What happens when you get tired of Samantha and Megan? Jimmy asked himself suddenly.
An unpleasant answer followed.
Chapter Nine
“Whoa, what is going on?” Tina asked as Alan, Jimmy and she stepped into the school parking lot that Thursday morning, their tired bodies having barely spoken more than simple greetings as they walked toward the school, a situation that was typical given the early hour. The commotion outside the school, however, was atypical, and for a moment all three of them stopped in their tracks, their eyes needing a moment to take everything in.
“It looks like they have Sheriff Deputies at every entrance,” Alan said.
“You don’t think there was a shooting?” Tina asked.
“No,” Alan said. “They wouldn’t be letting anyone inside if there had been. It’s more like they are directing traffic or something.” He turned toward Jimmy. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Jimmy said with a shrug. It was a lie. He knew exactly what was going on, or at least knew what had prompted whatever was going on and now regretted the bag of bondage tapes he had stuck in his backpack, ones that he had planned on throwing away during lunch, because for all he knew they were searching the students.
No, more likely they are asking students questions, he said to himself in an attempt to calm his mind down. You have nothing to worry about.
Still, bringing the tapes to school had been a stupid idea. He should have just left them at home and thrown them away that afternoon. Nothing would have happened during the seven hours he was away. No one would have searched his room.
If they do search your room it’s because they know something and the tapes will just be another nail in the coffin.
“Shit!” Jimmy snapped.
“What?” Alan asked.
“I must’ve dropped my pen back there,” he pulled an empty hand out of his pocket while saying this even though the pen was still inside. “I think I know right where it is.”
“I have an extra pen,” Tina said. She started to open her purse.
“Nah, that’s okay, I really like my pen.” With that he quickly turned and headed back down the sidewalk until he had rounded the corner near the dugout of the baseball field where a beat up garbage can stood. Nothing but a few pop bottles and an empty pack of cigarettes was inside. A moment later the plastic bag full of bondage tapes joined them. A sense of loss followed them down. He had spent so many hours acquiring those tapes, and watching them at night that he couldn’t stand to see them go.
Let them go he did, however, and quickly hurried back to the parking lot where Alan and Tina were waiting, the pen now in his hands, the words, “Found it,” leaving his lips.
“That was lucky,” Alan said.
“I know, but I had remembered hearing something drop while I was walking by the dugout, and sure enough, it was right there, so I didn’t really have to look much at all.” He looked at the school and the mobs of students at every door being filtered inside by the deputies. Getting rid of the tapes was a relief, though it wasn’t enough to completely do away with the fears of being caught and arrested for the abductions of Samantha and Megan. Even worse, he doubted anything would ever do away with that fear. Even if he disposed of the bodies really well once he killed them — something which he should probably do sooner rather than later — he knew there was always a chance someone would discover something that pointed in his direction.
Speculation and random bits of chatter met them as they connected with the group of students waiting by Entrance Three — the school had six entrances — most of which was an unintelligible mix of gibberish due to all the different statements colliding and bisecting each other.
“…probably searching for drugs…”
“…they stole a bunch of…”
“…Megan Reed is missing…”
Jimmy twisted around to look toward the girl who had spoken this last bit, but couldn’t figure out where the words had come from. He also knew it didn’t really matter. Grabbing Megan Reed had been a mistake because of her relation to the sheriff. Any other girl and the sheriff could have still dismissed the idea of a predator stalking the teenage girls of Ashland Creek, though with growing dismay from many in the town, but with Megan he obviously wasn’t going to sit back.
You had no choice, a part of his mind said. She would have found the shelter.
Or at least she might have caused interest in the Hood place that would eventually lead to the shelter being found.
Or maybe nothing would have come of it.
What is done is done.
Besides, he was enjoying having Megan in the shelter. Seeing her hanging from her wrists was incredible, her body perfect for such a position. In fact, she had looked so good that he hadn’t wanted to lower her this morning, but had done so fearing he would accidentally kill her — this based on the gasps her lungs where making when he entered the shelter in the predawn hours. Not that he wasn’t planning on killing her eventually — this he had decided last night while lying in bed, his plan being to slowly hang her from the neck — he just wanted to make sure he was able to enjoy it rather than find out it had already happened. Plus, if he enjoyed their deaths then at least the girls could go into the next life knowing it had meant something, even if they didn’t agree with his getting off on it.
The three made it to the door and were ushered in by a deputy who said, “Please head into the gymnasium for an announcement.”
“How come?” a student behind them asked.
“Please, just go to the gymnasium,” the deputy repeated. “Everything will be explained to you there.”
The three did as they were told, all of them deciding to bypass their lockers since they had no coats and would carry their bags with them to class anyway.
“Fuck this shit,” Brett said. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Matt asked.
“To your place, man. I want to see what the fag threw out.”
“Who cares?”
“I care,” Brett snapped. “And I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit for an hour during some stupid assembly shit while I could be watching whatever is on these tapes.”
“Man, they’re garbage.”
“Yeah, and he just happened to throw them away when he saw the police at the school. What’re you stupid? He was worried the police would see what was on these tapes. Probably thought the cops were searching everyone just like you.” Brett shook his head. “And fuck man why would you toss out that premium California shit I gave you to hold. Do you know how much that fucking bag cost.”
“What would you do if you saw the police at the school,” Matt snapped. “And fuck, I was gonna grab it on the way back anyway, I just didn’t want to be caught with it at school.”