The Lost Causes

by Jessica Koosed Etting

  “Maybe someone stabbed Devon in the back at the Springs,” Justin said. “There could still be evidence. Like the knife. I mean, it wasn’t very long ago, right, if he killed Lily?”

  “Nash meant that someone stabbed him in the back metaphorically,” Andrew retorted. “Not with an actual knife.”

  Gabby perked up. “Wait, Justin could be right,” she said. “No one goes to the Springs anymore. That could’ve been where Devon was murdered. It would be the perfect place to hide a body.”

  Nash was already on his feet. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  It took over an hour to get all the way up to the Springs, thanks to the most winding road Andrew had ever been on. The only reason he was able to hold his motion sickness back was that Sabrina was next to him, completely unfazed by the nauseating twists and turns. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of her. Justin was tough, but Andrew thought Sabrina was probably the strongest of them all.

  They piled out of the van and scattered around the area, searching for something, even though they weren’t sure what that something was. Andrew had seen pictures of what the Springs used to look like, but it was hard to believe the dry, cracked dirt underneath his feet had once been a pool the size of a football field.

  He planted himself near a bed of twenty or so large rocks. Could Devon or his killer have hidden something underneath one? Andrew held his breath and picked one up.

  Nothing but dirt underneath.

  As he lifted another heavy rock, it occurred to him that a rock like this could’ve been used as a weapon, too. What if whoever killed Devon hit him over the head with a rock to knock him out? Andrew picked up one rock after another, bracing himself for a bloodstained one. He picked up the last rock and a lizard jumped out from beneath it, scaring him half to death.

  “Did you find something?” Nash was suddenly right behind him. How did he get there so fast?

  “I thought I saw something, but, um, turned out it was nothing.” Good save, Andrew told himself.

  He ditched Nash and chose a new location, which he estimated to have been the center of the pool before it dried up. He roamed around between the small succulents that had sprung up over the years and started to question if coming here was a smart idea. What if Devon wasn’t talking about this place? The Springs could have been anything. A restaurant, a book, a last name. None of them had found anything remotely suspicious yet.

  Andrew swatted at a fly that buzzed around him as if it was mocking his lack of progress. As soon as that one left him alone, a few others zipped around his face, as though the first fly had called all his friends over. Andrew pushed them away and strode toward another pile of rocks. He’d rather deal with lizards than flies. But the more steps he took, the more flies he encountered. The buzzing kept getting louder and louder until he reached a spot where there must have been hundreds of flies. They were all circling around the same area.

  A thought suddenly occurred to him. Flies congregate near dead bodies.

  There wasn’t a dead body on top of the dirt, but maybe there was a dead body buried underneath. “Guys! Over here!”

  The group rushed over at once.

  “The ground’s been disturbed,” Nash said, unperturbed by the flies buzzing in his face. “There’s something buried under here.” Andrew felt nauseated again when Nash went to grab a shovel.

  “Wait,” Justin instructed. “Stand back. This’ll be faster.”

  It was hard not to be impressed as Justin stared at the dirt and separated it into two huge clumps like Moses parting the Red Sea.

  Andrew smelled the body before he saw it. In fact, all their hands immediately flew up to cover their noses. Then they looked down into the grave. Even though his face was now a greenish-blue color, it was definitely Devon Warner’s, or whatever his real name was.

  “Guess that dude in the white van really was a reporter,” Justin said to Z. “’Cause this corpse definitely wasn’t driving it.” Z was breathing into her sweatshirt and couldn’t reply.

  “We need to see if the serum is on him,” Patricia said, not missing a beat. “It’s obviously a long shot, but we need to check.”

  Nash pulled out gloves and jumped into the grave without flinching. Show-off, Andrew thought. He could barely look at the body. Gabby almost had her back to it.

  “There’s nothing,” Nash said, after going through Devon’s pockets. “Not even a wallet.”

  “How long do you think he’s been dead?” Andrew asked, his voice nasal because he was trying not to breathe in that putrid smell.

  “I’d guess four or five days,” Nash answered. “But we won’t know for sure until we talk to the medical examiner.”

  “What do you think happened? Do you think someone killed him for the serum?” Sabrina asked.

  “It could’ve been a deal gone wrong,” Andrew replied. “We know Devon was desperate for cash. He could’ve been trying to sell the serum to someone — and instead the guy just killed him for it.”

  “Or what if Devon was more like a hit man?” Sabrina asked. “Somebody else paid him to kill Lily and steal the serum, and then once the job was done, he killed Devon, too. No loose ends.”

  Z, who looked more fascinated than disgusted by the corpse, said, “How can we be positive his death is related to Lily and the serum at all? It seemed like he had a bad temper, after what he did to Sadie. Maybe he just crossed the wrong dude and got killed for it.”

  “I don’t think so,” Nash said. He lifted up Devon’s shirt so they all could see what was underneath.

  Burn marks. They were all over Devon’s stomach in the same shape and pattern as the strange ones that had been found on Lily.

  Justin’s eyes went wide. “I’m confused. I thought Devon was the one who burned Lily. Now someone did the same thing to him?”

  “Maybe Devon and whoever did this to him were both at Lily’s cabin that day,” Nash answered. “Working together to murder Lily and then steal the serum. So the same person who did this to Lily could’ve also done it to Devon.”

  Sabrina nodded. “Remember what Lily said to me? ‘I know why they want it.’ ”

  “Right,” Andrew agreed. “Devon and his killer could’ve started out as a team, as friends. That’s why Devon said, ‘Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.’ ”

  “And once they had the serum, Devon’s killer stabbed him in the back. Metaphorically,” Justin said, making a point to mock Andrew.

  Andrew ignored him because he’d actually been thinking the same thing. “Exactly. Devon’s friend could have tortured and killed him the same way they did Lily Carpenter so he could keep the serum for himself. If their plan was to sell it to the highest bidder, killing Devon meant not having to split the money.”

  “So where do we think the serum is now, then?” Gabby asked, finally finding her voice.

  “It’s possible Devon managed to hide it somewhere, but I think it’s much more likely that whoever killed him took it,” Nash answered, effortlessly pulling himself up and out of the grave. “That’s who we need to find now. We couldn’t find any connection between Devon and the FBI or Lily. But his killer could be the link.”

  They were getting closer, but Andrew hoped they weren’t running out of time now that there was such a huge new development. Whoever had the serum was either going to exploit it for his own gain or sell it off to someone with an even worse plan in mind. It was up to them to get to the serum back before he could do either.

  Patricia gripped her hands together so tightly that her knuckles were white. “We’ll have the FBI scour this entire scene for evidence to see if Devon’s killer left anything behind that we can trace. And once we get the fingerprints from the body, maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  “When you’re done doing that stuff to the body,” Gabby said, practically gagging, �
��can you give me that shirt Devon’s wearing? Maybe I can get a vision from it. It might be wishful thinking, but it’s worth a try.”

  “Better yet, maybe you’ll see who killed him,” Z added. Andrew was electrified by that thought.

  “As soon as the medical examiner takes a look at the body, we’ll get you the shirt, Gabby,” Nash said.

  Gabby nodded nervously and Andrew gave her an encouraging smile.

  Patricia stared at the corpse as if she was willing it to supply answers. “Every second matters now. The more hands this serum moves between, the less chance we have of finding it.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Sabrina took out a batch of fries from the fryer and filled up two tall chocolate milkshakes. After the morning of firsts she’d had — first experience with a ghost manhandling her, first time seeing a dead body — the normalcy of her late-afternoon shift at Sonic felt oddly comforting. It was better than sitting by the phone waiting to hear back about what the FBI field techs had discovered.

  “I’m taking my five,” she announced to Paul, who nodded from his perch at the drive-through window.

  She carried the tray to the back corner where Gabby sat half reading a history textbook.

  “I come bearing snacks,” Sabrina said, sliding into the seat across from her.

  Gabby nibbled at a fry before putting it down. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I have no appetite after this morning.”

  Gabby had been more shaken than anyone after they’d found Devon’s body. She’d decided to come to Sonic with Sabrina so she wouldn’t have to be alone in her house since her parents were in Denver with Gabby’s little sister for a weekend-long gymnastics meet.

  “Are you leaning toward A or B?” Sabrina asked. They had two working theories about Devon’s murder now.

  Theory A was that Devon was a hired hand. Whoever had paid him to kill Lily and get the serum had then killed Devon once he had the serum in his own hands.

  Theory B asserted that Devon and someone else had been in on it together from the start. A friend. Then after they killed Lily together, that person had killed Devon. Betrayed him.

  In either case, that was the person who probably had the serum and who they now needed to find.

  “I think B,” Gabby replied. “It makes more sense with that quote ‘Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.’ I don’t know, though.” She shivered and pulled her jacket over her shoulders.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Sabrina asked, concerned. They needed Gabby more than ever now. It was important that she didn’t crack under the pressure.

  “I’m fine,” Gabby said. Just then, her phone rang loudly and she jumped. Sabrina raised an eyebrow at her.

  “It startled me. I’m fine.” She looked down at the phone. “It’s Nash.”

  Sabrina took a sip of her milkshake and watched the color leaving Gabby’s face.

  “I didn’t realize it would be so fast,” Gabby stammered into the phone. She paused for a while, listening to Nash, before adding, “No, no, I want to do it.”

  She hung up, visibly shaken.

  “What is it?” Sabrina asked.

  “The FBI fast-tracked the shirt through evidence.” Sabrina thought DNA testing usually took months, not hours. However, considering someone could be creating an army of psychic killing machines right now, she guessed the lab did what it needed to do.

  “Did they find anything?”

  Gabby nodded. “They found a few hairs on Devon’s shirt that weren’t his. They tested them and got a DNA hit.”

  “A hit?”

  “The DNA from these hairs discovered on Devon’s body matched DNA found at Lily’s cabin. ”

  “So whoever killed Devon was at Lily’s cabin, too,” Sabrina replied. It seemed that theory B was shaping up to be the correct one. Devon and a partner plotted to kill Lily and steal the serum, and that person ended up double-crossing Devon.

  “Exactly. Nash said they couldn’t be certain this person was there during the murder, but it seems likely that he and Devon were in on it together.”

  Sabrina nodded, wondering why Nash had called only Gabby with this information. As if reading her mind, Gabby added, “He said he’d send out a message to the rest of you guys soon, but he wanted to give me Devon’s shirt as soon as possible.”

  If Gabby could catch a vision from it, she might see Devon’s killer’s face — the face of the person most likely to have the serum now. It would be the biggest lead they’d had yet.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Sabrina asked, noticing how nervous Gabby seemed. “I can take you to Cytology to get it.”

  “Nash said he’ll drop it off at my house.”

  “The same house you didn’t want to be in alone? I’ll go with you.”

  Gabby looked relieved but only for half a second. “What about work?”

  “I’ll tell Paul something came up,” Sabrina said confidently, though she was aware he was annoyed that she’d dropped a few shifts this week. But who cared? This was infinitely more important, the chance to help Gabby so they could get the next — maybe even final — puzzle piece they needed to find the serum. How could cranking out trays of fries compare to that?

  Gabby’s phone beeped. “Hold on,” she said, looking down. A small smile crossed her lips.

  “Justin?” Sabrina guessed.

  Gabby nodded. “He said he can come meet me at my house. He finished watching his game tapes early.” She gave Sabrina a relieved smile before she paused. “But if you still want to come, too, that would be great. I don’t want you to think I’m picking him over you or something … I just figured it’s not worth you getting in trouble over, if your boss is going to get mad …”

  Sabrina decided to let Gabby out of her misery. “Gabs, it’s okay. Go with Justin.”

  * * *

  Sabrina finished her shift without much excitement.

  “See you later,” she said to Paul as she grabbed her purse from the employee lockers.

  “I’m glad you could make it today,” he replied with a little attitude.

  “I’m sorry. Things have been a little crazy —”

  “Sure. Two hamburgers and a large Coke.”

  It was impossible to have a conversation with Paul when he was on the drive-through headset. Sabrina flashed him an apologetic smile and he waved her off.

  She unlocked her car and checked the passenger seat, as she always did since seeing the ghostly girl right there, but the seat was empty. As she drove out of the Sonic parking lot and onto the main highway, she began to wonder why the girl had visited her not once but twice. Did she have anything to do with this case? Or were her appearances completely unrelated? Sabrina had told the others about her last sighting, and they didn’t have a clue what to make of it either, but she still couldn’t bring herself to mention it to Nash and Patricia. As much as she tried to downplay its meaning, the girl’s warning echoed in her head whenever she thought about telling them.

  You can’t trust them.

  Sabrina cruised forward, debating whether to go home or swing by Gabby’s for moral support, when she noticed a vehicle remaining steadily two cars back from her in her rearview mirror.

  A white van.

  Okay, there were plenty of white vans on the road. Nash had said so himself. Just because Z’s mom had reported one outside her house — and Devon Warner had once rented one — didn’t necessarily mean anything. Not to mention that Devon was sitting in an FBI morgue.

  She focused on the road, deciding she’d swing by Gabby’s just to see how she was doing. Her thoughts turned back to the DNA discovery. If the person who’d killed Devon had the serum now, what was his connection to Lily? Was it possibly someone from her past who knew about the serum and had come back to steal it? And what about her ex-husband? Even if the ex had an airtight alibi, it didn’t mean
that he might not have divulged information. Could they be sure he was telling the truth when he said he’d never mentioned the serum to anyone? There were too many possibilities but not enough clues. They needed a breakthrough if they were going to solve this and they needed it fast. Sabrina’s head buzzed with the same anticipation she’d felt at Lily’s cabin when it all began. But the feeling was much more intense now. She couldn’t have realized then how badly she would want to solve this. The serum had given Sabrina her life back. She didn’t want others to lose theirs because of it.

  Her eyes darted back to the rearview mirror.

  The white van was still there. Exactly two vehicles behind her.

  You’re being paranoid, she told herself. You’ve been hanging out with Z too much.

  Still, it wouldn’t hurt just to confirm she wasn’t being followed. Sabrina quickly made a turn off the main highway onto Cedar Creek Road. The white van did, too. She squinted, trying to see if she could make out a face in the driver’s seat, but it was too dark.

  She turned toward Main Street, Cedar Springs’ “downtown.” The white van followed.

  Suddenly, she had a thought. Was it possible it was Nash? It didn’t make sense that he’d be following her — didn’t he have enough on his mind right now, sifting through FBI evidence? She figured she’d call him just in case.

  He picked up after one ring.

  “Where are you?” Sabrina asked.

  “Cytology.” Just as she’d thought. “Why? Did Gabby have a vision?”

  Sabrina checked the mirror again. The van had crept a little closer, allowing only one car between them now. Did he want her to know he was there?

  “No … there’s a white van following me.”

  “Where are you?” His words were quick and calm.

  “Approaching Main.” She had an idea. “I’m going to lead him to you at Cytology.”

  “No,” he replied firmly. “You’re not bait, Sabrina. I’m coming to you now. Stay on lit roads and keep your phone on so I can track you.”