3
October 3rd – 7:13 AM
The sun broke the horizon over the mountainous backdrop of Stewart Hollow. The sky was filled with an ocean of pink and orange. A cool wind blew down from the mountains and engulfed the town in an early autumn chill.
The town had sat for a day, mourning the loss of one of their own, and grasping the idea that the murderer was still out there.
8:30 PM
The day ended with no surfacing clues or persons of interest. There was a bit of an uneasy feel throughout the town – a nauseating thought of dread and nerves on edge.
The community center – about a mile away from the police station – was holding a candlelight vigil for Carly Simmons. The gymnasium was packed full of friends and family. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons sat in the front row, holding each other tightly. Sitting on a small table in front of them, surrounded by flowers of all different colors, was a picture of Carly looking beautiful, young and undeserving of death.
Down the row from the Simmons’ sat Ashley. Mark sat by her side, comforting her every few seconds. Sitting by Ashley on the other side were two of her friends – Kristen Keller, and Laura Nelson. They felt sympathy for their friend and for Carly
Standing once again at the podium in front of the crowd was Bruce Slater. Dressed appropriately, and now donning glasses, he read from a stack of index cards.
“Good evening,” he said, clearing his throat. “On behalf of the community center of Stewart Hollow, I would like to thank everyone in attendance tonight for coming out and showing their support for the Simmons family.
“Carly Simmons was heavily involved in her community. Some of you may not know that the Halloween Festival was actually her creation 15 years ago when she was ten years old. She has looked at it ever since like it was her own child. It’s amazing that something such a young mind came up with, has stuck over the years and is cherished now by the entire town.
“So in Carly’s memory, we shall continue to make this years festival the most memorable one yet.”
Bruce cleared his throat once again, and addressed Carly’s parents eye to eye. “And to Carly’s parents, we are deeply sorry for your loss, and we offer you hope, courage and all of our prayers as your family deals with this horrible tragedy.”
The crowd clapped respectfully. Not before long, the crowd had dismissed themselves from their seats, mingled in the gym and the hallways, and snacked on refreshments in the commons room.
Ashley stood in the gym with her arms around Mark’s waist. Kristen and Laura stood close – as did Brady. They told fond memories of Carly, all of which brought tears to their eyes.
Ashley looked over by the door at a glance, and noticed Brandon Becker standing by the exit. He turned and walked out into the hallway.
“I’ll be right back,” Ashley said.
In the hallway, Brandon was walking towards the exit. Ashley called to him and he turned to face her.
“Hey.” Brandon was obviously depressed, and torn up over the death.
“Are you alright?” Ashley asked.
“I’ll live. I’m just confused.”
There was a silence for a moment.
“Did Carly ever say anything about, you know?” Brandon asked.
“She was confused too. She didn’t know what to think of everything. She wanted to like you and I know somewhere down the line she would have wanted it to work out. But…”
Brandon stopped her by putting his hand up. He turned and left for the exit.
“Brandon wait!” Ashley called out, but she couldn’t stop him. He walked out of the community center and into the night.
Ashley shook her head then joined her friends again.
10:45 PM
The gathering of Stewart Hollow’s residents had diminished to all but a handful. In the office, Mark and Brady sat on the floor against the wall discussing Brady’s new job. Ashley, Kristen and Laura sat around a desk.
“So the police have no idea who did it?” Kristen asked. She and Laura had been friends with Ashley since high school. There was always a bit of jealousy in the mix, as Ashley seemed to be the leader of the group. Kristen and Laura acted as followers and pretended to be fine with it.
“Not that I’ve heard,” Ashley began, “But they probably wouldn’t tell me anyway. I’ll have to hear it from Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, although, I’m not really on great terms with the family anymore.”
“Why not?” Laura said, enticed by the idea of something not going right for Ashley.
“We just…grew apart.” Ashley gave no specific reason why.
Mark jumped up from the floor, and brushed his clothes off.
“Hey, Ash,” he said, “I’m heading home. See you there soon?”
“I’m coming.” She said, standing up from the desk chair. “I’ll see you girls tomorrow, right?”
“11am, right back here.” Kristen said.
Ashley walked over to Mark, throwing on a light jacket. She looked at Brady, who stood up. “Do we have to give him a ride?”
“Nah, I got my own wheels.” Brady said.
“You mean your bike?” Mark asked, getting a small chuckle from the girls.
“Hey, I’m helping the environment.” A cocky smile grew on Brady’s face.
“By helping the environment, you mean you have no gas money.” Mark got another chuckle from the girls.
Brady slapped Mark on the arm.
“A slap? What are you, gay?” Mark laughed, looking for another laugh.
“Alright guys, come on. I have to get to bed.” Ashley said, breaking up the ensuing fake fight. Ashley pushed Mark out of the office, and Brady followed. Brady dodged out of the way as an older woman entered the room as they left.
“Oh, Ms. Cook? We didn’t know you were still here.” Laura said, surprised to see her so late at the community center.
Ms. Cook had worked at the center for years as a receptionist. She found herself more of a go-to employee for Bruce than an actual respected receptionist.
“Yeah, I’m still here. It seems like I’m always still here.” Ms. Cook said angered, in a sweet old lady tone. It was hard to take her serious. “I have to find all of the Halloween sound effects CD’s for Bruce by tomorrow.”
“Aren’t they in the storage room?” Kristen asked.
“You’d think so, but no. They’re missing.”
“That’s where I saw them last.” Laura said.
Ms. Cook stopped and looked at Laura.
“Are you stupid, young lady? I just said they’re missing.”
Laura rolled her eyes as Ms. Cook scoured the room. Ms. Cook looked back at them, baffled. “What are you two still doing here anyway? Everyone else is gone.”
Laura stumbled over her words, afraid of making Ms. Cook angry again.
“We were just leaving,” Kristen said. She grabbed Laura by the arm and they left.
“See you tomorrow, Ms. Cook.” Laura tried to get back on her good side before her exit.
“Yeah, yeah.” Ms. Cook wished them away. Moments later, she was the only one in the building. She searched high and low for the CD’s.
She made her way back to the storage room, and opened box after box. She was becoming frustrated and started talking to herself:
“Maybe it’s a good thing I can’t find the darn CD’s. If I have to hear this town obsess themselves once more with ‘The Monster Mash’, I’ll go crazy!”
In the heat of annoyance, she tossed a box full of fake spiders again the wall. They scattered all over the room.
Breaking the silence in the building was the PA system. It crackled just long enough to grab Ms. Cook’s attention. She looked up into the corner of the ceiling where the speaker was, and ‘The Monster Mash’ began to play throughout the community center.
Outside the storage room, someone was waiting.