Few Are Angels (18 page)

Her back was turned to us as she spoke to Brett. “Cool, leave now and meet us there. We should be done as soon as Helen gets here.” She turned around, looking at us with a frown. “I just counted out my till,” she said, pointing at the sodas in our hands.

Alex smiled and looked at her with his bright blue eyes that could bend a cold-hearted beast to his will. “Please, Mia.”

That was all it took for her to place the till back in the drawer and ring up the sodas. He’d given me the orange soda. It left the taste of jealousy, fake oranges, and artificial sugar on my tongue, but didn’t fully wash away the taste of ash.

***

After Brett and Helen got to the store and were introduced to Alex and me, we left and headed to one of the few diners in Cedar Grove. Joe’s Diner was cozy looking, as if it had been pulled straight from a mountain resort. Although Cedar Grove and Elmwood City were along the mountain line, Joe’s was the first place I’d been to that followed the theme. The chairs were made of deep chocolate-colored wood and the tables matched, giving the diner a nice and cozy feeling. We seated ourselves in the back, away from the few customers that were already eating. On the way to the diner, Brett had told us more news about the murder of Anna Drewski, but he didn’t want to discuss it out in the open. Our waitress came over and took our drink order and quickly retreated to the back to gather them. Brett was unusually quiet, and that worried me. Our waitress was a pretty girl with champagne-colored hair and amber eyes. She looked about our age, but Brett hadn’t even noticed her. He just kept his head down, a weird look on his face. After our food was ordered and the waitress was gone, Mia pinched Brett and made him start talking.

“Ouch, geez, I was just waiting for us to be alone before I started,” Brett whined as he rubbed his arm.

Mia had taken the place next to Brett, and Alex and I shared the other side of the booth.

“Start talking, Brett. You made it seem like you had some news,” Mia said.

I took a sip of my water, hoping whatever Brett said would not involve the words Kale and suspect. To my surprise, his story had nothing to do with who murdered Anna. Another body had been found in the Elmwoods.

“What the hell is going on here?” Mia asked with genuine confusion and fear. “Why is it always a female, and is there a certain kind of girl the killer is looking for?”

“What did Anna look like?” Alex asked, looking from Brett to Mia. “I mean if she looked anything like the second girl, then I think that we can establish a pattern at least in the kind of girl that he likes.”

Everyone at the table was quiet. I wasn’t sure why they were at a loss for words, but my reason was utter disbelief. There couldn’t be a serial killer in the next town over. If there was, who was going to be taken next?

“Well, Anna had black hair, brown eyes, skinny, and she was really tan,” Brett said. “I think she’d just moved here from Florida or something. My dad said Janice, the other victim, was tall and tan, but he didn’t say anything about her hair or eyes, just that she was found the same way as Anna and that she was farther into the woods, away from the cemetery.”

Our food arrived. We all shut up as if we were talking about bombing a small village or something, and our waitress looked at us as if we were crazy. After hearing the story of the new missing girl, my turkey on wheat looked less appetizing. I could tell Mia felt the same way about her chicken salad. The boys, on the other hand, started in on their burgers as though everything was normal. I hoped the sheriff had called in some outside help because with two girls killed in the same way, and so close together. It seemed like it was all too easy for this person to get away with the crimes. There were only five deputies in Cedar Grove and probably ten in Elmwood. Coming from Virginia Beach, where there was one police cruiser for every ten cars on the road, this didn’t make me feel any better. Cops were everywhere in Virginia Beach. To most people it was annoying, but to me that ratio was comforting.

“Ella, when I leave, I don’t want you running around after dark,” Alex said, pulling me from my thoughts.

Mia and Brett looked at me, causing me to blush. “What?”

“Seriously. That Anna girl was new here, and Brett said Janice may have been new, too. I know they both lived in Elmwood, but that doesn’t matter. It looks like he is targeting girls that aren’t from here.” He spoke with an adult voice I’d never heard from him. “Plus, you have dark hair, you’re slim, and we aren’t sure he is only after brown-eyed girls since we don’t know what color Janice’s eyes were.”

Slim I was not, but I did have dark hair, and I was tan before I came to Cedar Grove, but I guess that didn’t matter.

“Most people here know just about everyone, or have at least seen them around, so they know a stranger when they see them,” Brett said, then shoved some fries in his mouth. “You, on the other hand, wouldn’t know if someone was from around here or just passing through.”

I was upset, but I understood their concern. It just reminded me of how people treated me because of my parents.

Alex must have understood where my mind and feelings were taking me because he jumped in to calm me down. “Not that we are saying that you’re some invalid or something. It’s just that I think this guy is taking advantage of the fact these girls don’t know he can’t be trusted. You know how I know almost everyone in Cedar Grove, and I would do just about anything for them because I've known them my whole life? Well, that being said, people in this town are more trusting and nice, so if you’re not from here and you don’t know that this guy isn’t someone from the town that you can trust, he can use that to get you.” His eyes were full of concern.

I couldn’t be mad at him. Not for too long, anyway. I knew he was right, and since I’d let Kale— a stranger—in my room, and followed him into the Elmwoods, I could see where they were coming from.

“You don’t have to worry about Ella,” Mia interjected. “We’ll stick together.”

I assumed the deaths of two girls so close to home was the reason she dropped the Paris Hilton better-than-you act and suddenly adopted this new attitude.

“Thanks for all your concern,” I said, trying not to sound annoyed or sarcastic. “But I will watch my back. I have nowhere to go that would put me in the position of possibly getting killed except to and from Knope’s. Now that Alex is leaving his car, I should be fine.” I took a bite of my sandwich and Mia followed suit, letting her hunger overcome her fear.

“Yeah, but that car is old. You could break down or something. When are you and my dad driving to the beach to get your car?” Alex asked in between gulps of soda.

I had forgotten about the call from Sarah about my rescheduled appointment with the doctor. I assumed it meant we weren’t going to get my car next week. I didn’t want to talk about why I wasn’t going back to the beach in front of Brett and Mia, so I just told Alex I wasn’t sure and I would talk to Eric about it later.

“You have a newer car?” Mia asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “I mean, you have a new car?”

I wasn’t sure why she cared, but I was sure I wasn’t going to like whatever was to come from her questions by the look on her face.

“Yeah, she got it for her graduation present,” Alex answered for me.

Brett and Mia looked at each other and smiled wide and bright. They were conspiring together, and I could tell whatever they wanted included me and my new car. I automatically started thinking of excuses to say no.

“Well then, what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?” she asked innocently as she stirred her tea with her straw.

Brett had a look of pure excitement on his face.

Alex chimed in to explain. “They want to use your car in the New Year’s party hunt.”

I remembered a little about these party hunts. You had to figure out clues in order to get to the location, but I wasn’t sure why they needed my car to do it. “Why do you need my car?” I hoped the answer wasn’t something that would freak me out.

“They need a new car so that people don't have the advantage of knowing who the car belongs to. That way they actually have to hunt for the clue. Most people here don’t know you, so they aren’t sure what car you have, and that means in order to find the clue in your car, they will have to ask around and look for you,” Alex said.

I looked around and watched as everyone around me wore on their big smiles on their faces, assuming I was going to be involved in their New Year’s tradition. Even Alex looked excited at the idea of the party, but all the while I was trying to figure how I could get out of it.

Chapter 18

“Listen to me, to reason, and most of all to your heart.” —Kale

The next two days went by faster than I’d thought they would. That was probably because Mia and Brett kept Alex and I busy. We hung out at Brett’s house watching TV while being catered to by his mother. Brett kept us updated about the murders with information he’d gathered from his mother and father’s conversations. I was glad when we all said our goodbyes Thanksgiving night. Mia and her family went to their family retreat in the mountains. Brett and his family welcomed their family in from out of town. The Carltons and I prepared to head to the lodge. I finally had Alex all to myself, free from Mia’s ridiculous flirting and adoring gazes and Brett’s insistence that every get-together be a double date.

I woke up early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving, and I was fully rested and ready to go. Alex and I had packed all of our things the night before and spent Thanksgiving stuffed in my room watching reruns until we fell asleep—him on the floor, me on the bed. On my way to the bathroom, I did what I hadn’t done since Alex had been home—looked out the window at the shed. Since all the stories Brett had told us led me to believe the person killing girls in the Elmwood wasn’t Kale, and since I hadn’t seen him, I thought he was long gone. Part of me looked at the shed hoping I’d see him, and the other part of me would be creeped out if he was out there looking back at me.

I moved closer to the window when I saw a small movement behind the shed, and my heart sped up. I placed my hands against the cool glass and squinted and scanned the shed and the surrounding area for movement. Once it caught my attention again, I couldn’t tell what it was, only that it was moving around to the back of the shed. The shed was turned at an angle, and its position made seeing behind it difficult from this side of the house. I swallowed a few times, trying to get rid of the bitter taste of anxiety and fear that formed on the back of my tongue. I realized the movement could be anyone—including the killer. The lights were off in my room, so I was pretty sure whatever or whoever was out there couldn’t see me looking at them from behind my floral curtain. A movement caught my eye again, and I froze. I couldn't see what was out there, and I felt foolish. It could have also been a deer. I pressed my forehead against the frozen window pane to still myself and hopefully calm my nerves. I knew with everything going on in the Elmwood, it would be stupid to go out there and explore the movements on my own, but I didn’t want to wake anyone up and risk having them call the sheriff if it was Kale.

A warm hand on my shoulder startled me, and I was barely able to swallow the scream that seemed to lodge itself in my throat.

Alex’s look changed from apologetic to concerned. “You okay?” he asked, looking past me and out the window.

I followed his gaze. Whatever was there before was gone. Disappointment flooded me, and I turned back to Alex to see the concern there had been replaced by his normal sleepy grin.

“Yeah, I’m good. I just thought I saw something,” I said, backing up into Alex.

His chest was warm and sturdy. It seemed funny that the two things I wanted more than anything in my life—warmth and some sort of stability—were things Alex possessed as physical traits. I stood still, eager to be close to his warmth. When Alex put his arm around my waist and placed his chin on top of my head, I started to breathe again. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath. Alex’s warm breath on my head sent shivers down my spine. I held his arm around my waist, thankful for his warmth, even though I knew he was leaving in a few days. I was glad that there was at least one person in my life that understood me and even more grateful that it was Alex.

“We better start getting ready,” Alex said, gently pulling away from me.

I could still feel his warmth, but I felt guilty about the kiss I’d shared with Kale. I trusted that this long weekend away with Alex would be the final step I needed to take to forget Kale once and for all. Not that I believed anything would happen between Alex and me, but the distraction would finally put distance between Kale and me.

After we all showered and ate breakfast, Eric and Alex loaded up Eric’s SUV while Lea, Sarah, and I cleaned the kitchen and giggled over the near misses and almost-broken bones from our previous visits to the lodge. We skated over a few memories that included my parents, and that was okay with me. I didn't want my past to ruin their good time. The hour drive seemed quick because I slept the whole way. I even slept through the pit stop we made.

When we arrived at the lodge, it looked considerably different from our previous visits. The paint was a warm brown with a cool tan trim around the windows and doors, creating an inviting effect. The changes weren’t as noticeable inside, but they were there if you looked closely. The same russet-colored carpet was there, and cherry wood furnishings were still placed around the large, double-faced brick fireplace. The owners had carpeted the stairs leading to the rooms, and there were pictures of happy faces adorning the wall going all the way upstairs. Though the walls had been stripped of the old wallpaper, they were painted the same shade of milky coffee. The place screamed “get a good book and get in front of the fire,” and I was ready for exactly that. Eric and Sarah handled checking in while Lea, Alex, and I made sure the luggage was separated.

After we checked in and received our room keys, Eric and Sarah let us know we had free range of the place. They weren’t holding us to the itinerary they normally did. Lea, Alex, and I dropped our things off in our rooms and headed for the dessert cart in the dining hall.