Skulls by Tim Marquitz Read Free Book Online

asked, changing the subject.
    “Surprisingly, no. It’s like they drank their way into forgetting about me. There wasn’t even a list of shit to do.” He shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean there won’t be one later when they sober up.”
    “Of course.” She smirked. “So what’s going on?”
    “Remember when you guys were telling me about Old Man Jenks?”
    “Yeah. Why?”
    “It just got me thinking. You know me and my horror stuff. It’s a real life murder mystery that happened right here in town.” He pointed at the ground. “I just wanted to look some things up.”
    “You came all the way over here to use my computer?” Her hands slid to her hips.
    “Of course not. I came to see you, too.”
    “Yeah, right.” She shook her head. An amused grin pulled at the corners of her lips. “You‘re the only person I know who doesn’t have a computer.”
    “It would cut too deeply into the drinking fund, or so I imagine.” He tried a sad face. “What do you say?”
    She waggled a finger. “No porn for you.”
    Jacob raised his hands. “Hey now. If I wanted porn I could just steal my dad’s.”
    Cass’s face shriveled. “Eww. Didn’t need to hear that.”
    He laughed at her. “So is it cool?”
    Rubbing her temples, she nodded. “I need to go scrub my brain after that comment. You know where it’s at.” She wandered off giggling.
    Cass still in her pink pajamas, Jacob watched her go. He followed her with his eyes until she was out of sight, then jogged up the stairs to her room. His thoughts shifting to Katie, he didn’t bother to look around. He settled in quick at Cass’s computer. Already on, he opened the browser and started a search for Katie James.
    He felt his heart sputter as pictures of Katie appeared on the screen. Though she wore glasses in the photos, there was no mistaking hers was the skull he’d held in his hands. Her brown eyes stared out at him. While they didn’t reflect the terror he’d felt in her, her sadness as she trudged up the hill in the rain was evident even in the picture.
    His stomach churned as he read through the archived news articles.
    Only sixteen, Katie had hitchhiked on a dare. Yearning to prove to her classmates she could be adventurous and fit in, she went along without a fight.
    That dare had cost her life.
    On June 16, 1987, Katie James left her house without her parent’s knowledge. She was driven out of town and left on the side of the road. Her only instructions were to find a ride home. On that same night, a massive thunderstorm rolled through the area. It shut down a number of the local roads that fed into the highway Katie was stranded on.
    Images of her long, lonely walk flashed through Jacob’s mind. He saw the miserable cold rain as it pounded down on top of her.
    Though no one could prove it—Katie’s classmates vehemently denying it—it was presumed they’d known a storm was coming and had left her anyway. None had yet to change their story.
    Intentional or not, it was the last time Katie was seen alive.
    When her parents checked on her the next morning, assuming she had just overslept, they found her bed empty. They immediately knew something was wrong and called the police. She’d never so much as gone into the backyard without checking in.
    Search parties were formed. They scoured the mountains and tacked up flyers everywhere. Katie’s face was splashed across the evening news. The story grew more hopeless as the days dragged by.
    A few weeks later, her bloated and rotting body was found floating in the canal. Her head had been cut off.
    The coroner had confirmed the murder weapon had been an axe; just like the one Jacob had seen cleaving into her chest and piercing her heart.
    A tsunami of images roared inside Jacob’s mind as he read the words. Once more he saw the axe plunge and heard Katie’s shrieking horror as it was buried in her. The masked face loomed in his mind. The killer’s dark eyes showed no hint of emotion as he