Kiss Me, Kill Me

by Maggie Shayne

  Gabe didn’t even know how to make sense of what was happening to the teenagers of Shadow Falls. But it seemed pretty clear now that something was. Kyle hadn’t just wandered off into the woods for some teenage, drug-induced outing. He hadn’t just decided to shoot up alone in the forest and then died of an overdose.

  He did know that Sam needed him right now, and he thought briefly of the serendipity that had brought him here, to this town, to this young man who might be his son, now of all times.

  “Get him away from there. This might be a crime scene,” Bryan Kendall said, even as he ran back to his vehicle. He pulled it up closer and aimed the spotlight at the bicycle, so that it illuminated the ground for several feet around it. Then he got out again.

  Gabe put his arm around Sam’s shoulders. “Get up, son. Come on, take a few steps back.”

  “I can’t…. I just can’t.”

  Gabe tightened his grip, hauling Sam to his feet and back to the edge of the road, where Carrie quickly ran to his other side and slid an arm around his waist. Sam turned into his mother’s arms. “God, Mom, what happened out here?”

  “Watch where you walk!” Kendall called. “There may be tire tracks or footprints or…something.” He was already stringing yellow tape from tree to tree to mark the area where no one was to go.

  “What if someone hit her?” Sam asked. “What if they hit her and just drove away—or what if they didn’t even know it? She could be hurt.”

  “I’ve got men coming,” Bryan said. “Believe me, Sam, we’ll search the area. But the bike doesn’t look banged up. I don’t think this was a hit-and-run.”

  “Then what was it? What the hell happened to her?” Sam demanded. He pulled free of his mother’s grasp and strode up to the cop, gripping him by the shoulder and forcing him to meet his eyes. “Bryan, what’s really going on? Tell me.”

  “I’d tell you if I knew, kid. I swear I would.” Bryan looked at Carrie. “Get down to the firehouse. We’ll reopen the search center, activate the telephone tree and get the volunteers organized. The sooner we start, the better. And it’ll give you and Sam something to do while we process the scene and search the immediate area. Okay?”

  She nodded and gripped Sam, tugging him back toward where the VW Bus waited, but he yanked free. “I can’t leave.”

  “Sam, we have to.”

  “She might need me.”

  Gabe went to Sam, laid a hand on his shoulder. “I feel the same way, pal, but listen, any traipsing around we do up here is as likely do her harm as good. We could trample evidence—evidence that might tell the cops where she is. They know what they’re doing. They’re trained for this. We can be more help to Sadie by doing what Officer Kendall asks. For now. Just for now, okay?”

  Staring into Gabe’s eyes, tears falling unashamedly from his own, Sam nodded. It broke Gabe’s heart to see the boy in this much agony. At least Kendall was already searching the woods around the bike.

  “I’m gonna help you get through this, Sam. I’ll be here every step of the way. I promise.”

  Swallowing hard, Sam nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

  “I’ll have the chief meet you there. I imagine within the hour, half the town will be there,” Kendall said.

  Bryan Kendall’s prediction proved true.

  Most of the town’s residents showed up at the firehouse as word of a second teenager gone missing spread faster than any fire Shadow Falls had ever seen. The emergency alert siren wailed to let people know something was happening. It hadn’t been used since a freak twister had moved through three years ago, demolishing a handful of barns and some trailer homes in the outlying areas, but sparing Shadow Falls itself, thanks to the mountains guarding it.

  Many of the residents came out to the firehouse as soon as they heard the sound, while others phoned one another to learn the reason for the alarm. The news spread, and the old firehouse was jammed full of people when Chief MacNamara took the podium in the front. Carrie and Gabe looked up from directly in front of him, Sam standing in between them.

  The chief looked around the room, his grim face grimmer than ever. “It’s my sad duty to report to you that we have another young person missing. Sadie Gray.”

  There was muttering in the crowd, though most present already knew the reason for the gathering.

  “Is it the same person who killed Kyle Becker?” someone shouted.

  “Is there a child killer on the loose?”

  “Why aren’t we out there looking for her?”

  Carrie even heard one person mutter, “That girl’s drunken whore of a mother is the one they ought to be looking at.”

  Chief Mac held up his hands for quiet. “First, let me assure you that we already have teams out combing the woods. Second, I must admonish you not to speculate or jump to conclusions. We still don’t know what caused Kyle Becker’s death. We don’t know it was anything but accidental.”

  “What do you need, Chief, a note from the killer?” someone called out.

  “Yeah! Why are we standing around here, when we should be out searching?”

  The questioning grew louder, but the chief held up his hands and made a “settle down” motion. “Trust me,” he said, “we’re doing everything we would be doing either way. But we’re trying to keep an open mind. What you need to know is that Sadie Gray was last seen about seven-thirty at Dr. Overton’s house. That’s up on Black Bear Hill, about a mile above town. She left on her bicycle, heading for the school and cheerleading practice, a ten-minute ride, but she never arrived. We’ve found her bicycle in the ditch, along with her backpack containing her uniform, pom-poms and billfold.” He picked up a sheet of paper, slid his glasses onto his nose and began to read. “Sadie Gray is sixteen years old. She’s five feet six inches tall, and weighs a hundred and fifteen pounds. She has straight blond, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a ponytail, a pair of blue jeans, a purple T-shirt and a denim jacket.”

  “Were there signs of a struggle, Chief?” someone shouted. “Where you found the bike, were there signs of—”

  “I can’t comment on that. The state police are treating this case as a stranger abduction, just in case. An Amber Alert is going out as we speak.”

  “What about the mother?” someone asked. “Has anyone questioned her?”

  “Mrs. Gray is at the station now, and she is cooperating fully. She is not a suspect.”

  “Can we help with the search, Chief?” someone else shouted.

  “Not until morning. And I mean it. I want no civilians in the woods until daybreak, and then only under our supervision. We can’t risk some well-meaning volunteer contaminating or destroying evidence. For now, just go home, and keep your eyes and ears open. If you notice anything suspicious, report it. Even if it seems minor, report it. We have posters being printed. We’ll have them up before morning, and we’ll have a supply for you all to put up, as well. But for now, there’s nothing more any of you can do.”

  As Carrie and Gabe flanked Sam, all but holding him upright, he said, “This can’t be happening.”

  “It’s going to be all right.”

  “How can you say that?” Sam stared at his mother, his eyes wet. “What if it’s the same person who had Kyle? What if he’s going to do the same thing to Sadie? God, I never even told her how much she means to me. Do you realize that? I didn’t tell her—”

  He lowered his head, and his tears fell freely once again. “They can’t expect us to just go home and wait. I can’t do that, Mom.”

  She bit her lower lip and, still holding Sam, met Gabe’s eyes over her son’s head. “There is something we can do. Come with me.”

  Sam lifted his head, frowned through his tears at her.

  “We have to go to the hospital first, then to Burlington, to a lab. And we have to keep it quiet.”

  “You’re going to run the tox-screen yourself tonight, aren’t you?” Gabe asked.

  “Better than waiting two weeks for the state crime lab’s rep
ort to come in. And if it is the same guy, it might help.”

  Sam nodded hard. “But I don’t feel like I ought to leave town. Even just to drive to Burlington. I mean, what if she’s close? What if she needs my help and I’m not there?”

  “Baby, you don’t even know where to begin looking.”

  A hand on his shoulder made him turn, and Bryan Kendall stood behind the three of them. Carrie stiffened, wondering if he’d overheard them. He gave no indication that he had. People were shuffling toward the doors, but Bryan led the three of them farther inside, to an empty spot in the large space. “I just want you to know, we are searching tonight. Not just outside, like we did with Kyle, though. We’re working on checking out every building, barn or house where someone might be able to hide out with a kid and go unnoticed. With permission from the owners where possible, with search warrants from a judge where it’s not, though that will take longer.”

  “You can get a judge to agree to that this late?” Gabe asked.

  “We can try.”

  Sam shook his head in frustration. “There are dozens of hunting cabins and shacks in those woods.”

  “Not to mention all the winter businesses that haven’t opened yet for the season,” Bryan said. “I know. It’s a lot. But we’re covering them. We’re looking for her, Sam. We are.”

  “But will you find her? In time?”

  Bryan lowered his eyes. “If it’s humanly possible, Sam, we will. And I hope to God we do.”

  Sam looked at Carrie. “Let’s go.”

  She nodded. “Thank you, Bryan. We know everyone is doing all they can.”

  “We really are.”

  Nodding, the three of them started to turn and head out, but Bryan said, “Um, before you go, I just need one more thing.”

  “What is it?” Carrie asked.

  Bryan shifted his weight from his left foot to his right, and his gaze locked onto Gabe’s. “I need to ask you where you were when the girl disappeared, Mr. Cain.”

  Gabe’s face went blank, and then, as understanding dawned, his expression turned to slightly offended and a little bit worried. “I was at Carrie’s for dinner. Sadie left the house a little while before I did.”

  “That’s right,” Carrie said. “We did the dishes, and when we returned to the living room, she had already gone. But, Bryan, you don’t seriously think—”

  “I had to ask. You were the last three people to see her. I need to account for your whereabouts for that entire time. So again, what time did she leave the house, and what time did you follow, Mr. Cain?”

  “Gabe had nothing to do with it,” Sam snapped. “He’s a friend. I thought you were, too.”

  Carrie put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “The sooner we answer his questions, the sooner we can get out of here.” She looked at Bryan. “It was about seven forty-five when Gabe left our place.”

  “And what time did Sadie leave?” Bryan asked.

  They all looked at Sam, and he shrugged. “Around twenty minutes before Gabe did.”

  “All right. And after that, what did you and your mother do?”

  “Sat on the sofa, sorting through old photos,” Sam said.

  “We were making a collage for Kyle’s funeral,” Carrie said. “We were still working on it when the cheerleading coach phoned a couple of hours later to ask if we knew where Sadie was.”

  Nodding, Bryan made a note and turned his gaze to Gabe again. “And what did you do when you left the house?”

  “I drove back to the place I’m renting. Which means I took the same road Sadie took. But I didn’t expect to see her along the way. Sam said she would have been at school by then.”

  “And you went where?”

  “Straight to the cabin, up Falls Road.”

  Bryan frowned. “You’re renting the Di Marco cabin?”

  Gabe nodded.

  “Okay. And what did you do next, Mr. Cain?”

  “I worked on a new song for the next couple of hours.”

  “Song?”

  “That’s what I do. I’m a songwriter.”

  “A famous one,” Sam put in.

  Bryan looked surprised but kept his focus. “So you went to the cabin and worked on a song.”

  “Yeah. I sat on the deck, looking out at the lake and playing guitar and making notes. And no, I didn’t see or talk to anyone. I didn’t hear a thing from anyone until Carrie called to tell me Sadie was missing. And then I headed here to help look for her. However, you’re welcome to search the cabin, if you want. My van, too. It’s right outside.”

  Bryan nodded. “Okay. Listen, I just need to know you won’t leave town until I give you the okay.”

  “I won’t leave town until we find Sadie safe and sound,” Gabe said. Then he looked at Carrie and added, “If then.”

  She met his eyes, acknowledged his words with a tender look. Then she shifted her gaze. “Really, Bryan, is the third degree really necessary?”

  “I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t,” he said. “But now I’ll leave you three alone. If you think of anything else, call me. Or if you hear from her or—”

  “Of course we will,” Carrie said.

  “You’d better catch this guy before I do,” Sam said softly, “’cuz if he hurts Sadie, I’m gonna do some damage.”

  Bryan stiffened, then licked his lips. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Sam. But be careful what you say. You don’t want the kind of trouble comments like that can lead to.” Then he nodded to Carrie. “I’ll keep you posted.”

  Sadie remembered rounding a corner on her bike when she felt a bee sting her shoulder and jerked in surprise. Her hand had flashed out to swat the insect away as she swung her gaze toward it. That was when she saw it was a fuzzy-tipped dart of some kind in her arm, not a bee, and her hand, already in motion, knocked it away before she could change her plan and simply pluck it out instead. By the time she’d started wondering where the dart had come from, her head was swimming and her bike was toppling sideways.

  She’d caught herself, managed to bring the ten-speed to a halt, and then been unable to swing her leg high enough to dismount. Her vision went dark, and she fell over, bike and all. She dragged her leg out from under it and managed to sit upright on the ground, holding her head and swaying.

  She’d vaguely seen a dark form pick up her bike and roll it into the woods along the roadside. Just a shove, and it bounded away until it hit a bush and toppled over again.

  The thought of Kyle had popped into her head then, and with it, fear. “Who are you?” she’d tried to say, though the words came out slurred and blended together. “Whaddyou want…with me?”

  There was no reply. Instead, the dark hazy shadow of a shape bent over her, wrapped a blindfold around her face, and then pulled her hands together in front of her and bound them there with what felt like tape. She tried to struggle, to fight, but she was nearly out cold.

  And then she was out for real, and only darkness remained.

  Now she was awake again, barely, though she was dizzy, and everything felt distorted. Bringing her taped hands upward, she pushed the blindfold off her face and took a look around, even while tearing at the duct tape with her teeth. Finally getting hold of an edge, she tugged, until at last she was ripping the bottom layer, and all the hairs on her forearms, off at once.

  Good.

  She was in a small, dingy, dark room that smelled like an old basement and felt like one, as well. Stacked stone walls and a dirt floor.

  She realized she was sitting on a bed, or maybe a cot. Narrow and small, twin size at best. There were clean-smelling blankets and a plump pillow. Panicking, she rose to her feet and heard clanking and rattling, all the while willing her eyes to adjust to the pitch darkness around her.

  “Where are you? Why did you bring me here?” she cried.

  But only darkness answered.

  She stretched her arms out, palms forward, and began moving in search of a wall or a door, only to feel a tug at her ankle after a few
steps. Only then did she realize she was chained. She’d heard the rattle of the links but hadn’t put the pieces together in her drug-dulled brain. Now she reached down and touched the metal shackle that encircled her ankle, then traced the chain that led from it until it vanished behind the bed.

  Sadie was scared. God, she’d never been so scared. She sat on the bed again, hugged her knees, lowered her head and wept. This had to be what had happened to Kyle. It had to be. And now it was her turn.

  She should have listened to Sam and let him drive her down to practice. She should never have gone alone.

  How was Sam going to bear it if she died, too? Who was going to take care of her mother, for God’s sake?

  “I don’t want to die,” she whispered. “People need me. And there are so many things I still have to do.” She lifted her head and stared into the darkness around her. “Don’t kill me,” she shouted. “Whoever you are, don’t kill me! Please.”

  She cried, and after a while, when she’d cried herself out, she started to feel something besides fear and sorrow. She started to get mad. What right did this asshole have to chain her up like this? To kill Kyle? What had he ever done to deserve dying alone in the woods?

  She lifted her head again, and she shouted as loud as she could, “I’m not gonna just let you kill me, you sonofabitch! Do you hear me? I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna fight you with everything I’ve got. You’ll wish you’d picked an easier target before long! I’ll make you sorry you ever set eyes on Kyle or on me or on this entire town!”

  She grabbed hold of the chain that held her ankle and yanked, then yanked again. It didn’t give at all. But it did generate another idea, and she used her hands to follow it to where it was anchored to a round eyebolt sunk into the stone wall.

  This sick bastard was going to have a challenge on his hands, she promised herself. She wasn’t stupid, and she wasn’t the kind to sit and whimper and cry, and wait for rescue.

  She’d learned how to be strong, to be independent, to be resourceful. Gabe said everything happened for a reason. Well, maybe this was the reason for her entire life. Maybe this was why she’d had to grow up tough.