her eyes. Working with men was exhausting.
******
It was after seven when Laura settled herself down at the hotel bar. She was staying just over the hill from the local casino, but that was too much noise. She just needed to sit here and drink a glass of wine. Maybe eat some pita chips and hummus. She hadn’t decided yet.
She checked her phone. Steve had called four times, and left six text messages. She felt a twinge of sadness. He seemed to be genuinely apologizing. But no. He’d cheated on her. With Stephanie, no less. Fortunately, Stephanie hadn’t texted today. Laura couldn’t decide if that made her feel better or worse.
She listened to his voicemail while she sipped her wine. Then she promptly deleted both of them. She opened the text window only to remove the flags. It was frustrating, and exhausting. But the worst part was reminding herself that she had done nothing wrong. This was on them.
“Well, never thought I’d see you here.” Laura turned to see Detective Jones standing beside her.
“Likewise. What are you doing here?” She frowned, putting her glass down. Jones shrugged.
“Sorry. I thought this was a public hotel. Didn’t realize that you owned the place.”
“You know what I mean. I thought you were a local. Why are you staying in a hotel?” She wondered if she was about to unleash a host of marital w
oes from the man. He looked like the type who got kicked out of the house by his wife. Jones pulled himself up a stool beside her.
“I’m not local. I’m from the Greensburg branch.” When she looked at him quizzically, he motioned in the opposite direction. “It’s not far, but when you have to be on scene in the morning, or exploring evidence, they don’t want you driving back and forth. So here I am.”
“Here you are.” Laura nodded. “So what do you make of it?”
He made her wait until he had ordered a beer and eaten a few pretzels. Then he shrugged.
“We’ve seen a few bodies like this over the area in the past year. I can find you their files. If you want my honest opinion, I think we’ve got a serial killer.”
That was a bit of a hit. It wasn’t that Pennsylvania didn’t have a history of serial killers. She’d read all the cold case files about them. But the last one had been active in Philadelphia in the 1980s and had never made it out to Pittsburgh-as far as they knew.
“What about this troll business? Do you think there’s anything to it?”
“I think there are some kids screwing around out there.” Jones looked at her. “I warned you that kids like to go up there.” He took a swig of his beer. “That’s nothing.”
“But what if they saw something?”
“Then we’ll put out a news report we need to talk to anyone who may have been in the area recently.” Jones was so casual about this. He might as well have been talking about a magazine subscription, let alone a murder with a possible serial killer.
“Regardless,” this time Laura made him wait while she finished her glass of wine, “I’m going to go through that journal myself tomorrow. I want to read every entry.”
“If you want to read about a bunch of punk kids being idiots, be my guest.” Jones ordered another beer. “I guess I can’t buy you a second?” Laura had already signaled to the bartender for her tab.
“Not tonight.” Laura wrote her room number and a tip on the bill. “I barely know you. And I thought you were a total asshole this afternoon.”
Jones chuckled. He winked one green eye at her.
“Maybe I’ll prove you wrong. Or right. It has to be one of the other.” Laura rolled her eyes.
“Good night, Detective Jones.”
“Good night, Detective Allbright.”
******
First thing the next morning, Laura sat in the Frye State Police barracks with the contents of the Clearwater Troll’s troth before her. There had been no hits on the fingerprints in the system. That made Laura believe that Jones was right. This stuff had been placed there by some kids having a good time. None of them were killers. Probably pot heads, but not killers.
Laura turned the pages of the sign in book. There were a few random notes scribbled in it with responses from the troll.
Hope you find your balls!
Yes, so do I -Troll
How’s your game Troll?
-FORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice place you got here…..
Yes it is. Unfortunately too many people know about it
They were all dated in the last week. That made her even more adamant that she needed to talk to anyone who had been up there. Laura had to wonder if that last note meant something. But the next page was filled with more randomness. The last page, however, was something.
Troll-I left something upstairs for you. I hope you like it. I didn’t think you wanted a roommate, but she’s at least quiet…..
It wasn’t signed, but it was hand printed. Hopefully there was a hand writing expert who could determine something.
Laura had just called in the other troopers and sent the note off for analysis when a trooper in full uniform came up to her.
“Detective, there’s someone here to see you.” He turned, indicating the man standing behind him. Laura immediately frowned.
“Steve?”
Her ex smiled back at her. He was a medium height and build with dark hair and eyes. And he looked stunning in his gray suit and blue tie. She absolutely hated that last thought.
“Hi Laura.” He smiled awkwardly. “How are things going? I heard that you got a big hit.” Laura rolled her eyes.
“What are you really doing here, Steve?”
“I…” He shrugged. It wasn’t a terribly odd thing. Steve was a well decorated Philadelphia homicide detective himself. He could easily be sent out to help with the investigation. Although Laura did not believe that was his reasoning for being there.
“You just had to get in on this case?” Laura folded her arms under her breasts. Her frown only deepened across her face.
“It’s a big case. They’re talking serial killer back home.” He held out his arms in apparent justification. Apparently word was getting out quickly.
“And you thought I needed your help? Jesus Christ, Steve, I’m hunting the killer-he’s not after me.” Laura was exasperated. Six months-no, one month ago-she would have considered this sweet. Hell, it had been their life. Now she was ready to strangle him. “Did you come alone?”
Steve looked hurt. He lowered his eyes, scuffing one loafer on the tile floor.
“Of course I didn’t.”
“Right. Because Stephanie probably had a case of her own.” Stephanie was a medical examiner who also helped out at her family’s funeral home. Laura didn’t even understand what she and Steve had in common.
She had to push that particular rage away. She didn’t have time for this now.
“I’m busy, Steve.” She pushed passed him, heading for her car. She heard Steve calling after her, but Laura ignored him. She didn’t have anything else to say to him.
Once in the car, Laura let her head fall against the steering wheel. She was a good cop. She’d come a long way in the force. No one had ever expected her to come as far as she had. Now she was letting her blind emotions take control over her. She couldn’t risk a case just because the former love of her life had pulled her strings.
******
“Funny meeting you here two nights in a row.” Laura looked up. Tonight she had taken over a table in the corner. But Detective Jones had found her.
“You know,” Laura tapped her pen on the table, “I never caught your first name.” Jones was already pulling out a chair and inviting himself to sit down.
“It’s Tom.” He was handsome when he smiled. Laura hated how attractive he was.
“Tom Jones? Like the singer?” He laughed at that.
“My parents weren’t fans. Of the singer, I mean. They liked the name. I guess that’s obvious.” He shrugged. “So are we having dinner, or just drinks?”
“Neither!” Laura looked down at her paperwork. “I’m working here.”
“You’ve been working all day.” He flipped the case file shut. “And I know full well that a friend of yours is in town.”
“Friend is a sketchy word.” Laura gave him a hard look. Jones held up his hands in defense.
“All right, all right, I’m sorry. Regardless, you don’t need to work tonight.”
“Oh I don’t?” Laura clicked her pen closed. “Well then tell me, just what do I need?”
“You need a drinking buddy.” He gave her a devilish grin. Laura’s immediate reaction was to say no. He’d been an ass the first day they had met. She didn’t particularly want to drink with him, but it truly couldn’t be that bad. Besides, he was probably right, she probably did need a drinking buddy.
“Ok.”
The rest of the evening rapidly escalated into a blur. Laura took note of several shots of tequila burning their way down her throat. He was buying left and right. Laura lost count after four. It was more than she needed to have-ever.
She heard herself declaring to him that she needed to go to bed. He was in agreement. And then he was taking her hand and leading her out of the bar.
They made it as far as the elevator before his lips were on hers. A tiny voice in the back of her head was screaming that this was a terrible idea. He was, after all, a
coworker. She should not be getting into something like this with someone she worked with so closely.
But she was. His hands were groping her breasts through her shirt. His fingers reached for the buttons. She stopped him as the elevator doors opened.
They stumbled down the hallway to her room. She was unlocking the door. It took her several tries with the key card.
And then they were inside. Her shirt was being unbuttoned. He’d had on a blue polo shirt. It had mutually been stripped off of him.
His hands tugged her shirt open. They were immediately pulling down her bra. His hands cupped her breasts. Laura heard herself moaning as his lips and tongue traced over them. She was leaning back against the door, her fingers tangled in his sandy hair.
One of his hands had dropped down to rub between her thighs. After a moment, it reached up to undo the button. She was glad she still preferred her sexy underwear. His fingers traced over the thin fabric of the white thong. Then they were inside.
Laura gasped as his fingers passed through the hot wetness that he had found. One finger pushed into her, followed by two. Again she reminded herself that she should not be doing this-not with him. But his fingers felt so good. She just wanted to ride them, keep them going inside of her.
Her hands felt deftly for the clasp of his pants. She found it, pulling it open and freeing him. Her hands wrapped solidly around him. She heard him moaning as he pushed her more forcefully against the door.
His hand left her body. She opened her eyes, disappointed at the momentary loss of contact. It did not last long. Laura gasped as she felt him push into her. His body was thick and solid in her. She heard the moan that left her throat.
She had had sex with Steve recently-it wasn’t like she had gone without. But this was good. Maybe because he was practically a stranger to her. Maybe because she was drunk. Maybe because she was lonely and angry. Probably a combination of all of the above. Either way, she didn’t want him to stop.