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Authors: C.J. Urban

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C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent (3 page)

BOOK: C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent
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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 defied 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.

The drive to his mother’s house only took a few minutes. He carefully backed his truck into the driveway and hopped out. Her house was painted an inviting light blue and boasted beds of multicolored flowers all around. Skye remembered helping her plant them just the year before, and he was glad they were thriving. It made his mom happy.

He walked to the front door and, upon opening it, took in the smell of fresh baked rolls. His mouth watered.

“Skye, you’re here!” Gloria exclaimed happily as she swept over to kiss him on the cheek.

“How’re you doing, Mom?”

“I’m just fine, as always,” she told her son. “Better, now that you’ve come to have dinner with me.”

Skye laughed and gave his mom a hug.

“What about you?” Gloria asked. “How’s life treating you?”

“I’m doing okay. Just a little burnt out at work, but it is what it is.”

Skye followed his mother into the kitchen and set the table while she finished making dinner.

“I understand you met the new girl in town,” Gloria mentioned. “What’s her name again?” Gloria knew Julie’s name very well, but she wanted to know if Skye had taken a liking to her.

“Her name’s Julie.”

“Ah, the one who moved into Oliver McGuire’s empty house on Dale Street.”

Skye sat at his place at the table while his mother served him a large plate. He could have served himself, but he knew his mother liked to do it. “Yeah,” he said, “She told me she just moved in with her little brother. He’s a pistol. But why did they move in to that house? Don’t they know what happened there?”

Gloria seated herself next to her son with a plate for herself. “I’m not sure. Oliver is her uncle, you know. I don’t think he mentioned anything about it to her. I showed them around the house when they got here, but I didn’t think it was my place to talk about it.”

Skye dropped his fork, clanking it onto his plate. “Mom. Why didn’t you say something? She might not want to live in a house with that kind of history.”

“Honey, we were having polite conversation. You don’t talk about things like that under those circumstances.”

“What? Tell me, what would be the right circumstance?” Skye rarely got this revved up, Gloria knew. He must really like her. He continued, “You should have said something.”

“I didn’t want to scare her. She had her little brother with her. And she already seemed overwhelmed.”

“Well,” Sky replied, “It looks like I found my opportunity to get to know her better. I’m going to tell her. It’s the right thing to do.”

“There’s that reckless streak again,” Gloria commented. “Someday it’s going to get you in real trouble.”

Skye didn’t respond. The rest of dinner was quiet, the only sounds were the scraping of forks and knives against plates. Gloria was uncomfortable with Skye’s decision. She stole glances at him, trying to find a way to reason with him, but remained silent.

BOOK: C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent
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