Hidden Angels: Wildfire Lake Book One

by Victoria Wyngate

  “Not for me thank you,” replied Trish.

  “Just the check thanks,” said David.

  “You know… I was a little nervous about this evening,” said Trish, “But I had a really great time.”

  “I thought I was the only nervous one,” said David. He paid the check. He waited until she stood and walked her to her car. When they got to the car he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

  “I really enjoyed tonight too. Can I see you again?” he asked.

  “I’d like that,” she said, getting into her car. He watched her drive away. He couldn’t help but smile.

  This might just be the start of something good, he thought as he walked to his car. Something very good indeed.

  Travis finished his meal, paid the tab and went back to his car. The restaurant was scheduled to close in less than an hour.

  He would be there and waiting for her. Having given her another large tip, he watched as she put the money in her apron pocket.

  He was planning to take that when he took her. Now he waited.

  He was getting good at that.

  The cars slowly trickled out of the lot until very few were left. Patience always pays off.

  The rear door opened and Gretchen stepped outside. No one else in sight. She was headed to the smoking area to the left side of the building.

  Standing in the shadows he watched as she approached. He came up behind her with the Chloroform soaked rag in his hand. She turned at the sound of his footsteps. A look of recognition crossed her face.

  He placed the rag over her nose and mouth. She squirmed and struggled, but couldn’t break free of his grasp. She went limp against him. He picked her up and carried her to his car.

  Opening the door, he placed her gently on the passenger seat. He drove back to the motel and parked in front of his room. It was late and most of the rooms were already dark. Not many occupants either, good. Lifting her out he carried her to the room.

  He pulled the top sheet off the bed and laid her down. Quickly, he ran back to the car and got the smaller bag from the trunk.

  After stripping her of her clothes, he tied her hands and feet with the rope. He used the duct tape to cover her mouth. All that’s left is to wait for her to wake.

  Then the real fun would begin.

  Gretchen woke and looked around the room. She was dazed and confused. The only light in the room was from a table lamp in the corner. It had a very old and dingy shade casting very little light into the far corners.

  As her eyes adjusted she saw a shadow move. He looked at her and slowly said, “Welcome back to the land of the living… for now at least.”

  She recognized the voice. It sounded just like the big tipper. Shivering from the cold she looked down. To her horror she realized she was nude. She looked at her clothes on the chair beside the bed.

  “You won’t be needing those,” he said. Her eyes were pleading with him. Walking over to the chair he picked up her apron. He removed the tips from the pocket and put the money on the dresser.

  “Thank you for this,” he said, “I really couldn’t afford those tips, but I knew I’d be getting them back.” He stripped off his clothes. He took the condom from the dresser, opened it and rolled it on over his stiff member.

  Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She violently shook her head from side to side.

  He joined her on the bed and mounted her. The tape muffled her screams as he raped her. When he was finished, he looked at her with disgust.

  “That is all you bitches are good for,” he said, “You get in and you get out,” he said with contempt. “Well, I’ve enjoyed myself for right now, but you’ve outlived your usefulness,” he said sarcastically.

  He looked her in the eyes as he twisted her head. He almost had another orgasm as he heard the sharp snap of her neck. God I love that sound, he thought.

  He rolled Gretchen up in the fitted sheet complete with the plastic drop cloth. He stuck his head out of the door of the room, looking both ways. No one was in the lot.

  He looked around at the windows in the adjoining rooms. All of their shades were drawn. After all, it was late.

  He looked up and saw that there was a full moon. His plan was still on schedule. He looked at the eaves of the motel. Prefect… no security cameras.

  He picked her up cradling her against him and carried her to his car. He placed her carefully into the trunk.

  Grabbing his things from the room he threw all of it into the back seat. He drove her to her special place.

  Not quite the view she would have on the lake, but it would suffice. He turned off the headlights as he left the road.

  No need to draw unnecessary attention to myself, he thought. Pulling the car deep into the brush he killed the engine.

  Opening the trunk, he lifted and carried her to her final resting place. He put her down softly and almost reverently. He poured the contents of the remaining bag of lime over her.

  After replacing the dirt, he smoothed the surface and raked the leaves back into place. No one would find this angel.

  Not unless he wanted them too.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  David pulled into his driveway, hitting the button on the garage door opener. Pulling into the garage he closed the door. Entering the house through the mud room he frowned as he saw the full basket of laundry on the floor.

  Maria, his cleaning lady, was supposed to have come by today. He walked into the kitchen and saw dirty dishes still in the sink.

  Something must have happened for her not to come by, or at least called. This was not like her.

  I’ll have to call her tomorrow, he thought. He kicked off his shoes at the kitchen table. He took off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of a chair.

  As he headed to his master bedroom he loosened his tie. He removed and dropped the rest of his clothes along the way. It had been a long and tiring day and he had to start early in the morning.

  His bed was calling him and he desperately wanted to answer.

  ******

  Trish unlocked the door and stepped into her dark apartment. She flipped on the light, tossed her purse into a chair and threw her keys on the table by the door. She sat down on the couch, kicked out of her heels and sighed with relief.

  They don’t make comfortable dress shoes, she thought. Her feet were killing her and had been all night. She hoped David hadn’t noticed.

  She rubbed her aching feet and smiled at the thought of him. Feeling a little better she rose and went to her bedroom. Turning down the covers she thought of the long day ahead of her.

  I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Tomorrow I’m wearing flats, she thought as she got ready for bed.

  ******

  Although he had been up for quite a while he decided to go on to Leesville. His eyes were tearing from the strain of the streetlights. He really needed to rest.

  He saw a sign on the side of the road that advertised food and lodging. Two miles down the road he pulled into the parking lot of a Motel 6. Going to reception desk he paid for a room in cash. Not even bothering to get his things out of the car he lay down on the bed. Within minutes he was asleep.

  But it was a troubled sleep and full of nightmares.

  Ginger, his step mother, opened the door to his room and stepped inside, closing the door quietly. She walked over to his bed and pulled back the covers, slipping into his bed.

  He woke as he felt her hand on his groin. She started stroking him.

  “That’s a good boy Travis. I know you like it right there.” Ginger said. He was scared, but it did feel good. Despite himself, he felt his cock starting to swell.

  “That’s my boy,” said Ginger as she removed his pajamas and underwear. She looked down at him and took his swollen member into her mouth. She bobbed her head up and down a couple of times, making moaning noises. She raised her eyes to meet his letting him slip from her mouth.

  “You come to mama now,” she said as she removed her nightgown and straddled him.
She started writhing on him like she was possessed.

  He had never felt like this before. He was scared and excited, all at the same time. His member started pulsing and something came out the end. He suddenly felt ashamed.

  Ginger sighed and fell off of him. She placed her nicotine stained index finger to her lips and said, “Don’t you go tellin’ that Daddy o’ yours now. Cuz you know, he’ll beat you within an inch of your life.”

  She got up and picked up her gown and slipped it back over her head.

  “You know how his temper is,” she said as she kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back to tuck you in again tomorrow. Sleep tight now,” she said as she slipped out of the room.

  That was the first time Ginger came to his room, but it wouldn’t be her last.

  He was only thirteen at the time.

  Travis awoke from this dream with his usual problem. He got up and went to the bathroom. He desperately needed a cold shower.

  ******

  As soon as David opened the door to his office his phone started ringing. He picked it up in the middle of the third ring.

  “Detective Moore,” he said.

  “Hello David, it’s Trish,” she said, “I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”

  His mood immediately brightened. “No, not at all,” he said, “It’s nice to hear from you.”

  “I hope it’s not too presumptuous of me, but I wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner tonight? That is, if you’re not too busy,” she said.

  “Sounds good, but I don’t want you to go to any trouble on my account,” he said.

  “Don’t be silly,” she said, “Besides, I love to cook and rarely get the opportunity. It would be my pleasure. Let’s say 7:00 p.m.?”

  “7:00 it is, but there’s only one problem. I don’t know where you live,” he said.

  Trish gave him the address and he wrote it down on his desk pad.

  “Good, I’ll see you then,” said Trish as she hung up the phone, smiling.

  Looking around her apartment she thought, Oh my goodness, what a mess.

  She needed to run to the market before she could even start cleaning. There were no cleaning supplies in the apartment.

  ******

  Immediately after he got off the phone with Trish David placed another call. Maria answered on the second ring.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Maria, it’s David Moore,” he said, “I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I was wondering if something happened yesterday?”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry Mr. Moore I know I should have called you. My son fell at school yesterday afternoon and broke his arm. I had to take him to the emergency room. We were there until late. I was planning to call you this morning to ask if I could come by later today.”

  “That would be fine,” he responded, “Is he going to be alright?”

  “He will be in a cast for about six weeks, but he should be fine,” she said.

  “If you need anything just let me know,” he said.

  “Thank you and I will,” said Maria and she hung up. Such a nice young man, she thought.

  ******

  Jeff Johnson, the manager of The Roadhouse Grill, arrived at the restaurant at 10:00 a.m. to prepare for the lunch crowd.

  That’s when he saw Gretchen’s car still in the lot. What’s she doing here? he thought. She’s not scheduled to come in until 1:00 p.m.

  He went inside the restaurant looking for her calling her name as he went. No response. He didn’t find her anywhere in the building.

  Maybe she left last night with friends, he thought. Shrugging his shoulders, he went to the kitchen.

  Preparations had to made for the lunch crowd. He would ask the rest of the staff when they arrived.

  ******

  After putting her groceries away Trish went to her bedroom. Pulling her long blonde hair into a pony tail she lugged the heavy vacuum cleaner out of the hall closet.

  She had a lot of cleaning to do before this place was suitable for company.

  ******

  David had been fielding calls all morning about the two missing women. Most of the calls were from crackpots who just wanted to see their names in print. A few gave him some promising leads.

  He was going to follow up on all of them after lunch.

  ******

  When the afternoon staff arrived at The Roadhouse Grill Jeff asked them about Gretchen. Most of the staff reported that they had left before she had.

  Lyndsey, the hostess, did confirm that it was Gretchen’s car still in the lot. Jeff went to his office, looked up Gretchen’s number and placed a call. It rang four times before going to voice mail. Maybe she had just lost track of the time, he thought.

  I’ll try to call again later, he thought as he went back to work.

  ******

  Trish was putting the finishing touches on her main course when the doorbell rang. She wiped her hands on a dish towel lying on the counter. She opened the door to find David standing on the porch.

  He had a bottle of wine in one hand and flowers in the other. She opened the door and he said, “These are for you.”

  “The wine or the flowers?” she asked.

  David replied with one simple word, “Yes.”

  Trish smiled and stepped aside to allow him to enter.

  He followed her into the kitchen and put the wine on the counter.

  He turned to face Trish and asked, “Do you have a vase for these?” Trish opened the cabinet under the sink and took out a small glass vase. She filled it with water. She took the flowers from him and arranged them in the vase.

  “They’re lovely, thank you,” she said. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Would you mind opening the wine? The corkscrew is in the top drawer. The glasses are in the cabinet to your left.”

  “Gladly,” said David as he removed the corkscrew from the drawer and reached for the bottle of wine.

  ******

  At 6:30 p.m. Jeff went looking for Lyndsey.

  “Lyndsey did Gretchen ever come in?” Jeff asked.

  “I haven’t seen her,” she replied, “Did you try calling her again?”

  “Not yet. I was hoping she’d show up with a good excuse.”

  He went back to his office and dialed Gretchen’s number. Lyndsey left Jeff’s office heading to the back toward the restrooms.

  As she walked past the employee breakroom she thought she heard something. Stepping into the breakroom she walked over to a row of lockers.

  Gretchen’s was ringing.

  ******

  “This is delicious,” said David as he forked a morsel into his mouth, “I love Fettuccine Alfredo, but how did you know?”

  “Thank you, but I didn’t. It just happens to be one of my specialties,” she replied, “It’s my mother’s recipe.”

  “Really, I’d like to hear more about your family,” said David.

  “Well,” she said, “My mother’s name is Lisa. She is a retired nurse. My father’s name is Charles. He retired from his law practice five years ago. They live in Mill Valley. And you?” she asked as she took another bite.

  ******

  Lyndsey ran into Jeff’s office. She stopped at his desk as Jeff looked up.

  “Did you just try to call Gretchen?” she asked.

  “Yes, but she didn’t answer. It went right to her voicemail, why?” he asked.

  “There’s a reason she’s not picking up. Her phone is still in her locker.

  Jeff picked up the phone and placed a call. This time to the police.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Lynxboro Police Department sits on the corner of Archer Road and Market Lane. A non-descript two story brick building near the center of downtown.

  On the second floor in a corner office sits the desk of Martin Miller. Marty, as he’s commonly called, is the only investigator with the department.

  He was reviewing his notes on a recent burglary when his phone rang.

  “Investigator Miller,”
he said as he picked up the receiver.

  “Hey Marty, It’s John Maxwell,” said the caller, “We’ve just received a call from the manager of ‘The Roadhouse Grill’. One of their waitresses has disappeared.

  “I’m on my way. Could you do me a favor? Can you call the crime scene tech and have her meet me there?” asked Marty.

  “Sure thing,” said John.

  “Thanks,” said Marty as he hung up the phone.

  ******

  Trish laughed as she reached for her glass of wine.

  “You sound so much like my brother Chris,” she said.

  “Really?” David replied, “Sounds like I might like him.”

  “I know you would. He’s an architect. He and his wife, Susan, live in Lynxboro. Susan is a ietician at the local highschool. But if you meet her don’t you dare call her ‘the lunch lady’. She hates that.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” replied David. Despite himself, he chuckled.

  Trish looked at him admonishingly. “I’m totally serious,” she said.

  “I know that’s the funny part. In my mind I saw her reaction. The mad look on her face. I just couldn’t help myself,” he said.

  Trish laughed at this and stood to clear the dishes.

  “I’ll help,” he said.

  “Thanks, I’d like that,” she replied.

  They both took the dishes into the kitchen.

  Trish rinsed them and David put them into the dishwasher.

  “I’ll run it later. Comeon, we’ll finish our drinks in the living room,” she said as she picked up her glass and turned off the kitchen light.

  ******

  Marty arrived at The Roadhouse and found Lyndsey in the front reception area.

  “I’m looking for Jeff Johnson,” he said.