Slash, p.9
Slash, page 9
“It looks like it hurts,” Heather said.
Jerry waved it off. “Only when they had to set it. Now it just sucks that it feels like I have a stuffed nose all the time. They need to make weed legal and outlaw alcohol. Fucking potheads don’t do shit like this.”
Todd looked at the beer in Jerry’s hand. “If you couldn’t drink beer, you’d lose your mind. Not to mention, we tried to make alcohol illegal and it didn’t exactly turn out so well.”
“Just replace Budweiser with bud and my job will be a hell of a lot easier on the night shift. Trust me.”
“You even bother busting anyone for weed anymore?” Bill Croft asked. He munched on a carrot stick, one eye on the game. Todd was sure his friend from high school had money on the Packers.
“Mostly just the dealers,” Jerry said. “I really don’t give two shits if someone wants to kick back with a joint. However, if they think they can smoke in their cars and drive around stoned, they’re gonna see my lights in their rearview.”
Todd sipped at his warm beer. He hadn’t been able to drink much. His liver had thrown up the white flag that morning. That was a good thing, because from here on out, he needed a clear head.
Face smeared with Buffalo sauce, Vince said to him, “Okay buddy, why did you assemble the Avengers in the loudest joint in town? If you’re going to tell us that you decided to sell the house, we totally understand. You know you can crash with Heather and me if and when you’re between places.”
“Um, no, I’m not selling the house.” Several people had suggested it, not blaming him if he wanted to distance himself from the place the love of his life had killed herself. As much as he dreaded going in the basement now, there was no way he was going to distance himself from Ashley.
Heather backhanded Vince on the arm. “You’re so dense.” She fixed her gaze on Todd. “It’s about going to the Hayden, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I made some calls and the place is going down for good on Monday. Which means I have to go there tomorrow and give myself a couple of days to search for anything Ash left behind.”
Vince said, “That place is freaking huge. It could take weeks, not days.”
Todd shook his head. “Actually, no. Ash had planned to visit certain parts of the property that night. Plus I have the police report that mapped out where everything occurred. That narrows it down a lot. There’s a bunch of bungalows, but only two were entered that night. The main hotel was in ruins, so they didn’t stay in there long. Stuff like that.”
“So you want us to help you look?” Bill asked. “They letting you in before they take it down?”
“Not exactly.”
Jerry rolled his eyes. “Of course not. Which is why he’s asking his cop buddy to come along so he can B&E and not end up getting fingerprinted.”
Todd bit into a wing. “Actually, that’s only partly true.”
“What’s the other part?” Jerry said.
“You have a gun.”
“You expecting a shoot-out?”
“Just planning for anything to happen.”
Was there even a ghost of a chance that the Wraith was still lingering around the Hayden? Probably not. He might have been a psycho killer, but even they were smart enough not to stick around a crime scene, even one that was five years old.
No matter, Todd would feel better if they had someone who not only had a gun, but was trained and responsible enough to know how to use it. Something in Ash was very afraid of his going back to the Hayden. There had to be a reason for it.
Jerry dropped his bones onto his plate. “So, you want me to help you break into this place and be your security guard?”
Smiling, Todd said, “That’s one way to look at it.” He held his breath, seeking an answer in Jerry’s stony expression.
“I’m in.”
Jerry tore into another wing and washed it down with a healthy swig of beer.
“You know Vince and I aren’t letting you go without us,” Heather said. Todd didn’t fail to notice the quick, worried look Vince flashed his wife.
“What about you, Billy boy?” Todd said.
Bill held up a hand, waited for the play to end, and said, “Heck yeah. You know I can’t pass up something like that.”
Todd felt himself unclench. Ash would have been proud that he wasn’t going to recklessly go to the Hayden alone. Then he thought that she would be upset that he was going at all. She only left that message and did what she did because she thought the Hayden was going to be destroyed. Guilt threatened to overwhelm his good mood.
“I’ll email you guys all the things we’ll need to bring along. We’d have to leave early, like one in the morning.”
Vince groaned. “Why so early? It’ll be dark as hell out.”
“One thing Ash taught me was that the safest time to do urbex is on cold days and early in the morning. Fewer police patrols.”
“I can take care of the local guys,” Jerry said.
“Ash was there in the dark. I’ll have a better idea of where she could have hidden her recordings if I’m in the dark too. I’ll see what she saw. Does that make sense?”
Heather dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Actually, it does. Should we all meet at your house?”
“That works. I’ll have a midnight feast prepared so we can load up before we hit the road. Sound good?”
“I’m on a low carb diet,” Jerry said. “Just throw some meat and cheese at me.”
“Duly noted,” Todd said, wondering why his friend who didn’t have an ounce of fat on him was on any kind of diet.
They stayed until halftime, talking about anything but what they were about to do. None of them had any urban exploring experience. They were all going to support Todd and help him get some closure, and he was more grateful than he could express. He just hoped he didn’t come away from the Hayden empty-handed. What if he couldn’t find it? Would his failure haunt him the rest of his life? Would this whole endeavor only make things worse?
As they walked into the chill night air of the parking lot, Heather pulled him aside. “I think there’s one more person we should ask.”
“Who?”
Jerry, Vince and Bill formed a circle around them.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Vince said.
“She needs this too,” Heather replied. “She’s hurting as much as Todd.”
Perplexed, Todd asked, “Who are you talking about?”
He noticed Heather had a hard time looking him in the eye. She was suddenly very interested in the blacktop at their feet.
“Sharon.”
“No,” Todd blurted. “No way.”
“I had a feeling you would be going up there and I may have mentioned it to her yesterday.”
“Jesus Christ! You know how irresponsible that is?” He couldn’t believe Heather, the most grounded of them all, had done such a thing.
“As irresponsible as five people breaking into a construction zone in the dead of night?” she shot back.
Todd stormed off, ignoring her as he got in his car and drove out of the lot with a knot in his stomach as big as a dinosaur egg.
Chapter Twelve
Sharon Viola.
It wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t do that to her family.
Sheri’s little sister by five years hadn’t spoken to him since the funerals. Sheri had been Ash’s best friend since seventh grade. Sharon had never been in their orbit, not because they were mean older girls, but because she didn’t share any of their interests. Sharon’s main focus was her schoolwork and keeping out of trouble when everyone else was partying.
Heather had befriended Ash after the massacre, and it seemed had become friends with Sharon sometime along the way. Todd lay on the couch with the TV on low. He was too angry to sleep.
Why had Heather opened her mouth?
The Viola family had already endured enough tragedy. He wanted no part in potentially visiting more upon them.
Hadn’t Heather been paying attention? Just a few weeks ago, he’d sent a very public message to the Wraith, daring the killer to come find him. Now they were going back to the scene of the worst massacre in Catskills history. What if the Wraith was alive and had been watching Todd all along, waiting for the right moment to strike? Wouldn’t their expedition be the perfect opportunity to emerge from the shadows?
“I should just call it all off,” he said to Elvira. The cat dozed on the cushion next to him. Her ears twitched at the sound of his voice.
What had he been thinking?
He’d almost willingly endangered all of their lives, not just Sharon’s. Sure, Jerry was armed, but would that be enough?
Maybe.
Ash and her friends had been ambushed and they hadn’t been prepared. That wouldn’t be the case this time.
But maybe not.
And that sliver of doubt made him decide that he would go it alone.
He had to tell them he wasn’t going. Maybe say he had a moment of clarity and realized the odds of his finding anything Ash left behind – and the police hadn’t already found – were slim to none. No matter, it wouldn’t bring her back. Which was all maddeningly true. He just wasn’t ready to let it go. Not until the Hayden was absolute rubble.
He grabbed his phone and was about to text them but stopped himself. It was three in the morning. They all had jobs to go to in just a few hours. It was best to wait.
Todd closed his eyes.
Get some sleep. Text them later. I’ll leave in the afternoon and get an early start. Gotta find a place to hide the car. Remember to buy bolt cutters. Have to pack. Maybe I should get a new flashlight while I’m at it.
His brain buzzed with to-do lists until the sun’s first rays bled through the gaps in the blinds and he finally fell fast asleep.
“Todd, this is Addie.”
He shook the hand of the pale, wispy girl, her eyes so big and blue, they didn’t seem real.
“Is this the Todd?” she said, smiling.
“The one and only,” Ash said. She had her hand on his back. It felt right. Comfortable. Familiar, even when he had no right for it to be that way.
“Are you coming with us?” Addie asked. The sunlight streamed through her honey hair and Todd was sure most men got tongue-tied in her presence. She was undoubtedly beautiful – just not his type. He flicked his eyes away from her, back on Ash looking stellar in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, several holes placed strategically by her knees and thighs.
“I’m just the driver,” he said. “I’d only get in the way. You guys are the experts.” If there were such a thing for breaking and entering into abandoned resorts.
“We’ll have to ease him in slowly,” Ash said. The bridge of her nose crinkled when she laughed.
“You sure you don’t wanna come?”
“If I got caught, I’d lose my job. I’m better off being the bail man.”
Addie patted his chest. “Hope you’ve got a good line of credit.”
Ash and Addie looked at one another and broke into fresh laughter.
“You won’t need to bail us out,” Ash reassured him. He must have looked worried to them. “We’re good at this. Besides, the Hayden is so big, escape won’t be an issue if it comes to it.”
“We’re fast, like gazelles,” Addie said. “Well, except for Jamal. But he’s real good at hiding.”
That got them laughing again.
Now they were in the van with everyone and Addie was popping her head up front between Todd and Ash every few minutes, joking around, once panting like a dog, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, making moon eyes at Todd. Anything for a laugh. She asked him one last time to tag along but he’d refused, dropping them off along the resort’s fenced perimeter.
Todd wasn’t the most perceptive guy in the world, but even he knew she’d been flirting with him. Ash had taken it well, though she did seem a little peeved just before he pulled up to the Hayden. He and Ash had just reconnected and he didn’t dare even dream that they could get back together. It was nice just being friends at the moment. But he didn’t want to give the impression that he welcomed Addie’s advances. Not if there was even a scintilla of a chance that Ash would let him back in.
Now the news was reporting how Addie Lawrence had been cracked apart like a wishbone. Both of her legs had been pulled violently from their hip sockets, rather than cut off with a sharp or blunt instrument. The medical examiner determined that she had still been alive, though hopefully not conscious, as the flesh was removed from her body, the sharpened edge of a vinyl record used as a cutting tool. A leak in the police department months later revealed that the record-cum-weapon was Somewhere There’s a Someone by Dean Martin.
* * *
Todd woke at eleven, shivering under the sheet, his comforter having been tossed to the floor while he slept. He sat up in bed, massaging the bridge of his nose.
Poor Addie.
She’d been an only child. Her mother had been struck down with breast cancer six months after Addie’s funeral. She joined her daughter in the family plot three months later. Donald Lawrence drank himself to death the following year. The Wraith had killed the entire Lawrence family.
Todd got up, grabbed his phone and sent a group text telling his friends the search was off. For the better part of an hour, he typed away furiously on his phone, responding to their replies. Heather was the most supportive of his decision. He couldn’t hear Vince’s relief in his texts but he knew it was there. Jerry pushed him a bit at first, hinting that he was psyched for the adventure. Heather, Vince and Bill basically got him to stand down and leave Todd alone.
Todd’s eyes were bleary by the time every one of the texts petered out.
Tossing his phone on the couch, he said to Elvira, “Time to go. Try not to miss me.”
The cat yawned, flashing her oversized canines.
Hating shopping of any kind, Todd hustled through his to-do list. He bought snacks and bottled water at the deli. A quick trip to Shad’s Hardware got him the rope, bolt cutters, air filtration mask and a heavy-duty flashlight. He had to swing by a sporting goods place to find a headlamp and small first aid kit. On the way back home, he dipped into the pet store to buy one of those cat feeders so Elvira would have a steady supply of food over the weekend. While waiting on line to check out, he made an impulse buy and got her a toy mouse that had catnip inside and a bell on its tail.
Back home, he realized he was going to have to go down into the basement. That’s where Ash’s backpack had been stashed away. He wanted a piece of her with him on this trip.
His hand lingered on the doorknob to the basement. His heart raced every time he went down there, which wasn’t often. A wave of sadness threatened to drown him in tears. He squeezed his eyes and thumped his forehead against the door, pushing back the swell. Once he was sure he could keep it together, he opened the door.
The box where they’d stored her old urbex stuff was right where she’d hanged herself. He didn’t know he was holding his breath until his lungs began to burn. Todd was dizzy with the conflict of wanting to still feel her presence, and terrified that he would see her hanging again. His right eye blurred with tears as he crept across the basement. He refused to look up at the rafter where she’d secured the noose. He knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to take one step farther.
When the furnace kicked on with a click and a whoosh, his heart nearly stopped. Cursing himself, he gritted his teeth and focused on the stack of cardboard boxes. Ash’s neat handwriting had marked her belongings with a thick black marker. The top box was filled with carefully folded clothes that she’d meant to bring to the Goodwill drop box.
After setting it aside without bothering to close the flaps back because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay here, he ripped the packing tape off the top of the next.
Sighing with relief, he saw Ash’s dull green backpack tucked under well-worn jeans and shirts. He pulled it out and hurried back upstairs, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling, the ghost of Ash’s final moment of suffering bearing down on him.
Slamming the door closed, he held the backpack to his chest.
She’d called it her lucky backpack and the fact that she hadn’t brought it to the Hayden gave proof to it. Would things have been different if she’d had this with her?
No, that was ridiculous.
This time, he let himself cry. Ash’s backpack absorbed his tears.
He sat on the floor with his back against the cellar door until he emptied his tears. When it was done, he felt lighter, almost invigorated. He packed everything he needed quickly, then he filled Elvira’s new feeder and gave her two bowls of fresh water. She was nowhere to be seen. She’d come out when she was hungry.
“Be good, Elvira. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
He slipped the backpack over his shoulder and stepped outside.
Ash was waiting for him. It was time to find her.
Chapter Thirteen
“Mr. Matthews, I’m so sorry about Ashley.”
The girl looked to be high school age. She clutched a teddy bear to her heart. Her two friends, both redheads wearing black T-shirts with Ouija board designs, stared at him with surprise and sadness. They all had on too much makeup, their jet-black eyeliner drawn on too thick, ears, noses and lips pierced like pincushions.
Behind them were ten other final girl devotees. Had school been let out early so the loonies could visit their shrine? Only two of them were boys, their goth getup silly enough to make Todd chuckle on any other day.
