Trash To Treasure Crafting 1 - Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel (10 page)

“A date?” I stopped in my tracks.

“Hey, don’t sound so surprised.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

“We just met.”

“Do I know him?”

“I don’t think so.” She giggled.

“Well, in that case, I think I’ll just head
home.” I turned in the direction of the Victorian.

“Nonsense. Come to the fair.”

“No way. You have a date. I don’t want to be
the only loser without a date.”

“Come on, just for an hour. I promise I won’t
let you look like a loser. Well, not too much at least.” She
snickered. “I’ll buy you some cotton candy.”

I could never refuse cotton candy. Hot to
mention the corn dogs. I could taste them already.

I hung up and stuffed the phone back in my
pocket. The sticky night air made it feel as if I was walking
through soup, but it would be worth it once I got there. I need to
have more of a social life. It was something I’d have to force
myself to do.

Twinkling lights filled the night sky and not
a cloud in sight. The fairgrounds were a mile away from the store
in an open field, but to the left and right of the field were
wooded areas, full of tall, thick pines. I set out down the
sidewalk through town, then turned down the isolated road toward
the sound of the screams from the rides that echoed through the
night air. It reminded me of my childhood when my parents took me
to the fair every year. My dad always won me the biggest stuffed
animal in the place. One of his hidden talents. The smell of corn
dogs with an overload of mustard made my mouth water.

As I neared the site, I moved along the road
which led to the main entrance. The wooded area on my right was a
little too close to the road for my comfort. The darkness gave me
the heebie-jeebies. When I glanced ahead I noticed what appeared to
be a walking path through there, but where it led to on the other
side, I had no idea. The idea that people might be hiking through
there crossed my mind, so I decided to pick up my pace. I didn’t
want to be surprised by someone popping out of the night. I didn’t
like not knowing what might lurk under the shade of those haunting
trees.

I stepped across the gravel road, walking
down the opposite side of the road, putting distance between me and
the unknown. I brushed past the pine trees and hiked about twenty
feet to where the road curved around an old outbuilding. I stepped
around the building, and had to cross near the tree line again.
Another dirt path appeared through the trees. It looked as if it
stretched on indefinitely, snaking through the dark trees. The
branches reached out to me, calling me to enter.

The moonlight trickled through the branches,
breaking some of the eerie darkness, but not nearly enough for my
taste. The moon cast a shadow across the road. The sounds from the
carnival seemed muted and a whispering stir of the wind rustled the
trees. The crunch of leaves and snapping branches caught my
attention.

The strap of my sandal slipped off my heel. I
didn’t want to stop to fix it, but I had no choice. The rocks on
the road hurt too badly to go without. I paused and listened. As I
leaned down toward my shoe, more sound came from behind me. I knew
that I hadn’t made the noise, because I was standing perfectly
still. Probably a squirrel I told myself. As I knelt and readjusted
the sandal, a large hand wrapped around my mouth and my attacker
pulled me back, dragging me toward the line of trees.

Chapter Fourteen

My body landed with a thud on the dirt. If I
made it out of there alive, I’d have one heck of a bruise. I gasped
for breath and tried to get a look at who loomed over me. The
killer had obviously found me. I had no idea how I’d get out of
this situation. There was no escape as far as I could tell.

A million thoughts raced through my mind. It
figured, as soon as my luck started to turn around, I’d be a goner.
Was I being punished? I thought of myself as a good person. I
helped others and worked hard. Was I bad in a past life? Had karma
come back to bite me in the ass? I wanted to ask what the heck this
person wanted, but the grasp on me was so tight there was no way.
Did he want to rob me? Surely he could have gone to a bigger town
where someone with more money. And why drag me into a wooded area
for that? My blood ran cold at the thought. There was only one
reason to haul me into the darkness and I didn’t even want to think
of it.

The smell of grass and pine trees whirled
around us—not to mention the wafting scent from the fair.
Underneath the odors of fried food and cotton candy was something
else. An earthy tone, but not the soil. Fresh-cut wood, maybe? I
gripped my attacker’s arms with both hands. This person was
definitely stronger than me. Taller than me, too. I was five foot
two and I guessed his height to be five foot nine. The leather
jacket my assailant wore made getting a tight grasp difficult. My
fingers slipped. Who the heck wore leather in the middle of summer?
Sure, it was night, but sweat made my summertime clothes cling to
me. I couldn’t imagine the sauna inside that jacket—hotter than the
Devil’s breathe after he ate a jalapeno sandwich.

My screams were nothing more than muffled
murmurs with the thick-gloved hand over my mouth. After a half
minute of jerking around, I was in position to make a jab to the
crazy person’s ribs. I raised my right arm as much as I could, and
with all the force I could muster, gave a hard jab.

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Why
had I walked alone at night? A woman had been murdered. Maybe there
was a serial killer. Why the heck wasn’t anyone walking on this
road, anyway? Now that I thought about it, the road seemed eerily
isolated. My only option for getting away was to kick. So, I did.
With all the strength I could muster. His size and strength gave an
obvious advantage over me, though, and thrashing got me
nowhere.

Across the road we went, the little rocks
scraping the backs of my legs. My attacker yanked me around a tall
oak tree. There was no way for me to get away. I wished I’d taken a
survival course or self-defense. As the person carried me away from
the road, the sounds of the revelers faded. The moon cast a shadow
of my assailant, making him appear even larger, but his face wasn’t
visible in the darkness of the woods.

My mind raced. I wanted to claw this person’s
eyes out, or kick them in the groin, anything to get away. I
struggled as they pulled me farther away. Kicking and pushing,
nothing worked. The hold on me felt like a vice grip squeezing as
tightly as possible. How far was this person taking me? Would they
kill me and bury me in the woods? What if my attacker already had
the grave dug? I struggled to grab a body part—if only I could
reach the head, I’d gouge their eyes out.

A seed of terror sprouted in my stomach. The
fear of being murdered and buried out there where no one would ever
find me caused me to panic. My attacker continued to pull me deeper
into the wooded area, and with each stride, fallen branches
crackled underfoot. Faint screams rang out in the distance, and I
knew my screams would blend in with the rest. My heart beat
faster.

I managed to move his hand from my mouth
enough to speak. “Please, let me go. I’ll give you whatever you
want. I don’t have much, but I’ll give you what I got.”

As my assailant pulled me to the ground, they
slipped on a stray rock, crumpling to their knees. I took the
opportunity to break free, moving my body forward until they were
forced to release their grasp, then I lurched ahead. My body hit
the dirt with a thud. I stumbled, then quickly righted myself.

I ran and the crackle of dried foliage and
twigs breaking continued in my wake. I looked down, as much as I
could, and watched each step. When I attempted to glance over my
shoulder, I stumbled and fell to the ground, landing face-first in
the leaves. At least they cushioned my fall. Now fear consumed me
and I panted for air. Why had I come to the fair alone? A thorn
snagged my shirt and I struggled to break free. I hurried to my
feet. Then a voice echoed nearby. What was said, I couldn’t make
out. The sound was only a mumble. I scampered toward the entrance
of the path as fast as I could.

I glanced down every few seconds, watching
every step I took. Holes, snakes, and heaven knew what else were on
the ground and I didn’t want to come across any of them. The
situation seemed surreal, as if I were in a very bad movie. The
kind where the bad guy kept coming back no matter how many times
he’d been stabbed or shot. I’d never experienced that kind of
feeling before.

My normally good sense of direction was shot
to heck. I turned in the direction I thought led to the road. My
attacker lurched to their feet, then stumbled again. The moonlight
filtered through the trees, giving me a full view of the dirt path.
Finally something went my way.

The urge to look back and get a look at my
attacker took over. I peeked over my shoulder. The person was
looking down while freeing their leg from a branch. I had to get
back to the road. If they killed me in the woods no one would ever
find me.

“Help me!” Where the heck was everyone? Any
other time tons of people would walk down that road.

My voice echoed in the distance, urgency in
my words—I had to get away from him. I ran forward. The footfalls
of my attacker were not far behind.

The person was headed my way—I was running
out of time. Letting out another shout, I took a chance and moved
to my left. I ran faster than I ever had. the person had righted
themselves, but fallen back quite a bit. How would I fight this
person off for much longer? Without a lot of options, I took off
without looking back again. My lungs burned as I huffed each
breath. Sometimes I questioned my sanity. Why had I come here
alone? Was the lure of cotton candy and corn dogs that strong?

“Get away from me,” I huffed with undisguised
anger.

The person didn’t answer, which was somehow
scarier than if they had.

Power surged through me as I made my way to
the opposite edge of the wooded area. Only twenty feet away and I’d
be back onto the road. I didn’t really have a plan, per se, but if
I reached it, I figured I could run down the road and maybe lose
him. Trees whizzed by in my peripheral vision. The wind whipped
through my hair. The uneven ground, along with my pants, made
running difficult. My shoes seemed even higher with each step,
making running even harder.

As the fair wound down, the crowd’s frantic
shouts became fainter and fainter as I ran. I glanced over my
shoulder to gauge how much distance I’d put between us: not enough,
because his dark shadow loomed dangerously close. Picking up my
speed, I darted back to my right. Skirting around a tree, within
seconds I jumped, and climbed back onto the gravel road. I made
little noise as I landed on the rocks. A whoosh of air escaped my
lungs when I landed on my stomach.

“Help!” My voice echoed across the field, but
I knew no one heard me. It was like a deserted island.

There was not enough time to mentally debate.
If I ran to the fair, the gate might be closed. I couldn’t chance
it. The way home at least had houses I could run to if I needed.
Without giving it another thought, I made an immediate left. My
attacker stumbled as he made his way up the embankment and onto the
gravel road. He sure was clumsy. Lucky for me. It gave me much
needed seconds to plan my escape.

After running down the road for several
seconds, the main road came into sight. I prayed I could outrun him
and reach home before being stabbed to death. Maybe he’d gotten
hurt—twisted an ankle or something. That would slow him down.
Apparently he was terrible in gym class, too. With my heart
hammering in my chest, I ran as fast as I could down the uneven
gravel. Instead of enjoying the night air, fatty foods and silly
carnival games, I was running down the winding ribbon of gravel
lane with a psycho hot on my heels. Finally, I came to the road and
reached the edge of downtown. Darkness blanketed the streets of
Honeysuckle. Even the houses were completely dark. I knew I
wouldn’t bump into the police, or a friendly face for that matter.
The only creatures stirring were crickets. I’d have to save my own
tushy.

At that moment, my side hurt and I needed an
oxygen tank or something. Running was getting the best of me. Thank
goodness small-town life offered the advantage of never being that
far from home. Easier to run away from a deranged killer that way.
I hadn’t grunted and groaned as much since trying out for
high-school cheerleader.

I didn’t dare turn around; it would only slow
me down and I was afraid of what I might see. Up ahead I spotted
Honeysuckle Supermarket with its dull gray façade and dirty front
awning and knew I was almost home. Dark homes lined the sidewalks.
Were people in bed already? The air was still and not a single soul
was in sight. I remained on the sidewalk, trying to stay under the
brightness from the streetlights. At the least, I could run into
the store, but my new home made me feel safe—even with the murder
scene in the backyard.

The surrounding area next to the store loomed
shadowy, so I decided I would definitely be safer at home. Locked
in the house, the hoodlum wouldn’t get me. My panting grew louder,
amplified by the silence. I prayed the crazy psycho wouldn’t hear
me. Sucking in a mouthful of air, I tried to slow the hammering of
my heart against my ribs. Footsteps approached, and heavy breathing
gave the presence away. He panted worse than I did. The swoosh of
his footsteps hitting the pavement echoed as he sprinted behind me.
I was afraid to look back. If my attacker was there I’d probably
faint on the spot. I’d come really close to meeting the same fate
as Nancy Harper. I’d thought small towns were safe. How wrong was
I?

Breaking free into the moonlight, I didn’t
pause to catch my breath. There was no time. I glanced around, but
no movement caught my eye. I scrambled up the embankment. As if a
light bulb went off, a realization hit me. The killer knew where I
lived and would probably follow me home. But what choice did I
have? I had nowhere else to go. Claire Ann wasn’t home. My panting
continued as I ran as fast as my legs allowed. I had the
heebie-jeebies and I wasn’t sure I’d ever shake them.