The Suicide Killer Page 4

  Emily walked through the door in her dirty white dress. Patches of moss squirmed in her hair as she checked herself out in the mirror. He looked to Danielle. This time she had to have heard her walk into the house. She’ll turn around any second and freak out. Charlie sensed a change in the air. He growled, then whined, and ran into the living room to hide behind the sofa. Danielle looked past Emily as she watched her dog run off.

  “I wonder what got into him,” was all she said before returning to her pizza. She hadn’t seen her. She turned and looked right at her and didn’t even know the dead girl in the woods was in the house with them.

  Emily brushed the dirt from her dress.

  Hello, lover. I got tired of waiting for you to come to me, so I came to you.

  She walked slowly to the table. Her eyes were solid black. There was no iris, only pupil, letting all the light in. Red rings around both eyes made her look like she had been crying at some point, but no tears were on her dry face. She hugged herself.

  I wish we had met sooner. Before I was dead and before you met her. We could have had a lot of fun together, don’t you think?

  Emily pulled a chair out from the table. The deep slit in her right arm spread the graying flesh and exposed the red veins that her life poured from a couple of nights ago. Bobby couldn’t take his eyes off the cuts. Emily bent her head in his line of sight.

  Do my slits bother you, lover? I can cover them if you’d like. Or I could get rid of her and show you all of my slits.

  Emily grabbed Bobby’s hand, exposing the deep red valley on her other arm. She looked at their hands intertwined and smiled.

  Do you mind if I have a slice? Emily asked and reached for the pizza on Danielle’s plate.

  “No, don’t touch her,” Bobby yelled and jumped up from the table. He moved toward Emily, but she disappeared. He only saw Danielle with a slice in her hand, looking at him like he had lost his mind. Charlie crept back into the kitchen and whined.

  “I am so sorry. I haven’t been feeling well lately. You probably think I’m going crazy.”

  “I don’t think that. I think you may not be getting enough sleep. You look like hell. Charlie and I should probably be leaving now, anyway. Do you think you feel up to driving us back to my car?”

  “Yes. Of course,” he said.

  Danielle stood with her plate and Bobby stopped her.

  “Don’t worry about cleaning up. I can get it later.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. No worries. I’ll handle it when I get back and then get some sleep.”

  Danielle hesitated, but finally relented and joined Charlie at the front door.

  They climbed into Bobby’s old Bronco and drove to the exit of his neighborhood without talking. He drove down Hawthorne Springs Road, and they both watched the coffee shop as he turned and drove to the park entrance. He parked beside Danielle’s car and helped her and Charlie out of his. Danielle stopped before sliding into her car.

  “I really did have a nice time tonight.”

  “Even when I started acting crazy?”

  “Well, it wasn’t my favorite part, but we’ll work on it. Now you need to go home and get some sleep. Please,” she said, and tilted her head to kiss him.

  He stood still as she pushed up on her toes and their lips touched. He closed his eyes and pulled her into a tighter embrace. Her soft tongue parted his lips and slid into his mouth. As he kissed her, he didn’t think of anything. All the previous events and thoughts of Emily melted away. His mind was clearer than it had been in a long time. He wanted to live in the moment as long as she would allow. He opened his eyes only for a moment, but in that instant above Danielle’s head, he saw a car parked near the bushes at the entrance to the park. He was no longer fully concentrating on Danielle, and she could tell and pulled away from him.

  “Sorry, that car spooked me. I don’t remember it being there.”

  “That’s why you don’t open your eyes,” she said, and kissed his cheek before getting into her car. “I’ll see you later.”

  Bobby watched as Danielle pulled out of the parking lot and drove off down the road. After he was sure she wasn’t going to turn around, he walked to the lone red car. Through the tinted windows he could make out a purse in the passenger seat, and a bright yellow ponytail holder around the gear shifter. It was surprising nobody had looked in the car and smashed the window to get the purse.

  The car could belong to anybody. People left the cars parked under the No Parking Overnight sign all the time. He resisted the urge to see if the car was unlocked. He didn’t want his fingerprints on the car in case it was hers. The police would never believe he didn’t know anything about the girl in the woods if they knew he’d been inside her car. It would be best to leave the car alone and go back home and try to get some sleep. He really hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and that had to be the reason he was hallucinating. There’s no way she was real. Not anymore.

  He got back in his car and headed home.

  When he arrived, he tried not to look at the woods as he headed to his house. The wind kicked up, and on the breeze, he heard her voice again.

  Bobby, I’ve been waiting for you while you dropped off your other woman. Come and be with me tonight. I need you.

  “I’m on my way,” he said, and headed toward the trees.

  Chapter Four

  Bobby…Bobby, get up. Somebody is coming. Nobody can find you here. They will take you to jail, and we won’t be together again. They’ll think you did this to me.

  A branch snapped, and Bobby came out of his trance. He searched the tree line in the direction of the noise and followed the doe like movements through the forest. He pulled himself out from under the fallen tree and tried to listen for the commotion again. His muscles ached from being inactive for too long. How long had he been in the woods? His mind felt like it was in a smoggy haze. The last thing he remembered was Danielle leaving and telling him to get some sleep. But before he could get inside, he heard a sweet sounding voice call to him from the end of the cul-de-sac. She was lonely and needed his company. He also thought he heard fear in her voice. He couldn’t let her stay out there by herself in the dark.

  More movement came from above. He looked at Emily, but she was no help. Her skin was grayer than he remembered. There was an overwhelming smell of decay in the air he had not noticed before. She was dead and rotting. But she couldn’t be dead when she was talking to him. Everything was such a blur. He could still hear the softness in her airy voice. He tried to replay his time with Emily, but his muddled mind would not allow it. Memories flashed to him sitting on the tree talking to her as she patiently waited to tell her stories. Sitting with his back against the tree trunk, leaning against each other with her hand in his. Now all he saw was the lifeless body that was once the Emily he never knew. The white dress had the same graying effect as her skin. The open wounds on her arms looked thick and black.

  Hurry, Bobby, you have to get away. They are coming.

  She was still talking to him, but he didn’t have time to listen to her. Bobby could see somebody walking toward him. They were trying to be quiet like they were sneaking up on him. The blue outline faded and ducked behind a tree. Bobby squatted and looked for the best way to escape. Whoever it was would never believe he just found her like this. Run. He turned to run in the opposite direction as the intruder.

  “Bobby?”

  It was Danielle. He couldn’t let her find him like this. How would he even begin to try to explain the situation? What was the situation? Obviously, he had lost his mind and started talking to the dead girl in the woods, and she wouldn’t leave him alone.

  Bobby, you must leave.

  Emily continued calling out to him, even though he was acknowledging the reality of her death. She was dead. There was no way she could talk to him. He didn’t understand why he could still hear her. Maybe he had a special connection with this girl? Yeah, that or maybe he was crazy. At least that’s what everybo
dy would say when they threw him in jail. Or an asylum. Didn’t they close the one in Midland? Maybe he had lost his mind, but he didn’t want to stick around and find out what the final verdict would be. He turned to run, but his legs felt sluggish, and he stumbled forward. The repercussions from not eating or drinking anything for a long time wracked his body. It was like fighting to free himself from quicksand. He was slowly sliding deeper into the pit he was living in. The sound of crushing leaves was right behind him.

  Now she was too close. He wouldn’t be able to get away.

  “Bobby? What are you doing out here?”

  “Danielle. No—stay there. Don’t come any closer,” he choked out. His voice was raspy and dry. Flames of stomach acid licked the back of his throat. Rubbing the pain away didn’t help to soothe the pain. He had gone too long without water.

  “I don’t understand. You haven’t been at work for two days. I asked where you were and they said you had called and told them you were going to take a vacation—that you were exhausted and needed a break.”

  He didn’t remember making that phone call. He must have made it sometime that night after Danielle left. Before everything went blank. The worst part was Danielle said he’d been gone for two days. Two days was a long time to sleep in the woods with no supplies. That explained the smell. Part of it, anyway.

  “I don’t really know what’s going on. Let’s just go back up to the house and talk there,” Bobby said.

  “You look horrible. You look like you need a doctor,” she said, stepping closer.

  “No, don’t,” he said, stumbling toward her. She ran to catch him.

  “Bobby? What’s wrong?” her voice caught in her throat as she saw the girl. She covered her mouth with her hand. Her frightened eyes looked at Bobby and then back to the girl.

  “Oh my god, oh my god. Bobby, what did you do?”

  “I didn’t do anything. I swear I found her like this.”

  “Oh no. No, no. She isn’t the dead animal that Charlie found down here the other day, is she?”

  Bobby didn’t know what to say. He watched as her horrified face turned to one of anger and disgust.

  “Bobby, please tell me you just found her here this morning, and you were about to call the police and tell them.”

  “Please, calm down. It’s not what you think.”

  “Calm down? You found a dead girl in the woods two days ago and didn’t tell anybody. Then you disappear, and I find you with her. Have you been here since I left the other night?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t remember anything after you left.”

  That was mostly true. He didn’t remember calling into work and telling them he needed a vacation. He didn’t remember coming back down here in the dark, and he certainly didn’t remember spending two days in the woods, sleeping under a tree.

  “She’s not an animal. She’s somebody’s loved one. You can’t keep her down here like a science experiment, Bobby. Come on. We have to call the police.”

  “No. We’re not calling anybody. They’ll arrest me.”

  “They won’t arrest you. We’ll tell them you found her this morning. They’ll never know.”

  “They’ll figure it out.”

  Shoe tracks covered his camping spot. It would be obvious he didn’t just get here. Broken glass littered the area. Had he been drinking? His hand went to his throat. It hurt like he hadn’t had anything to drink. A shard of glass rested beside Emily’s open hand. She busted the bottle. But were his fingerprints on it? Or on her? He checked her pulse when he first found her. Was that the only time he touched her? Bobby’s gag reflex kicked in at the thought.

  “We have to tell the police now. You don’t know if the person who did this to her isn’t going to come back.”

  “She did it to herself.”

  “How the hell do you know?”

  “She told me. She said nobody would miss her.”

  “Bobby, honey, you’re sick, you need to come lay down in a bed. You don’t know what you’re saying. Let me take you home. I’ll call the police and tell them where she’s at. Somebody does love her, and they are probably worried about her.”

  “I love her. Nobody is looking for her. They don’t care. They’re the reason she’s dead.”

  Danielle’s face changed. He could see her concern for him, but he couldn’t let her tell the police. If she told anybody, he would never get to see or speak to Emily again. He had to convince her. Jail would be bad enough, but he couldn’t risk never seeing her again.

  “Bobby, you are extremely confused. You probably feel like that because you haven’t had anything to eat or drink in a couple of days. Why don’t you come with me and we will figure it all out after you’ve rested?”

  “Do you promise you won’t call the police?”

  “I promise,” she said.

  Bobby. Don’t believe her. She’s trying to split us up. She’s just jealous of what we have. She will tell them that you hurt me, and you will go to jail for it.

  “No,” Bobby yelled. “She’s not like that.”

  “Bobby, please come with me. I’ll take you to my place so you can get some rest. I promise I won’t call the police until we have talked about it. I don’t want you to get in trouble either. Okay?”

  “Okay, I’ll go with you. I’m really tired,” Bobby said, and staggered to her.

  Danielle walked to Bobby and avoided looking at Emily. Bobby stumbled and fell against her, pushing her back toward the girl. Her leg brushed against Emily’s shoulder, and she screamed into Bobby’s ear. He shook the ringing from his head and tried to focus on Danielle’s face.

  “You’ve got to help me a little bit here. I can’t carry you up the hill, and I just touched the dead girl.”

  “Her name’s Emily,” he whispered.

  “Okay, okay. I just touched Emily, and I can’t do that. It’s just. It just won’t help us get up this hill.”

  Bobby, don’t go. We aren’t finished here. I still need you. She will only take advantage of you. She will hurt you and then toss you away.

  Bobby wrapped his arm around Danielle’s waist, and they climbed the hill. They had a good pace going when they started to slide back in the dead leaves. Danielle propped herself against a tree and held Bobby up. The scent of dirt and sweat surrounded them, but there was something else. Death’s sharp fragrance floated in the air. She turned her face from Bobby. Was it the way he smelled or did looking at him disgust her? The angle gave her an open view of Emily at the bottom of the hill. She turned her head uphill and pushed Bobby forward. They continued up the hill and only had two more issues. She got her leg caught in a vine and tripped, sending both of them to the forest floor. After struggling with Bobby’s rebellious limp body, she was able to continue moving. Once they were close to the top, they had another dead leaf slide, but only lost a bit of momentum. Bobby knew she was determined to get him to the top of the hill and would not leave him behind, no matter how difficult he made the situation.

  Don’t leave me. Don’t let her take you away.

  They stopped at the edge of the forest where the cul-de-sac began. Both of them started to walk toward the house. Now that they were on stable, even ground, Bobby was able to help Danielle a little more, and they made better time to the house.

  She dropped Bobby into the passenger seat of her car and leaned with her head on the doorsill to catch her breath. After she had regained some of her strength, she looked between her arms at Bobby. He leaned back in the seat and stared at her. Their eyes met, and he could tell she felt pity for him, but there was some other emotion he could not determine.

  “I’m taking you to my apartment. You can stay there tonight, so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you’re eating and drinking. I’m going in your house to get some clothes and other things for you. Promise me you will stay here and not try to leave. I can’t carry you back up that hill.”

  “I promise,” he said with extra effort.

  She closed h
is door and walked up the steps to his house.

  Don’t let her do it. That bitch is trying to separate us, and you are letting her do it. Get out of the car and come back to me, my love. She won’t be as good for you as I am.

  Bobby drifted to sleep.

  The car jerked into its assigned parking spot. The abrupt stop woke Bobby up enough not to be a complete hindrance as Danielle helped him inside her apartment.

  Once inside, the scent of a fresh apple pie greeted him.

  “Mmm, pie.”

  “Sorry, no pie. It’s just a candle I left burning, like an idiot. Before you do anything, you have to take a shower.”

  She led him to the bathroom and started the water for him. He swayed back and forth on rubber legs. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt and helped pull it over his head. It felt more like peeling the label off an old beer bottle. Without too much fuss, she was able to get the whole thing off and throw it on the floor. Bobby only smiled. She stared at him with a contemplating look that said she didn’t know what she should do next. The hot water steamed the mirror. She grabbed his belt buckle and pulled him to her and looked into his delirious eyes. This was not how he had expected this moment to go. She fought with the buckle before finally getting the better of it and slowly released the tension on the belt. As his pants slid to the floor, Bobby’s eyes lit up. He looked down and pulled his pants up quickly.

  “Ah. She was right. You are trying to take advantage of me.”

  Blood rushed to Danielle’s cheeks, painting them dark red like she had been laughing for too long.

  “Bobby, don’t be ridiculous. I was only trying to help you into the shower. You are nasty and sick. I’m not letting you in my bed like that.”

  “Your bed? I see.”

  “Yeah my bed, but it’s early so I’m not going to bed now and when I do, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  “Mmhmm. Likely story.”

  “Okay, you’ve put me through enough for one day. I’m going in the other room. You can try to finish up here.”