I dreamed of skulls, leaves, and damp earth. On the mountainside, I ran. Branches were slapping me in the face as I fled from a man in a camouflage baseball cap. His face was a black void. One second he was far behind me, and the next, his ice-cold fingers gripped my shoulders. He shoved me hard. I fell, arms and legs flailing as I attempted to scream. Not the slightest sound flew from my lips. A whoosh of air left my lungs as I hit the ground. Everything hurt. My extremities felt numb, and terror had a viselike grip on me. When I rolled to my side, I saw Carol’s lifeless eyes staring back at me.
A scream retched from my raw throat, and I sat straight up in my bed, drenched in sweat, with damp tangles of hair about my face. A nightmare. Only a nightmare—all the Jane Doe descriptions I’d been reading intermingled with Carol’s murder, I reminded myself. I got up and padded to the bathroom, splashing my face with water, then patting it dry with a towel. Sleep no longer an option, a cup of tea would be in order.
My thoughts went back to what I’d discovered in Kevin’s garbage bag. Did I really believe he could be involved? He could’ve been tossing out the cap because Ellen hated it, or maybe it’d been a gift and it wasn’t his style. He’d never dressed in anything camo while we’d been dating. He’d openly admitted he and Carol had argued, and spoken about his troubling financial situation.
Then there was the text. I looked over it again. I put the number into Google search to no avail. What if Carol had discovered the identity of the Jane Doe killer? How, I was uncertain, unless she knew the person.
A pounding on my front door caused me to drop the hand towel. When I checked the peep hole, I spied a disheveled Mel. “Lyla! Are you okay?”
I flung open the door. Mel’s eyes were wild, her phone gripped in her fist. She rushed in and hugged me.
“I’m fine. Sorry. Just a nightmare.” I closed the door and locked up tight after she released me.
“I nearly had a heart attack when I heard you scream.” Mel put her hand over her heart. Then paused, staring down at the floor.
“Go into the living room, and I’ll make us a cup of chamomile tea.”
Mel and I were on the sofa, our teas now finished. She was digesting everything I told her about the text I’d received. Mel sucked in a breath as I filled her in on my interaction with Kevin.
“The text is spooky as hell. And we should definitely take that to the police.” She gripped the blanket tighter. “But you would know if the man in the car with Carol was Kevin, right?”
My shoulders rose, then fell. “Normally, I would say yes. But I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I mean, I don’t believe it could be Kevin. But—”
“The inheritance,” Melanie supplied.
“Exactly.”
“Why would his grandfather leave the bulk of his estate to Carol?” Mel’s brows drew together. “Spite?”
“Maybe. Who knows why families do what they do? Though, she was his stepsister. He wouldn’t kill her. He’s a jerk, but I just can’t believe Kevin is capable of such a thing.” I shivered at the thought. “I am glad the judge made the police aware of the conflict. They will investigate him for sure.” I rested my arm on the back of the sofa, propping my head against my hand. “It does make you wonder where he was when Carol went missing. Was he at work? Packing with Ellen?”
“Well, as for alibis, look at me. I did find the proof I was at the liquor store. It was right there in my transaction history. Tim was pretty drunk, but it pisses me off how he all but threw me under the bus.” Melanie tucked the blanket under her legs. “I mean, seriously, I could have been charged with murder for God’s sake.”
I shook my head. “Tim’s a jerk. He never deserved you. I’ll go down there with you tomorrow. From what I’ve gathered online, Amelia was absolutely correct. The way Carol was delivered to my house in a suitcase should have the department seeking outside help. A profiler or something. It’s not your average offender who does something like that. I mean, the suitcase by itself should rule you out. Think of what type of deranged person they’d have to be in order to do something like that. Seriously, I get they must speak to everyone, and with the suitcase belonging to you it makes sense but come on. You’re the gentlest person on the planet without even a single traffic violation.”
Mel nodded emphatically, “Right! It’s stupid. But I’d go through all the turmoil again to help Carol.”
We sat for a few moments in silence, remembering our friend.
“If you’re interested, I compiled a file.” I pulled up the dumping grounds doc on my tablet and moved closer to Mel.
On the scene, Brad Jones is optimistic someone will be able to identify Jane Doe by the few remnants of clothing and her jewelry. Once the woman is identified, the investigators can move forward with victimology.
Half a mile off Interstate 85, off a service road, a short trek through the knee-high grass and thorn-ridden weeds, the remains of a likely Caucasian female, 18–25 years old and between 5’0 and 5’4”, were found behind an abandoned country church. Most of her bones were recovered, along with a denim Gap jacket, a blue dress, Keds tennis shoes, a scarf, and her jewelry.
“This is the one Carol thought she could identify?” Mel’s eyes were wide.
I nodded.
We took a look at the pictures. Skeletal remains in a mountain of detritus. The remnants of what might’ve been a blue dress. I zoomed in on the images of her scarf, necklace, and ring. The pictures weren’t the best quality. The necklace looked to be a bit mangled, as if it’d been run over. The scarf had me squinting at the screen. The years spent outdoors in the elements had faded out the colors, and there were visible holes, but—
“Is that?”
“It could be Sweet Mountain High colors. Yes!” They’d given each member of the majorettes a scarf at the alumnae bonfire for our ten-year reunion. I stared at the image, unable to make out if it had our school’s crest. Could the Jane Doe be a Sweet Mountain alumna? Someone we knew?
“I don’t recall any missing person cases from our area. In fact, I’m not sure if Sweet Mountain has ever had such a case. I’ll see what I can find when I get to the office.”
Mel followed my glance over at the cap on the dining room table.
What kind of monster could be in our midst?