she wasn’t coming back.
Lanie had been trying to let it sink in since the night before, since her dad had told her what had happened, but her mind simply wouldn’t allow it. She hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. She hadn’t seen Stacy lying in front of her, pale and broken and unmoving. So, her mind didn’t want to believe it. Here, though, surrounded by…what was left…of the people who had once walked the streets of Fells Pointe, by people who had once loved and had been loved, by people who had children and who had worked hard to make the town a nice place to raise them, she could believe it.
This was a place where death was real. This was a place where it wasn’t hard to imagine that a young girl could be taken before her time, that her life had been cut short by cold, unfeeling hands. There was nothing but death in this place, it permeated everything in sight, it thickened the air and hushed the world, so here Lanie could come to grips with the fact that her friend really was gone.
Here, in this place, Lanie could come to grips with the fact that her friend had been brutally murdered.
CHAPTER FOUR
That terrible sense of loss just suddenly rose up and choked Lanie’s throat, making it hard to swallow. Stacy was gone. Soon, there would be nothing left of her but the headstone that marked the place where she’d been laid to rest. It might not seem so real once she left the quiet cemetery, but it seemed real now and for a moment, Lanie thought she was going to break down into tears. Only, she didn’t. Maybe she would finally allow herself that when she saw her friend laid out in a casket in Mr. Haskins’ Funeral Parlor. But, for now, the tears just wouldn’t come.
Lanie leaned her head back against her mom’s gravestone and closed her eyes for a minute, trying to force down the lump in her throat. She intended on sitting there for a while, soaking in the quiet and letting things simmer in her mind, but it wasn’t long before a little feeling of unease began to creep up her spine, forcing her eyes open. That feeling surprised her and she instantly hated it. She resented that feeling because she’d never had it before. Not once while she was sitting there in the cemetery over the past three years had she felt fear creep into her.
But, things were different now.
Knowing it was irrational, yet unable to stave it off, Lanie felt as if eyes were suddenly watching her. She tried to ignore the feeling, tried to shove it away from her, but it became so persistent that she found herself glancing around the deserted cemetery, searching for anyone who might be lurking about. There was no one in sight, of course, but that feeling of a sinister gaze pinned on her, added in with the dead silence in the cemetery, had her promptly getting to her feet, hitching her purse up onto her shoulder, and moving forward toward the gate.
She felt like a rube for fleeing a perfectly safe place just because she had the creeps, but the feeling of being watched was so strong she couldn’t help it. She could actually feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and her stomach tying itself into a knot. She glanced over her shoulder, back toward her mother’s gravesite, a piece of her expecting to see someone standing back there, their furtive eyes glued to her, preparing to come chasing after her. So strong was that feeling that she was actually swept with a sense of relief when she found no one there.
Lanie picked up her pace as she headed back along the gravel path that led to the front gate, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. Having it in her hand and ready to dial seemed to make her feel somewhat better, more secure. At least, she could try to call for help if she needed it. Of course, she wouldn’t need it. Her imagination was working overtime, that was all. And it was to be expected. Everyone’s imagination was probably working
Lanie had been trying to let it sink in since the night before, since her dad had told her what had happened, but her mind simply wouldn’t allow it. She hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. She hadn’t seen Stacy lying in front of her, pale and broken and unmoving. So, her mind didn’t want to believe it. Here, though, surrounded by…what was left…of the people who had once walked the streets of Fells Pointe, by people who had once loved and had been loved, by people who had children and who had worked hard to make the town a nice place to raise them, she could believe it.
This was a place where death was real. This was a place where it wasn’t hard to imagine that a young girl could be taken before her time, that her life had been cut short by cold, unfeeling hands. There was nothing but death in this place, it permeated everything in sight, it thickened the air and hushed the world, so here Lanie could come to grips with the fact that her friend really was gone.
Here, in this place, Lanie could come to grips with the fact that her friend had been brutally murdered.
CHAPTER FOUR
That terrible sense of loss just suddenly rose up and choked Lanie’s throat, making it hard to swallow. Stacy was gone. Soon, there would be nothing left of her but the headstone that marked the place where she’d been laid to rest. It might not seem so real once she left the quiet cemetery, but it seemed real now and for a moment, Lanie thought she was going to break down into tears. Only, she didn’t. Maybe she would finally allow herself that when she saw her friend laid out in a casket in Mr. Haskins’ Funeral Parlor. But, for now, the tears just wouldn’t come.
Lanie leaned her head back against her mom’s gravestone and closed her eyes for a minute, trying to force down the lump in her throat. She intended on sitting there for a while, soaking in the quiet and letting things simmer in her mind, but it wasn’t long before a little feeling of unease began to creep up her spine, forcing her eyes open. That feeling surprised her and she instantly hated it. She resented that feeling because she’d never had it before. Not once while she was sitting there in the cemetery over the past three years had she felt fear creep into her.
But, things were different now.
Knowing it was irrational, yet unable to stave it off, Lanie felt as if eyes were suddenly watching her. She tried to ignore the feeling, tried to shove it away from her, but it became so persistent that she found herself glancing around the deserted cemetery, searching for anyone who might be lurking about. There was no one in sight, of course, but that feeling of a sinister gaze pinned on her, added in with the dead silence in the cemetery, had her promptly getting to her feet, hitching her purse up onto her shoulder, and moving forward toward the gate.
She felt like a rube for fleeing a perfectly safe place just because she had the creeps, but the feeling of being watched was so strong she couldn’t help it. She could actually feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and her stomach tying itself into a knot. She glanced over her shoulder, back toward her mother’s gravesite, a piece of her expecting to see someone standing back there, their furtive eyes glued to her, preparing to come chasing after her. So strong was that feeling that she was actually swept with a sense of relief when she found no one there.
Lanie picked up her pace as she headed back along the gravel path that led to the front gate, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. Having it in her hand and ready to dial seemed to make her feel somewhat better, more secure. At least, she could try to call for help if she needed it. Of course, she wouldn’t need it. Her imagination was working overtime, that was all. And it was to be expected. Everyone’s imagination was probably working
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