The Dead Game (2 page)

Oasis, Florida

Five Years Later

Chapter 1

L
inda Bennett was walking home from her bookstore in the picturesque town of Oasis, daydreaming about the beautiful fall weather in northern Florida. The leaves were turning those intriguing shades of orange and red. The trees were beginning to shed their multihued leaves that blew around in the warm breeze. She loved the coastline of Florida, where each season brought with it a wide range of colors and foliage in the midst of mildly changing temperatures.

Strolling down Main Street, she passed the quaint shops and the grassy town park. Spread out before her was the tree-lined walkway that ran parallel to the pristine white-sand beach. Behind her, Main Street continued inland to include a gas station/auto body shop, a large town hall, a sheriff’s office, a grocery store, and a white-brick church. Farther inland and accessible only through narrow and winding side roads, were the charming bed and breakfast and the run-down, deserted mansion.

Adjacent to the park stood the Oasis Hotel, which fronted the beach with its large pool, cabana, and poolside bar. Nestled farther south along the beach was the colorful fishing village with its pretty marina for docking its small fleet of fishing boats.

Scattered in the small hills behind the hotel were the homes of the town’s seasonal residents. The tree-lined country lanes showcased these large houses with their sloping lawns, all prettily wrapped up in white picket fences.

The small hill behind town, or what Floridians consider to be a mountain, held the extravagant homes of the town’s original residents. These palatial homes were concealed behind tall trees, thick bushes, and metal gates. The older residents were very wealthy and kept to themselves.

At night these homes woke up—as if from a long sleep during the day—to loud music, laughter, and colorful lights. Fancy cars and limousines dropped off guests along the long, hidden driveways. Linda had never been invited to the private parties, which she knew were being held behind the huge policed gates.

As she neared her complex of apartments, she detected a cacophony of loud voices. It was the sound of her friends who lived in her building. It wasn’t one building, but two lines of apartments with curving stairways descending from second floor balconies—right into the sand.

Linda removed her shoes to walk barefoot in the soft sand. She lifted her face to the late afternoon sun, whose bright sunshine made the sand sparkle and shine, and the ocean reveal its varied shades of blue and green. She sat in the sand to watch her friends play volleyball on the beach.

Shana Logan was running to hit the ball over the net, her long red hair flying in the wind. She was strong and athletic-looking. Her long-lashed, pretty bright green eyes were intensely focused on the game. Linda felt small in comparison…with her own petite frame and less flamboyant brown hair.

Linda shook her head at Shana’s need to be in control at all times. Shana took everything too seriously, especially sports.

Shana hit the ball to Todd Morrison, who returned the ball over the net—right into Louise Cannon’s stomach. Louise squealed in pain while Todd rewarded her with one of his devilish grins.

Linda dreamily admired Todd’s ruggedly handsome face…with his thick black wavy hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. He ran smoothly like an athlete, despite being tall and muscular. His muscles beneath his white t-shirt rippled suggestively as he dove to hit a ball. His muscular thighs beneath his denim cut-off shorts tightened and flexed as his legs pounded the hot sand. To her he looked perfect in every way.

Not being talkative, she often found Todd observing everyone from a discreet distance, causing her to wonder what was behind those dark, enigmatic eyes. Those two black pools to his soul allowed her only very brief glimpses to his true feelings. What she really wanted was a deeper access to his thoughts, to fully understand how his mind really worked—and to find out if he liked her.

On the other hand, Louise didn’t appear to be too happy with Todd right now. She clutched her stomach as if she were in extreme agony from the ball hitting her. Her stomach was completely flat and she looked stunning in her tiny blue bikini. Louise looked great in everything she wore, mused Linda jealously, with her doll-like features and perfectly toned body. Her hair was long, straight, and blonde and her eyes were light cornflower blue. She looked like a small doll, Linda decided—but one with an angry and mischievous expression on its face.

Todd rushed over to soothe her, causing the game to break up. Mike and David walked over to greet Linda, while Shana stood back from the others with an annoyed expression on her face.

David probed Linda. “Did you receive that strange invitation in the mail today?”

While keeping a careful eye focused on the ongoing interaction between Todd and Louise, she replied, “I didn’t get a chance to go through the mail yet....What is it an invitation to?”

“It’s for a private party at one of those huge mansions.” His voice rose in excitement.

Mike hastily corrected him. “It’s not at one of those houses but at End House, which just sits all alone, empty and deserted.” A strange faraway look crossed his face as he continued, “It just hangs at the edge of the steep cliff overlooking the sharp rocks and the raging waters of the ocean….”

Mike was acting strange and also being rude to David once again. Since moving to town, they’d been close friends and roommates. However, they’d always bickered about everything and anything, maybe because they were opposites in every way: Mike was short and skinny, while David was tall and muscular; Mike was outgoing and aggressive, while David was more serious and quiet.

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by Shana’s sudden announcement. Waving her arms around—like a bird about to take flight—she proclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear, “Let’s have a barbeque on the beach for dinner. We could sit around, watch the sunset…then decide whether we should attend the party or not. Maybe the new owner of End House is as wealthy as the other residents on the hill. I’m absolutely dying to see how the other half lives.”

Linda wondered why Shana was acting so chipper all of a sudden. One minute she was acting annoyed, and the next minute she was planning a barbeque. Shana had to be secretly planning something, but no one else seemed to notice the mischievous expression on her oh-so-innocent face.

With plans to meet later, they dispersed to their own apartments. Living in the northernmost unit—directly below End House—Shana reached her apartment first. She ran in and closed the door. Linda stopped herself from following her friend; she’d find out later what was going on with her.

Louise’s apartment was next; she also scooted inside without looking back or saying goodbye. Louise has always had a taciturn personality, which had not made her too popular in town.

Mike and David waved goodbye and entered their two-bedroom suite. At least they looked happy. The following apartment appeared dark, which meant that Gregg Harris was still waiting on tables at the Oasis Hotel’s restaurant.

Linda stopped to dart a quick glance over her shoulder, only to find Todd staring straight at her. This took her by complete surprise. Her heart picked up a quicker and happier tempo. 
Traitor
, she admonished her heart. Todd had never before shown her any hint of interest. So why should things change now?

Meeting her searching look head-on with one of his own, he quickly nodded goodbye. Watching his slow retreat through the sand, she warned herself to be more careful with her heart in the future.

Todd’s suite was located in the second set of apartments. His neighbor, Ryan, managed the Oasis Hotel. Judy, the receptionist at the hotel and Gregg’s girlfriend, lived in the following apartment. The last unit belonged to Edward and Tom, who owned the town’s hardware store. They were the youngest members of their group, having only recently graduated from college. Mike, David, and Louise were twenty-four—just like her and Shana.

Gregg, Ryan, Judy, and Todd had grown up together in town. They were in their late twenties but somehow, Todd looked older and wiser. His eyes reflected a deeper wisdom with a pinch of disillusionment and sadness thrown in. What had those eyes witnessed? To Linda he was a puzzle that she desperately wanted to unravel.

According to many rumors circulating through town, Todd owned not only his own office building in town, but all of the new stores along Main Street—which were presently being rented by Linda and her friends—and the entire apartment complex by the beach. Linda had never asked Todd whether the rumors were true or not; he had never volunteered information about his personal life and she was too hesitant to ask him.

At her apartment, Linda checked the mailbox for the invitation. A huge black envelope with the End House return address caught her attention. While thinking that black was too morbid a color for a party, she unlocked the door and threw the mail—along with the curious invitation—onto the hall table. Glancing up into the mirror hanging above the table, she unhappily noticed her very tired reflection.

It was only Friday and she’d worked a long week already. She had been planning to work the whole weekend—even on Sunday—to catch up on her mounds of paperwork. She also had to finish stocking her shelves with the piles of books that were stacked up high in her office still in their original cartons.

At least, she mused to herself, she had friends to come home to. When she’d lived in New York with her family, she had attended college and worked part time at a bookstore—not leaving her much free time to develop long-lasting friendships.

She remembered the day, right after graduating from college, when she’d been searching through the newspapers for a job. She’d run across an ad for a bookstore to rent in Oasis that appeared large enough to also accommodate a coffee shop. At the time she recalled thinking that the name Oasis sounded perfect for a place to start over. She was only twenty-two at the time, but she’d wanted to find a new, more exciting direction for her life.

That week she’d visited Oasis for the first time. As soon as she’d entered the bookstore, she’d known that this was her oasis. The prior tenants had already moved out but had left behind rows and rows of bookcases. She’d stood by the entrance, contemplating the empty store, visualizing: a long coffee counter by the entrance; tables, chairs, and comfortable couches in front of the wide, corner windows; and long lines of bookshelves filled with books covering a broad range of topics, extending all the way to the back of the store.

The realtor, Oasis Rentals, was located on Main Street across from the book store. The woman who owned the rental agency had introduced herself as Shirley, while proclaiming that she knew everyone in town. Now, Linda realized, Shirley would be a good source to question about the strange invitation to End House.

Shirley, who had short blonde hair and light-green eyes, had acted grandmotherly to her. She appeared ageless, without any grey hair or wrinkles to accurately reflect the passage of time on her world-weary countenance. Only her voice had sounded old as she’d informed Linda about her listings for rental apartments. She’d recommended the newly built complex of apartments along the beach. With an intense look, she’d explained that the older and more established residents owned the large homes on the mountain behind town, while the younger full-time residents rented the units by the beach. That had been the first time that Linda had ever heard about the strict dividing line between residents. She later learned that this dividing line must never, ever be crossed.

Being a prospective full-time resident—according to Shirley’s speech—meant that she’d be expected to move into one of the units by the beach. One week later, that was exactly what she had done.

Boasting wide corner windows, her new store let in the radiant sunshine that had made Oasis famous. She’d arranged her new couches, tables, and chairs between the two wide sets of windows. Then she’d stood back to look over her pretty handiwork, becoming mesmerized by the sun’s rays as it ran its long fingers across her couches’ bright cushions. That day she’d been extremely content and happy that she’d moved to this quaint little town.

A short month later, with all her new friends watching, she’d put up the sign that read Oasis by the Sea, proudly opening her doors to business. The bookstore had soon become a popular hangout for the town’s residents and its abundant tourists, where they could purchase homemade food, coffee, desserts, and of course, books. Many tourists returned year after year to visit the peaceful, isolated little town.

What the tourists didn’t know or even suspect was that Oasis had a long, dark history of unsolved murders and unexplained disappearances—which had been concealed from the public over the years. End House had been the scene for many of these horrific events. Only recently had Linda been made aware of this fact by a close personal friend, who also happened to be a reporter researching the house. Too terrified to pursue this matter any further, he was afraid not only of the house, but also of the town and its reclusive inhabitants, not knowing if the sheriff or the long-time residents were behind these events. Repeatedly he’d warned her not to ask too many questions: to either leave it alone or leave town altogether.

As she thought about Oasis and its creepy residents, her mind automatically wandered back to Todd. He was the only one who had the enviable position of belonging to both social groups. He was able to enjoy the company of her close friends, while at the same time he was able to conduct business with the elite of the community and attend their very private parties. He was the only person in town who was able to cross the fine line between the disparate social groups.

Todd had to be the key that could help unlock all the hidden mysteries in town. She also feared that he played a very important role in the town’s questionable politics and history, along with the sheriff and the original residents.

Not only was Todd powerful in town, he was also very wealthy. His office building was by far the largest one on Main Street. The green-tinted glass structure spanned a whole block adjacent to the beach’s walkway. His investment company occupied all four floors, containing the offices for his many employees. Linda firmly believed that Todd’s company was much too big for such a small town, and its ultra modern glass structure did not blend well with the countrified look of the other stores along Main Street.