Кэти Дэйли - The Curse Of Hollister House

“According to the report I pulled from the file, the deputy who responded to Stella’s missing persons report determined from interviews with other students that she must have left school via this footpath.”

Cass and I stood at the beginning of a footpath that ran from the back of the baseball field through the woods and out to the street that ran parallel to the school.

“Aspen Drive?”

Cass nodded. “If you turn right on Aspen Drive, it meanders along but eventually intersects with Oak Avenue after about half of a mile. I’m sure you remember that Stella lived on Oak Avenue.”

“I remember. I would walk with Stella to her house almost every day, and Aunt Gracie would pick me up there.” I turned and glanced back toward the middle school parking lot, which was full on a Friday morning. “We didn’t usually take this path, however. Most of the time we’d just follow the drive from the parking area to Willow Lane, which intersected with Oak Avenue in half the time it took to walk this way.” I found myself frowning. “I wonder why she took this path, especially if she was alone. There would have been a lot of other kids walking in the same direction if she had stayed on the road.”

“I don’t know,” Cass admitted. “I wish I did. All I know is that the deputy who investigated the murder determined that Stella was last seen taking this path alone.”

I took a few steps forward and glanced down the narrow path, which was almost completely concealed under a canopy of trees, giving it a desolate and isolated feel. “Do you think she was abducted while on the path?”

“Again, I don’t know. The deputy who investigated didn’t know either. What I do know is that this little path ends on a section of Aspen Drive that wasn’t populated. If Stella wasn’t abducted from the path, she may have found someone waiting on the road when she emerged. That idea is supported by the fact that she appears to have been transported prior to being killed.”

“The deserted farm where she was killed.”

Cass nodded. “Aspen Drive eventually connects to County Road 12 if you turn left rather than right when you emerge from these woods. County Road 12 would be the one you’d take to get to the barn where the blood that was confirmed to be Stella’s was found. It was the opinion of the deputy who led the investigation at that time that was where she was killed. I agree with him.”

“Can I see the barn?”

“It was torn down, and the land it sat on was purchased by the conservancy.”

That would be the local land conservancy that was committed to buying up sensitive land and returning it to its natural state.

“I can take you out to where the barn once stood, however. That should give you a feel for the movements that Stella and her killer took on the day she died.”

I nodded, took one last look at the wooded path, and then followed Cass to his car. We had to take the long way around, but when he reached the spot on Aspen Drive where the wooded trail came out, he stopped and pointed it out.

“There is nothing but forest for as far as you can see in any direction,” I said.

Cass nodded.

“I can totally see the killer sitting here, waiting for someone to emerge from that little path. My question is, was the killer waiting for Stella specifically, or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

“The deputy didn’t know. The path is not widely used, but as it turns out, there were a few students who took this route to get to this neighborhood, especially the ones who lived at this end of it.”

“So it is feasible that the killer was waiting to nab whoever appeared first and that person just happened to be Stella?”

“Yes. That is not only feasible but likely. Keep in mind that on any other day, Stella would have been walking with you, and as you’ve already pointed out, the two of you tended to stick to the road.”

There it was again. The guilt. The knowledge that if not for me and the fight I’d most likely picked, Stella would still be alive today.

Cass pulled back onto the road and continued on toward the land where the barn where Stella was most likely killed had once stood.

“I remember hearing that it was determined that Stella wasn’t sexually assaulted. Was that true? I often wondered if that fact wasn’t a rumor started to protect her and her family.”

“According to the medical examiner’s report, Stella was not sexually assaulted. Keep in mind that her body was partially decayed, so determining all the specifics was difficult, but from what I read, Stella was most likely strangled and then clawed with something capable of inflicting marks on the bone. It was never determined with any certainty if she was strangled or clawed first, but the ME suspected the claw marks were inflicted after she was already dead.”

“Why would anyone do that? I get that there are psychos out there who strangle people, but what is up with the claw marks?”

Cass parked the car, opened his door, and got out. “I wish I knew.”

I followed his lead and got out as well. I stood near the car and looked around. The parcel where the barn had once stood was hidden in the trees and sheltered from the road. I supposed that if someone wanted a quiet place to kill someone, this was as good a place as any.

“After Stella died, she was driven around the lake and buried in the woods. I wonder why. There are plenty of woods around here to hide a body. Why take the risk of transporting your kill around the lake if you didn’t have to?”

“I’m not sure if the burial site had meaning to the killer or if he randomly picked an isolated location to bury his prey.”

I hated that Cass referred to Stella as prey, but that’s what she had been. To him. To the animal who’d killed her.

“And Tracy?” I asked. “We know she was last seen at the middle school and that she ended up buried a few yards from where Stella’s body was found. Do you think he might have brought her here to kill her or somewhere nearby?”

“Perhaps. I’ve searched all the vacant barns in the area. There are only two.” Cass put his hands on his hips and scanned the area. “There are a lot of woods out there. If the killer found another location, such as a cave or drainpipe to conceal his deeds, he could have taken her anywhere.”

“What about Milo?” I looked back toward the vehicle. “Where is Milo anyway?”

“He is home today. When I woke up, he seemed to be feeling off, and I was only planning on doing follow-up calls, so I left him home to rest.” Cass looked at his watch. “I should stop by the house to check on him after we leave here.”

I suddenly realized I hadn’t been to Cass’s house since I’d been home. I’d enjoy seeing where he lived. “Should we head around the lake to the gravesite?” I asked. “Just to close the loop?”

“That works for me. I live over in that direction anyway.”

As it turned out, Cass lived in a converted boathouse right on the lake. I should have known he’d choose somewhere he would be able to literally fish from his front door.

“Wow. This is really great. And it is so you.”

“It’s small, but Milo and I love it.”

“I would think so.” I stood on the dock, which linked the drive and the forest with the front door to the boathouse. I could totally picture Cass sitting out here on the porch swing, which sat on a dock that literally covered the water. “Can I see the inside?”

“Sure. If you don’t mind a bit of a mess.”

When Cass opened the door, Milo came bounding out. He looked fine to me. I wondered about the funky behavior Cass had described until we walked in the front door and found a pile of dog puke.

“It looks like he ate a tree.”