In The Shadows (6 page)

 Chapter Ten

It was late Sunday evening when the winds began to pick up. Brandon had just finished his homework and had not bothered turning the television on or listening to the local weather. He was glad he’d eaten and gotten his shower before the lights went out. Luckily Brandon had picked up a few candles and batteries for his radio and flashlight when he first moved in. He knew Tuscaloosa was known for having horrible storms.

Being in a heavily wooded area didn’t make the storms any better. Just from looking outside, Brandon expected heavy rains and possibly thunderstorms, but he was shocked to hear the entire southern part of the state was under a tornado watch.

He went outside to back his truck into the garage and secure the trash can and recycle bin. The winds had picked up considerably, and Brandon knew it would get worse before it got better.

* * *

Tonya ran inside the dorm with her bags before the rain came down too hard. She was still dressed in her jeans and long-sleeve shirt from the search and was glad she had her cap on to keep her hair protected.

When she made it inside, she was relieved to see that her roommate was still out. That would give her some time to herself before she had to answer questions she wasn’t up to answering, especially with Danielle still missing. Tonya thought of Brandon as she finished up in the shower. She wondered if he’d made it home safely. Tuscaloosa was heavily wooded in some areas, but Northport was very rural, and Tonya hoped Brandon was safe.

* * *

Natalie and Janelle talked on the phone until the lightning and thunder forced them off. Tomorrow would be a big day for them, and they knew it would be difficult to face without Danielle. They ended their talk with a prayer and asked God to watch over Danielle and keep her safe. They decided to talk to some of their classmates again face-to-face this time, to see if they could be hiding anything from the girls. They knew Danielle had other friends, but they were her closest friends.

* * *

Waking up to the high winds, Danielle was suddenly more afraid than ever. As she listened to her surroundings, it almost sounded like someone had found her, and she was relieved she was about to be rescued. She stopped breathing as she tried to listen to the noises coming from outside.

It sounded like a pickup truck had pulled up to her location. Hearing a door slam in the distance, she soon heard heavy footsteps walking over a wooden floor. For the first time, she believed she was inside a room somewhere. The footsteps got closer, and then almost as if they were distracted, the footsteps quickly left with the door shutting heavily behind them.

Danielle then cried out in agony as her chance for rescue disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Sobbing, Danielle began to feel sick like she was going to throw up. After forcefully gagging several times, Danielle realized she didn’t have anything in her stomach to throw up. She knew her mom was worried sick, and there was nothing she could do to get a message to her. Danielle found herself praying to God in hopes that he would send someone for her and let her mother know she was still alive and fighting to get back home.

When Danielle finished her prayer, she listened to the howling winds, and the trees sounded like they were snapping in two. As she stared through the darkness, her heart stopped when she heard a loud howling noise coming right for her. The sound was so loud Danielle didn’t know which direction it was coming from, and she had nowhere to go because she had been trapped in the box for days. The noise and winds seemed to last forever as Danielle held on to all she had for dear life. She was terrified, and she knew there was more to come as she scooted back in a corner as far as she could go while she watched and waited.

* * *

Tonya dialed Brandon when she got out of the shower. The rain had seemed to slack up some, and she felt it was safe enough to make a quick check on him to make sure he made it home safely. When he didn’t answer, Tonya grew concerned. She didn’t leave a voice mail but sent a text message instead.

She tried to catch the local weather on the television, but the satellite kept going out due to the high winds. It was almost midnight when Tonya realized a tornado had gone thru Northport, and she was now frightened for Brandon’s safety.

* * *

Brandon had fallen asleep on the couch as he cuddled up beside his battery-operated radio. He would occasionally sleep on the couch rather than going to the back of the house where his bedroom was located. He normally slept on the couch on the weekends and watched television most of the night, but that night he wanted to be near the front door.

Brandon went to sleep thinking about Stella and Danielle. He wondered what could’ve happened to Danielle in such a short time and so close to home. As he lay on the couch, he began to piece together a timeline and retraced her steps after she left home. Brandon said a prayer for both girls before falling asleep on the couch.

It was almost midnight when Brandon awoke to an eerie quiet. Turning over and looking at the door, Brandon checked to make sure it was locked and walked down the hallway to his bedroom feeling well rested. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he heard the heavy rainfall return, and it seemed to be hitting the windows and the sides of the house at an angle. Brandon quickly sat up in the bed while he listened to the wind picking up as it began to howl. Now hearing the loud tumbling of the trees snapping and falling in the distance, Brandon heard a noise he’d never heard before.

The wind was angry and started to roar like a freight train racing uncontrollably down a railroad track. It was so loud it was deafening, and it sounded like it was headed straight for him. Brandon stopped breathing as if he were waiting for the impact. Within minutes, Brandon heard the loudest snap yet, and it sounded like it was directly behind him.

Closing his eyes and bracing himself, he screamed out in fear as he heard a creaking noise, which he later discovered was the tree in his backyard falling over. The huge oak tree crumbled the entire living room and extended from the back to the front of the house. The house shook for what seemed like minutes as Brandon held on to the bed and anything else he could grab. Finally the roaring wind picked up and left the area.

Grabbing his flashlight and slipping on his clothes, Brandon knew the house was severely damaged as he listened to the rain that once rested outside now moving inside. He could hear the rain hitting the floor and the table in the living room and was shocked to see the huge tree now sitting in his living room.

It wasn’t until daylight when Brandon was totally able to assess the damage to his home. The roof had totally caved in, with the tree almost splitting the small two-bedroom home into two separate pieces. The couch where Brandon would spend his weekends was now destroyed, with branches completely puncturing the cushions.

Brandon fell to his knees and thanked God for making him get up that night and retiring to his bedroom. There was no way he would have escaped injury and possibly death had he remained in the living room on his favorite couch.

The department gave him a week off with pay and longer if he needed it to relocate to another place and get his affairs in order. His relatives had another property closer to downtown and had just moved their previous tenants out for failure to pay the rent. It had been vacant maybe for a week, and Brandon liked the location and the size of the house.

This house was a three-bedroom with a two-car garage and had a fenced-in back yard. Although it seemed rather permanent and almost too big for Brandon, he was excited about having the extra room and didn’t mind the increase in rent.

 Chapter Eleven

A week had passed, and there was still no sign of Danielle. The girls were back in school trying to carry on with their daily routines while searching for Danielle every evening. Danielle’s father had made it home from Iraq and was heartbroken his baby girl had not been found and quickly joined in the search.

Preston was still home, and his parents agreed to send him back to school the next week. They wanted Preston to be with his friends and fall back into his routine and not be so consumed with Danielle’s disappearance.

* * *

It had been three days since the storm, and Tonya was worried sick. She had sent a text message and called Brandon several times since their last meeting but could not reach him. Tonya knew there had been at least three tornadoes in the area between Sunday and Monday and was sure Brandon had been affected in some way.

She hadn’t heard anything new on Danielle’s disappearance, and the girls were growing weary. Tonya had discovered a few odd things in the disappearance of the teenager earlier that summer and wanted to bounce it off Brandon. Tonya knew the girls were too close to the case to think clearly, and she needed an unbiased opinion.

* * *

The Bensons had gotten accustomed to the town of Northport. Things had been going well for them there, and business was beginning to pick up. Dr. Benson decided to continue his practice another year before committing any more of his time on outside interests. He had hoped to one day have a daughter who would be able to help them run the practice, but they had both long given up that dream.

The Bensons were thankful for Joey, although he had been diagnosed with a learning disability and had been homeschooled since his diagnosis. Joey had friends at the center for special-needs children where he spent a few hours three days a week. The center taught the students a trade and even helped them get part-time work.

Since Joey’s part-time job wasn’t far from where he lived, his father would allow him to use his truck to get to and from work when the weather was bad. If it was nice outside, Joey would ride his bicycle to work. The Bensons still didn’t totally trust Joey to use the stove when they were away from home, so they prepared meals for him or allowed him to use the microwave. When Mrs. Benson had to work late, she would order takeout for Joey and have it delivered to the house since Joey was not allowed to use the truck without his parents’ permission.

Joey knew he wasn’t quite like other young men his age, but at nineteen, Joey felt he was able to take care of himself and didn’t need his mom making such a fuss over him. When Mrs. Benson had to work out of town, she would hire a sitter to check in on Joey and prepare meals for him. She had a medical conference to attend in Mobile and would be leaving that night.

* * *

It was Wednesday evening when Tonya received a phone call from Brandon. His house had been destroyed by the tornado, and he’d lost his phone in the storm. Brandon had recently found it with an expired battery and was thankful it wasn’t broken. He’d been so busy trying to get settled into his new place he’d neglected to call Tonya.

Brandon felt better being a little closer to town, near the shopping centers and the community center. Brandon would enjoy the rest of the week off and would return to work on Monday. After sharing his ordeal with Tonya, she was relieved he was unharmed and had survived the storm. Brandon was thankful too; he knew he could’ve easily fallen asleep on that couch and been there when that tree came through his roof. Tonya and Brandon agreed to meet soon for dinner. This time Brandon gave Tonya his new home number and asked her to use it any time.

Brandon was also thankful his cousin Carlos, who had moved away before he arrived, was able to come and assist him with the move. Carlos was biracial and had always been a popular guy. Life had been easy for him, and he loved living in the Tuscaloosa area. Brandon was surprised to hear he had moved away. Carlos and his family had moved to Birmingham over the summer, and he’d not been there to see Brandon. When he heard about the tornado, he volunteered to return to help Brandon move.

Brandon and Carlos relaxed the rest of the evening, celebrating the completion of the move. They watched music videos while drinking a few beers and playing dominoes. Brandon tried to convince Carlos to move back home, although Carlos could never bring himself to tell Brandon the real reason he left. He simply stated he could never come back; there were too many bad memories, Brandon remembered him saying before he left that night.

As they watched videos, the top ten videos were coming on next. When Neyo’s song “Closer” came on, Carlos really seemed disturbed by something. Carlos left abruptly before the video was over and in the middle of their game. Brandon was somewhat thrown off by his odd behavior and knew that whatever caused Carlos to leave Northport still ate away at him.

* * *

At the hospital, Janelle’s mom heard the announcement on the PA system. A teenage girl had been found down by the creek, not far from the high school. She had been beaten to death and raped and could not yet be identified due to the seriousness of her injuries.

Pam knew the girls would be totally freaked out when they heard the news. She hoped the media wouldn’t get hold of the story before they could positively identify the girl. Pam looked at her watch and discovered it was 2:00 a.m. There was no need to call her husband now. She would let it keep until later that morning.

* * *

It was Thursday morning when Brandon was awakened by the news report that a body had been found not far from a creek near the outer limits of Northport. According to the news report, the unclothed girl had been found at the bottom of a hill within feet of a creek. She had her hands bound in front of her body. Her ankles were bleeding, possibly from being bound as well. A young man who’d been out hunting discovered her lifeless body late Wednesday evening and alerted authorities.

Brandon immediately thought of Tonya’s missing friend that he volunteered to search for last weekend. He hoped to God it wasn’t her as he flipped through the television channels trying to get more information. He was not at all surprised when Tonya called him at home, alarmed by the report. She was just about to leave for class when she heard the news. Something told her that it couldn’t possibly be Danielle, but Tonya needed to see for herself.

* * *

Natalie and Janelle were already on their way to school when Tonya reached her aunt Mona on her cell phone. Mona had no idea a body had been found as she listened intently to Tonya. Mona felt it was safer to listen to her CDs rather than be disappointed by the depressing news as of lately. She was just as worried about Danielle and prayed the body was not her.

Janelle had been staying with them since Sunday, so the girls could lean on each other and support one another during this frightful time. The girls stopped talking when they heard Aunt Mona’s one-word answers as she spoke on the phone. She then made a U-turn and headed to Danielle’s house. Mona now had the girl’s undivided attention.

“Mom, what’s going on? Where are we going?” Natalie asked from the backseat.

After they made eye contact through the rearview mirror, her mom returned her attention to the road.

“Mom, what happened?” she asked bluntly, now in tears.

This second plea got Janelle’s attention, alerting her that something was wrong. Mona hoped she was overreacting, but she couldn’t keep this from the girls. Now pulling over to the side of the road, Mona turned in her seat to face the two girls whose faces were now covered with tears.

Mona began speaking slowly. “We don’t know for sure yet, but something happened this morning,” she said, pausing and trying to collect herself. “A girl’s body was found near Northport. We need to get to Danielle’s and find out what’s going on.”

Mona called the school and told the secretary she would not be in that day and apologized for the short notice.