Chapter One

“The disappearance of these girls is odd, Miss Robinson, but there just isn’t any evidence to link the cases. We’re looking at two isolated incidents.” The police chief paused and gave Hannah one last tentative look in the eye. “And what kind of maniac would murder teenage girls?”

The city of Bluefish Cove in Bluefish County, California, hadn’t seen much crime since the Co-Ed Killer of the early 1970’s terrorized the area. At that time, the chief wouldn’t even have been a teenager. He was understandably skeptical about the notion of a serial killer in the peaceful county. Besides, the girls were just missing; there were no bodies.

Hannah’s eyes dashed back and forth between the victims’ photographs in her hands. Gabby Jenner and Nicole Chipman, both young, confident, and successful. They were different ages and went to different schools in different towns, but there had to be something that brought them together. Or someone.

In the stuffy, suffocating office, Hannah’s brain slowed down until thoughts were moving at a crawl. Only one thing came to her mind. “They both, um, had green eyes!” she blurted, gazing earnestly up at the chief.

“Now, Miss Robinson, you are just wasting my time. Feel free to come back with any real evidence.” Hannah sighed.

On the way to the bus stop, Hannah stared into the unmoving eyes of the girls in the photographs. If the police weren’t doing anything about this, she would have to take matters into her own hands.  The chilly autumn air bit at her ears and sent a shiver down her spine. She passed a dark stranger on the sidewalk and felt his eyes on her back until the bus pulled up at the side of the road.

“Creep,” she muttered under her breath, flashing her bus pass at the driver. The driver gave her an odd look, but she moved on, found her seat, and slid the girls’ portraits back into her bag.

The tall buildings and cars outside the window gave way to small shops and finally a blur of trees as the sky darkened. The bus heaved and shifted to a stop at the side of the narrow country highway, opening its doors to a boy Hannah’s age with curly shocks of orange hair and a crooked smile. There were few open seats, and he plopped down beside Hannah.

She halfheartedly returned his smile, and he asked, “What’s in the bag?”

Sighing deeply, Hannah looked down at her backpack. “Just some stuff I’ve been writing down about those girls who went missing over summer break. The boy looked intrigued, so she went on, “You know, they’re not even investigating anymore? I think somebody killed both of them, but they won’t listen to me.”

With an amused smile, the boy stuck out his hand and offered a firm handshake. “The name’s Wesley.”

Smiling back, Hannah relaxed a little bit. “I’m Hannah. Are you interested in the case?”

“Not really,” Wesley said, and Hannah’s heart fell, “but I’m interested in you.” The bus pulled up at the library at that moment, and Hannah stood, rolling her eyes. “Oh, look, it’s my stop.” Wesley rose next to her and grinned. “Me, too.”

The library was emptying steadily as they walked in, and the wrinkly, stone-faced librarians, who were just preparing to go home early, became visibly annoyed. Wesley sat across from Hannah at a table near the newspaper archives. He made himself busy digging through them, but it was still impossible to ignore him as he poked his head into whatever Hannah was doing every few minutes.

One of the crotchety, old librarians approached the table some time later and said, “We’re closing up in five minutes. Hurry up.”

Wesley jumped up immediately and tossed a stack of newspapers down on the table in front of Hannah along with a long list scribbled onto a sheet of binder paper. “That’s all the similarities between the two cases,” He said flatly. With that he tucked his hands into his coat and made his way out of the library.

“This is incredible,” Hannah muttered, her jaw dropping as she scanned the list. “How did you…?” By then he had disappeared. Quite upset that she had no opportunity to thank Wesley, she carried the newspapers to the checkout desk.

The librarian shot Hannah a glare and closely scrutinized the newspapers before handing them back. “Have a nice weekend,” she said automatically, her voice dripping with insincerity. Hannah put on a smile and carried her things out of the library, finding her father’s truck in the dimly lit parking lot.

Hannah took the bus from the library to school every day, commuting to the next town over to avoid her poorly funded local high school, and then rode it back to the library and waited for her father to come from work and take her home. The drive was always awkward and quiet, and today was no exception. Luckily, it often took fewer than ten minutes.

Her father killed the truck’s engine in the garage and made hesitant eye contact with his daughter. “Hannah,” he finally said, “I know how close you were to your mother, but I’m still here. You can talk to me.”

“Uh, huh, yeah. Okay.” She offered him a pitying smile and then jumped out of the car. Her father seemed like he had more to say, but she rushed distractedly into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

She tapped her fingers anxiously as the ancient desktop computer on her dresser struggled to boot up. Finally it hummed to life, and Hannah started the word processor. Not giving anything else a single thought, she rushed to type up the flier she had been picturing in her mind all day.

Some time later, the printer spat out flier after flier for what seemed like ages, and then finally it sputtered to a stop. Hannah ran excitedly to the stack and read over the seven lines of print on the page.

INVESTIGATING the DISAPPEARANCES

of GABBY JENNER and NICOLE CHIPMAN.

CONTACT HANNAH ROBINSON

WITH ANY INFORMATION.

1-045-495-7691

155 Barley Avenue

Bluefish Cove, CA

Once she heard her father shut his bedroom door, Hannah slipped down the stairs and snuck out the back door. The chilly August air bit into her face as she strolled through town, taping up each flier to telephone poles on the side of the road. She had never felt more safe anywhere than she did around her hometown, but her heart still pounded in her ears as she walked.

Finally, with the last flier posted, Hannah turned and began a satisfied walk back home. Tomorrow she would begin truly investigating.

The dark shape of a young man drifted from the shadows as Hannah disappeared down the street. He scanned the flier she had just put up, then froze with a mixture of fear and disgust. He tore it down, folded it, and tucked it into his coat pocket. He took an indecisive step backwards, then changed his mind and began to stalk silently after Hannah, keeping just far enough away.

Reviews

[Patrick O'Neil]

Its very well written, looking forward to the next chapter.

[jay]

thank you. (: it's all posted, but it definitely needs to be edited. thanks for reading c:

[Andie]

I really like it. c: It's really well written and the story makes me want to read more. Wesley's my favorite. Heh Your dialogue is believable and your discription skill are awesme. C:

[jay]

Aw thank you my friend. (x This means a lot to me. (: