by C. J. Urban
Julie let go of Sam’s hand and he instead clung to her pant leg as she fumbled with the keys for a moment. She tried one of the smaller ones. It stuck in the lock and barely moved when she turned it. She tried the next key, which was slightly larger. Again it wouldn’t turn the lock. She held a third key in her hand and slid it slowly into the lock. She turned it to the right and heard a soft click.
Sam glanced up at his big sister, his protector, with wide eyes. Julie forced her face to retain a calm demeanor, although her heart was pounding within her chest.
“Here goes nothin’,” she said as confidently as she could, and pushed the door open.
Chapter 3
The room was cast in semi-darkness, and Julie stood frozen as she let her eyes adjust. The only window in the room had a heavy curtain covering it, blocking out the sunlight. She ran her hand along the wall to the right of the door, searching for a switch, but when she found it and flipped it up, no light came on.
Julie crossed the room and raised the curtain, letting the sunlight bathe the room. She turned to see Sam’s disgruntled expression.
“This is just girly stuff,” Sam said, his tone matching his face. “Can I go play in my room?”
“Sure, go ahead,” she told him. So much for bonding.
Sam left and Julie faced the room again, letting the full effect of what she saw wash over her. The room’s décor was from the ‘90’s, and dust covered every surface. A twin bed was set against a wall, covered with a plain quilt. Two small drawers were set into the wooden base of the bed. To the left stood a bookcase, full of cobweb-covered books.
Her Uncle Oliver had indeed kept everything the same. Perhaps so his daughter’s memory wouldn’t entirely fade. His daughter, Tara, had been Julie’s cousin, and had passed away some twenty years earlier, at the tender age of sixteen. Julie remembered spending time with her as a youth, and had fond memories of her cousin. It was a shame Tara had died so young. A tragic and mysterious death, Julie remembered. I wonder if he ever even came back in here after Tara died, Julie thought to herself.
Julie walked toward the bookcase and knelt down, leaning close to the books to read their titles. None of them caught her eye until she reached a set of identical leather-bound journals nestled into the corner of the bottom shelf.
She removed the first journal and opened it. The name “Tara McGuire” was inscribed on the inside of the front cover. Julie flipped through the journal and found that the date of the last entry was from Tara’s seventh grade year of school.
Julie put the journal back and reached for the other diary, hoping it would have her cousin’s most recent musings, and found that this one started when Tara entered her sophomore year. The entries were sparser; Tara had stopped writing every day. Still, Julie read through her dead cousin’s cursive script, and came to the conclusion that Tara had led a fairly normal teenage life.
The second half of the diary did lead into her junior year. Julie was pleased to read that Tara was popular, and smiled at her cousin’s complaints about her father’s strict rules.
Dad says I can go to the party, but that I have to be home by eleven. Eleven! And, he’s going to pick me up! How embarrassing.
Julie smiled. Her Uncle Oliver must have loved Tara very much. It must not have been easy to be a single father to such a beautiful teenager.
Down at the bottom of one page was a sentence that read:
I don’t like the way he looks at me. He
But when Julie turned the page, she found the next couple of pages had been ripped out. How strange.
Julie flipped through the diary and found there were three other areas where the pages had been torn out. She frowned to herself. Had Tara removed them, or someone else? And why?
Curiosity coursed through her. Perhaps Tara had hidden the missing pages somewhere. Or again, maybe the police had taken some of the entries at the time of her death.
Julie was lost in thought, and she jumped when the door to the room creaked open a little.
Sam popped his head in. “Julie, I’m hungry.”
Her own stomach growled too, and Julie pushed herself to her feet, crossing over to Sam. She glanced quickly around the room, scanning for any hidden crevices or potential hiding places. She still wanted to look through the rest of Tara’s belongings, but she needed to make lunch and get some unpacking done first.
“How about I make us some sandwiches?” Julie asked, grateful she’d had time to go to the market earlier.
“Okay,” Sam answered. “Do we have any chips?”
“Yeah, Doritos. Come on, let’s go.”
Sam ran into his room and came back out with drawing paper and some markers. He sprinted downstairs ahead of her, and she found him at the small dinette kitchen table drawing his favorite animal, a Liger. He concentrated on the details of his art so hard that his face took on a serious expression that Julie had always found incredibly cute. He was a lot like their father had been, serious and intelligent.
Sandwiches made, Julie set one onto a paper towel and handed it to Sam. He took it without so much as a glance up at her.
Julie set his drawing aside. “Anything you’d like to say, bud?”
“Uh, where are the chips?”
Exasperated, Julie answered, “They’re in the pantry.”
Sam slid out of his chair and grabbed the chips from the pantry. On his way back, he stopped and looked over at Julie with a smile. “Thank you.”
Julie returned the smile. “You’re welcome, Sammy.”
His paper and markers set aside, Sam was preoccupied, as if there was something on his mind.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Julie said casually.
“What were you doing in Tara’s room?” He asked.
“Well, I was snooping, I guess you’d say,” Julie always tried to be truthful with Sam. “I was looking through her books.”
“You were reading her diary,” Sam pointed out accusingly. “I would have gotten in trouble if I ever read yours.”
“Well, that’s true. It still is, so don’t get any ideas.” She laughed and ruffled his hair, but Sam was still solemn.
“What happened to our cousin Tara, Julie?”
Julie didn’t know how to answer. She knew Tara had been brutally killed, and she remembered talk of murder. But it had been so long ago, she herself had been just a child. It was all hush-hush.
“I’m not quite sure,” Julie told him. “I thought looking in her diaries might help me understand.”
“But you didn’t find anything…interesting?” Sam tried to find the right word.
“No, buddy, I didn’t,” Julie said, but her mind wandered to those missing pages.
“Maybe I could help you,” Sam said. “You always said if you become a private detective, I could be your helper. Maybe I should measure the room.” Now he took his new tape measure out of his pocket, admiring it. “You know, it has this latch that makes the tape stay out. Then you can reel it right back in!” He showed her right then and there how to do it, and Julie couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, alright, I see that. It’s very cool, Sam. Come on, eat your lunch now.”
Sam reluctantly put the tape measure away and munched on his sandwich.
“I might let you help me later,” Julie offered, “but I have a lot of unpacking to do. While I do that, I want you to organize your own room. Arrange your toys, so they have a place other than the floor. Your clothes. Then, when we’re done, we’ll see if we can find anything else in Tara’s room. Deal?”
“Deal,” Sam said with a mixture of resignation and anticipation.
Who knows? Julie thought as she cleaned up and got ready for some real work. Maybe he can help. Two heads are better than one, after all.
Chapter 4
The next few hours passed by slowly, the time filled with unpacking boxes and organizing. By late afternoon, Julie felt completely burnt out in the moving department. Sam had been pretty good at organizing his room, and playing
on his own, but was clearly bored. She’d set up the TV in the living room, but they didn’t have cable, and he was unhappy about that.
She decided now would be a good time to take a look through more of Tara’s belongings. Julie was more than curious to know more about who her cousin had been.
Julie popped her head into Sam’s room. The floor was covered with Legos. He was building some sort of fortress. “Hey Sammy,” she said brightly, “want to come with me to look at Tara’s room some more?”
“Sure,” he said, “I’m your helper, right?”
“Right.” Julie waited for him to set a few more Legos into place, and then he got up and followed her.
It was now early evening, and the sun no longer lit the dim room. “Sam, could you be a pal and get me a light bulb from downstairs?” She asked.
As he descended the stairs like the Tasmanian Devil, Julie rummaged through the bedside drawers. Old lip gloss, a deck of cards, a few concert tickets kept for mementos, she supposed. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sam tore back up the stairs and into the room and she lifted him up onto her shoulders so he could change the ceiling light bulb.
“There, now we have light,” she said, setting her brother down again.
“I’m gonna measure the room,” Sam announced. “Because you never know.”
Julie held back a giggle. Let him have fun, she thought. She went to the closet, sliding open one of the mirrored doors to look inside. The closet was empty of all clothing, but there were several stacks of old magazines lying on the upper shelf.
Julie pulled a few down and laughed as she recognized some older bands on the covers. Tara was just an average teenager, Julie thought to herself. Why would someone have wanted to murder her?
She slipped the magazines back up onto the shelf and closed the closet door. There was only one other place she hadn’t explored; the drawers at the end of the bed. She got down on her knees – Sam moving out of her way as she did so – and reached for the first drawer. It opened easily, but was empty except for a single piece of paper. Julie picked it up. It was a drawing of a teen aged boy. Julie held in a gasp, as she didn’t want to frighten Sam.
The drawing was done in pencil, and showed great detail. At the bottom of the page was one word: Lucas. But what shocked Julie was that the eyes had been scratched out. Julie glanced at her little brother, who was trying to get the measuring tape to stay locked to measure the length of the room. She quickly put the drawing back into the drawer and closed it.
She reached for the second drawer, now a little more guarded. It opened roughly three inches and then suddenly jammed, refusing to budge any further. Julie tugged on the drawer, trying not to break it in the process.
Frustrated, she reached beneath the drawer to see if pulling it from a different angle would help. She reached her hand toward the stuck side and her heart leaped. There was a smooth book stuck under it. She began working the book out from under the drawer, and after several seconds it pried free. The moment she saw it her heart skipped another beat. It was another of her cousin’s diaries.
She leaned against the bed and opened it, eager to find out what year it was from. There wasn’t much written in it. Tara had only filled the first few pages.
“Julie! Help!” Sam’s plea startled her, and she jumped.
She looked over at her brother, who had his tape measure stuck in an old heater vent at the base of the far wall.
“Oh, Sam,” she sighed. She wanted to read Tara’s diary, but duty called. She scrambled to her feet and crossed the room to him.
“It’s caught by something,” he whined, pulling at the metal tape.
“Hold on, I’ll help you.” Julie sat down beside Sam, who was pulling impatiently on the tape. Just as she reached to try to free it, he gave a big pull and the whole heater vent came off. The screws had apparently been stripped. Strange.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, suddenly upset. “I didn’t mean to break anything.”
Julie put a hand on his shoulder. Sam could be pretty sensitive these days. “It’s okay, Sammy. I know you didn’t mean to. And, I asked you to measure it, right? So it’s partly my fault.”
Sam nodded but shoved himself back a little, to let Julie try to put the cover back in place.
Julie picked up the metal crisscrossed cover and was about to set it back, when she noticed something inside. She peered closer, and started to reach for the shiny item.
“Watch out, there might be rats,” Sam warned.
This only irritated Julie. All she needed now was to think about rats. “There are no rats, Sam. I just want to see what it is.” Still, she moved her hand inside a little more cautiously, and felt around.
Julie grabbed hold of a small plastic covered box and drew it out. It was an old pack of cigarettes.
Sam gasped. “Cigarettes! Those are bad for you.”
“I know,” Julie replied. “And don’t you ever smoke one.” She set the twenty year old pack down and peeked further inside. There was another paper in there. She pulled it out as well.
It was a drawing, obviously made by the same hand that had drawn the picture of the boy Lucas.
This one, however, was of another teen boy, and of Tara. It was made with much more detail, and captured Tara’s features well. The boy was smiling, and his eyes gleamed. She didn’t know whether to consider the eyes evil, or just absurdly bright. The drawing was encircled with a heart shape, and at the bottom of the paper were the words, “Together forever.” Again, in the same hand script as the other drawing. Then, in what was clearly Tara’s writing, the word, “Never!!!” was scribbled next to it.
“That’s weird, isn’t it?” Sam observed.
“Yeah. It is.” Julie mulled this over, trying to think of the implications.
Sam didn’t have the interest Julie did, however. He was glad to have his tape measure back and intact. He turned, and noticed the other diary Julie had found. “Can I read it with you?” He asked, curious.
Julie tucked the drawing under her arm, leaving the old cigarettes where they lay. “No, Sam. I’m not trying to snoop, and I don’t want to gossip. That’s wrong. I just want to see what she wrote before she died.”
“Really?” His eyes went wide. Sam was no stranger to death, but this fascinated him. “Will you tell me if you find anything out?”
“I’ll think about it. How about you measure the other side? Wall to wall?”
“Oh, okay,” Sam answered, dejected. But he knew his sister, and when she meant business.
Julie scanned the first page and instantly realized why this diary had been hidden. The first entry held the steamy contents of a relationship with a teenage boy. She was amazed to discover that his name was Lucas. The same name on the drawing she’d just hastily put away.
…It’s the way he kisses me. If only our love didn’t have to be a secret…Dad would never understand…
Julie scanned the rest of the page and then flipped through to the last entry. Her eyes widened as she saw a distinct change in the tone of writing.
…I can see D through the curtains. I don’t think he’ll hurt me, but I wish Dad was here anyway. Dad could make him go away. All I can see are his eyes. They look dead and hollow tonight. I wish that tree wasn’t so close to my window. He could probably get inside if he wanted to. Note to self: LOCK WINDOW.
Julie glanced at the entry date and felt a shiver run through her as she saw it. Tara had written those words the night she died.
Chapter 5
Skye Taylor looked up from his work, eyes aching from staring at the miniscule parts his job required him to repair. It had been a long week. He enjoyed his work but sometimes it was tedious. The brightest part of his week was when the new girl in town had come into the hardware store, searching him out in need of help.
“You headin’ out?” Asked a voice to his right.
Skye glanced to his longtime friend and co-worker, Steve Ricks, and nodded. Steve was tall with hazel eyes, long dreadlocks that defie
d a small town persona, and constant stubble across his face. He was one of the nicest guys Skye knew. Also one of the best locksmiths.
Now Steve leaned on the shop’s counter, tilted his head and rubbed his chin. “Who was that girl that came in a few days ago?”
“Oh, just a new girl in town,” Sky replied, attempting to hide a grin.
“I know she’s new in town, bro,” Steve said. “Dupont is too small for a newcomer not to be noticed. I’m asking you, who is she to you?”
“No one,” Sky said. But the gleam in his eye belied his words.
Steve chuckled. “You’re going to ask her out, aren’t you? I’ve seen that look before.”
“I might,” Skye replied casually.
“Who knows? You might just finally get yourself a girlfriend.”
“I’m not in any hurry, you know.”
“Sure you’re not. Well, have a good weekend, then,” Steve said, smiling as he ambled slowly away from the counter.
Skye grabbed his one-inch thick notebook and put it in his backpack. Keeping track of that notebook was a job in and of itself, and he didn’t dare lose it. In it, he’d written every brilliant idea his inventive mind had ever come up with. Skye was sure as the day was long that if he could just invent something useful, he would have a purpose that defined him.
He made his way through the crowded hardware store and out into the warm summer evening. His mother had invited him to dinner and after such a long day one of her home-cooked meals sounded great. Reaching his white Dodge Ram truck, he climbed in and turned the key, cracking a smile as the diesel engine roared to life. Before putting the gear into drive, he pulled down the overhead visor and removed a CD at random to listen to. Sky had an unusually diverse collection of all kinds of music, and he liked to surprise himself with whatever disc he laid his hands on. He enjoyed it all.
