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  THE FOUR BEFORE ME

  E. H. Night

  The Four Before Me

  Copyright © 2019 by E. H. Night

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2019

  To those who cheered me on, even though I had specifically said to be quiet so I could write.

  Prologue

  Susan placed her warm earmuffs snugly around her head and walked along the railroad tracks. Though it was almost spring, the evening air was still chilly. She hugged herself as she picked up speed. Her footsteps soon tapped in tandem with the rhythmic chugging of an approaching train. The vibrations worked themselves up her already-rickety ankles like vines, begging her to wake from her daze, but she paid no attention to them. The tracks started to shake even harder beneath her feet, causing her to finally stumble. She collected herself and continued on as if there had been no interruption at all. The chugging turned into whistling, and she whistled a little tune in return. She kept her eyes focused on the sun setting before her as the train hissed in the rear like a territorial cat, warning her to move out of its way.

  Susan closed her eyes and stopped walking. A buttery smile spread across her elderly lips, and the evidence of many decades-worth of laughter appeared on her face in the form of deep lines and wrinkles. With freckles indiscernible from age spots, she wore her years like fine jewelry. They were something to be envied.

  The train hissed even louder, offering one final warning, but Susan ignored its suggestion. In one screeching halt, it transformed her flesh and bones into a beautiful ruby — one without a price-tag, one that couldn’t be returned.

  Chapter 1

  “Just Like Starting Over”

  April 4th, 1988

  Alice arrived in Wintersburg to see the movers unloading her furniture from a rusted van. Her grandmother’s sudden passing was still on her heart, but she made a great effort to keep a smile on her face. This was a time to be strong. She carried a few bags into the house from her car, and placed them on the kitchen counter. Her hands trembled as the scent of her grandmother’s heavy perfume seeped out and filled the air, forcing her to push back a few loose tears. The small amount of optimism that she conjured allowed her to pause for a moment and gain a new appreciation for the rental home. She decided that she had made the right choice by leaving Parkington. After all, there hadn’t really been many better options. She’d been paying month-to-month for a while, and had no real reason to stay in the city. Without any family left, she was bound to nothing.

  Once her bags had been emptied onto the counter top, she decided to take a quick look around to see what items she needed the most. While driving through Wintersburg, she had taken notice of a little local grocery store that was only a few blocks away from the house. She figured that it would be nice to go for a walk to absorb some of the sounds and scents of the small town. Even though she hadn’t been sleeping or eating well for a few days, she knew that a trip to the store was still necessary. There wasn’t a single edible item among her belongings, and places like Wintersburg didn’t have late-night restaurants available if she happened to get hungry later.

  Alice grabbed her pair of moving shoes again and placed them clumsily upon her feet, not even bothering to untie the laces before shoving each foot inside. Despite the sunny sky, the air was deceptively harsh and cold, so she bundled herself up in an over-sized sweater, and grabbed her favorite jean jacket for good measure. She sighed heavily as she looked around the kitchen one final time.

  “Did they even consider cleaning this place before renting it out?” she thought while shaking her head in disbelief.“For heaven’s sake, there’s still a few dried up slices of pizza in the fridge.” Alice turned to the wobbly bar-stool across from the counter and reached for her purse.“Well, at least it’s cheap,” she said aloud.

  She slung the purse across her shoulder and jingled her keys like a broken wind chime as she made her way to the front door. Taking more care than what was needed, she locked it behind herself, and jiggled the handle back and forth a few times before she finally headed toward the sidewalk. City life had left its mark upon her. From her haircut to her mannerisms, it was obvious that she wasn’t a local. There was a visible amount of fear in her movements, and a difference in how she presented herself. Her nails were polished a bright pink color, her jean jacket was intentionally faded, and her blue jeans hugged her figure as if they’d been professionally tailored specifically for her shape. These clothes definitely were not bought from the secondhand store across town.

  The patchy brown grass was oddly more inviting than the florescent green turf that she had been used to seeing in Parkington. The air was cleaner here, the skies were bluer, the people were… fewer. She could only trust that everyone was just as friendly as her grandmother had often told her when she would sit and reminisce about her younger years. Hopefully, things hadn’t changed much since then. Alice recalled the many tales that she’d heard about the younger folks. She thought it was so exciting to hear about the girls secretly putting on lipstick, everyone swimming at night in the lake, and all of the other types of innocent trouble that people seemed to find themselves in. There was excitement in the simplicity of it all.

  As she moved along the sidewalk, she resembled a runway model, sauntering with perfectly-spaced steps, one shifting directly in front of the other. Even though Alice seemed to exude a great deal of confidence, she was surprisingly more insecure than most women her age. She had simply been a fan of the latest trends, and her occupation required it. Thanks to a few phone calls, she’d been able to confirm that there was a little salon in town, and she was planning on speaking with the owner the following morning. With the growing demand of perms and fluffy bangs, even in tiny communities, she was confident that she’d be able to find work locally. Even though she was going to miss her old boss and her regular clientele, life was guiding her down a new path, and she hadn’t once considered resisting its call. She was young, she was attractive, and she was all alone in the world. A combination like that could either create a wonderful opportunity or a complete and utter disaster — or perhaps even both. Only time would tell which path she’d end up taking.

  ◆

  Alice stood in front of the local grocery store, Medley’s. Among the assortment of sun-faded vending machines, she noticed a bulletin board hanging in the shade underneath the awning. There were various hand-written listings for an assortment of things — from expired yard sales to free kittens, various lawn-mowing services, and so on. Most importantly, there was a pristine flyer in the top center of the board with the faces and names of four women photocopied onto it. Clearly, someone had cared about this flyer enough to staple new ones on top of the old ones each time they had gotten wrinkled or had been torn from the unpredictable weather. Alice let her thumb run along the ruined pages as if she were casually shuffling through a deck of cards. Her thumb stopped on the top flyer and she read each word with a growing curiosity.

  Missing

  Four women have been reported missing from Wintersburg since 1985.

  At this time, it is unknown if the cases are related, or if any foul play was involved.

  If you have information leading to the location or happenings of any of these women, please contact Detective Darrow at the local police station. You are allowed to remain anonymous if you wish.

  Alice read the names and examined the faces of each woman.

  Jessica Roberts, aged 31 at the time of her disappearance. Was last seen leaving Medley’s on Septe
mber 27th, 1985. She is believed to have been wearing a red jacket with large buttons, blue jeans, and red canvas shoes. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Tattoo of a rose on her ankle.

  Ashley Culver, aged 24 at the time of her disappearance. Was last seen walking through the Wintersburg Cemetery on June 14th, 1986. She is believed to have been wearing a gray t-shirt, hot pink running shorts, and white athletic shoes. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. No known tattoos or distinguishing markings.

  Tammy Thomas, aged 27 at the time of her disappearance. Was last seen at Kirt’s Pub on October 17th, 1987. She is believed to have been wearing a purple sweater, light blue jeans, and silver flat shoes. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. No known tattoos or distinguishing markings.

  Sarah Noe, aged 21 at the time of her disappearance. Was last seen in front of her home on Fifth Street, on February 16th, 1988. She is believed to have been wearing a jean jacket, dark blue jeans, and brown ankle boots. Brown hair. Brown eyes. No known tattoos.

  Alice shuddered from a sudden cold chill that tickled her across the back of the neck. She wondered what could have happened to all of the women in such a short amount of time. Surely it couldn’t have been just a coincidence. She adjusted her slipping purse strap and headed inside of the store. A new sense of worry and dread filled her veins, and anxiety bloomed within her like an unwanted dandelion. She forced herself to push through the tension, and tried to recall the mental list of things that she had intended on purchasing.

  “Cleaning spray — probably a few bottles of that, paper towels, light bulbs, and something simple for dinner,” she thought. “I’ll be in and out of here quickly. I can always come back later with the car if I really need to.”

  Alice grabbed the items as quickly as she could, almost knocking over a display of canned goods, and briskly walked to the cash register. The male cashier greeted her with an unenthusiastic “hello” and was met with Alice’s singsongy voice in return.

  “Hi, how’s your day going… um…” she squinted to see his name tag. “… Jim!” she exclaimed.

  Taken aback by her enthusiasm, Jim looked up from the items and met her eyes. “It’s okay, I guess. I’ve had better and I’ve had worse.” he replied. “So, I don’t think I recognize you. Are you new in town or something, or are you just passing through?”

  “Oh, I just moved here. I guess you probably don’t get too many new faces in a place like this, do you?” she asked.

  Jim scanned through her items slowly, trying to savor the conversation. His shift had been fairly uneventful and boring up until this point. “Not really, I guess. People pass through here and there, but they don’t really buy these types of things. They mostly just pick up beef jerky or sodas. You know, road snacks.” He fumbled with the box of light bulbs, unsure of where the price was. “So, why’d you come to Wintersburg anyway? You look more like a city chick to me.”

  Alice laughed. “Is it that obvious? I guess I could tone things down a bit to try to blend in a little better.” She chuckled and reached into a bucket of small wrapped candies and placed a handful of them onto the counter. “So what’s going on with that poster out front? Are those women all really from this area?”

  “Poster? Oh! The one with the missing girls?” He asked, already knowing the answer by Alice’s immediate nodding. “Yeah, that’s kind of the town mystery, I guess. People are saying all sorts of things. Mostly, everyone is talking about the possibility of a serial killer on the loose. I think they’re all just bored and turning something small into something bigger to have stuff to gossip about. If you ask me, those four girls just went somewhere else.”

  “Why would they just leave though?” Alice asked. “I’m sure they have family or people they’d miss, right?”

  Jim’s palms raised and motioned toward the entire building, and he shrugged. “Well, I love this town, but look around. There aren’t really too many opportunities out here. Younger people leave all the time, but the only difference is they usually tell someone about it first. I’m guessing that each of those girls just didn’t want to deal with an interrogation from people, and decided to hitch rides with someone who was passing through. From my understanding, they weren’t the most, uh, family-oriented women. I heard that it took almost two weeks for one of them to even be reported missing, because she was known to stay out all the time.” He gulped and wet his pale chapped lips before continuing. “I wouldn’t think about it too much, but it’s best to be safe. Just be kind of cautious, you know, especially since it could always be something bigger. After all, the girls did look a lot like each other. Killers tend to have types, at least that’s what I’ve seen on TV.” He paused suddenly, and his eyes quickly widened.

  “What? What is it?” Alice prodded. “Why do you look freaked out all of a sudden?”

  “It’s nothing. Well, I don’t want to worry you too much, but you do kind of resemble them...”

  “You’re just trying to scare me now!” Alice retorted, giggling. “Whatever. What’s the total, Jim?” She opened her wallet and sorted through a few bills.

  Jim feigned a weak smile and shrugged. “Just hand me that five and get out of here,” he teased, forcing himself to look as if he had been joking.

  “Thanks again. I’ll probably be coming back a lot over the next few weeks. I’m just buying things as I need them for now.” Alice flashed a quick smile, grabbed the paper bag, and turned toward the exit.

  “Take care, um, what was your name, Miss?”

  “It’s Alice. I’ll see ya soon, I’m sure!” she called back as she left the store. She turned the corner and stopped by the bulletin board once more before starting her journey home. She looked at the faces a little longer than she had earlier and thought about what Jim had said.

  “Do I really look like them?” she wondered. “He’s probably just bored and trying to mess with me for fun or something.”

  She started walking again, and rounded the crumbling narrow path that led back to the sidewalk. After she’d journeyed for an entire block, she felt something stuck to the bottom of her shoe. She paused and lifted her foot to examine it. “Gross!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper.

  She dragged her foot along the edge of the sidewalk, trying to scrape the old piece of gum away. Shortly after succeeding, she looked up and noticed a man in the distance. He was walking along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, but seemed to be heading in the same direction that she was going. She still felt a little jumpy and nervous from the conversation with Jim and from seeing the flyer, so she was immediately suspicious of the man. She tried to compose herself quickly and began walking again, making an effort to keep a decent amount of space between herself and the stranger. After a short while, she began to hear his footsteps trailing closely behind her.

  “What? When did he cross the street?” she wondered as she increased her speed even more.

  The man’s footsteps grew louder and louder, as did the beating of Alice’s heart, until the sounds were indiscernible from each other.

  Alice ran for the rest of the two blocks until she made it to her front porch. Still panting, she dropped the paper bag in front of the door and fumbled with her keys. With extremely shaky hands, she finally got the key into the hole, and turned it. She grabbed the grocery bag, slammed the door behind her, and threw her things onto the floor. She peered out of the living room window and saw the man shuffle past her house, but he didn’t even paused to take notice of it or of her. Relief washed over her skin like a cool shower on a hot day, and she sank her tired body deep into the couch.

  “Good grief, I’m so jumpy today,” she mumbled. “I really need to start getting more sleep.” She ran her hands through her hair and leaned all the way back into the cushions. They felt comforting and cool against her skin, as if they were holding onto her gently. She exhaled slowly, and her pulse calmed down to a normal speed. The relief didn’t last long though.

  Knock Knock Knock

  Alice jumped. Her heart felt as if it hit her throat and like it
plummeted into her stomach all at the same time. She crept back over to the window and peaked through the blinds once more.“Oh. It’s a woman,” she thought, relieved that it wasn’t the man she’d seen a moment ago. She walked over to the door and cracked it just enough to fully show her face to the stranger.

  “Hi, neighbor! I just wanted to introduce myself,” the woman began. She appeared to be around the same age as Alice, give or take just a couple of years at most. Her long hair was fiery, and she had a spray of oak-colored freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her eyes were large, green, and full of life. She resembled a tamed, combed, and plainly-dressed Cyndi Lauper. Her gentle smile was warm though, and Alice immediately noticed her friendly presence. She felt comfortable enough to open the door the rest of the way.

  “I’m Tiffany, your neighbor,” the girl continued, while pointing to the painted yellow house next door. “I was wondering if you needed any help moving in or anything.” She flashed an even larger smile, and then concern filled her eyes. “Um, are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost or something.”