Page 94 of The Graveyard Girls

Laughter erupted from the campfire the little idiots had set, and the teens were laughing and teasing Kat about being a graveyard girl like her mama.

He waited patiently to see what the group would do next. Kat challenged them to look for that missing girl Ruth Higgins.

There was no way they would find her though.

So far though the others had ignored Kat’s challenge. All talk, that’s what they were.

The weed was making Carrie Ann loose and in a party mood. Her defenses were down.

Perfect. She’d be too messed up to fight him. Ticked him off though because he did like a girl with spunk. She had it or she wouldn’t be out here in the dark with all the ghosts surrounding her.

He couldn’t take Carrie Ann though until her friends either passed out or left her alone. Or she decided to leave on her own. Knowing he had time, he followed the path to the spot he’d chosen for her eternal resting place. Far enough from the camp site that if the police checked out the area, they wouldn’t find her grave. Deep in the ravine, he’d bury her so she wouldn’t be found as quickly as Jacey Ward had.

It’s dangerous to take a local girl, he reminded himself. But he drowned out that voice. He couldn’t resist this one. Those red boots were calling his name.

He was surprised the police hadn’t mentioned the red shoes in their press conference. But he’d watched enough crime shows to know that sometimes they omitted details from the public in order to catch a suspect off guard during an interrogation.

Hell, he enjoyed shoving his skill down everyone in this town’s throat by wandering the streets while going noticed. A bonus was watching the law run in circles trying to figure out his identity.

For years now he’d had to hunt in other towns, but the memorial had brought a new wave of curious morbid seekers to feast on the unsightly graves, small-town gossip and suspicions.

He laid his shovel next to the grave he’d already dug, then returned to the trees where he’d been standing to watch the teens and settled in to watch.

He’d heard Carrie Ann say she had to be home by midnight. The others groaned and moaned about how strict her parents were.

Not strict enough because she was here. After she’d arrived, he’d snuck over to her car and punctured her tire to create a slow leak as she drove home. He’d follow her until the tire went flat, then he’d roll up and offer his gentlemanly assistance.

Then she’d be his.

ONE HUNDRED

Kat was pissed at Carrie Ann. They’d been besties since kindergarten and Carrie Ann had never minded that Kat lived in a trailer and that gossip swarmed around her and her family like gnats on a muggy night. In fact, sometimes she’d thought Carrie Ann was intrigued by the mystery and kept hoping Kat would admit that her grandfather was alive and that her mama had been covering for him all this time.

Knowing she and the whole group were high now, she fisted her hands on her hips and shot them another challenging look. “So y’all going to just get stupid all night or are you gonna help look for bodies out here?”

“You’re crazy,” Bebe said.

Woody picked up a stick and drew a big X in the dirt. “Is your grandaddy hiding out here?”

Raphael raised his dark brows. “Yeah, are you setting us up?”

Kat laughed. “Are you chicken?”

Carrie Ann glared at her as if to ask why she was being so weird.

Raphael lurched up, his teeth gritted. “I’m not chicken.”

Woody squared his shoulders and clutched the stick as he stood. “Me neither.”

Bebe rubbed her arms with her hands as if she was freezing or nervous. “He’s not out here is he, Kat?”

Kat wiggled her brows. “Of course not. He’d be a moron to make a move with the cops crawling all over Brambletown.”

Bebe gave a tiny nod then pushed to her feet and grabbed the biggest stick she could find.

Kat cut her gaze toward her best friend. “Carrie Ann, you gonna stay here by yourself?”

Carrie Ann bit down on her lower lip. “You really think there’re more bodies out here?”