Journey to Murder (An Alex Warren Novel) Read online

  Journey to Murder

  (An Alex Warren Novel)

  By DJ Owen

  Copyright 2014 DJ Owen

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoy this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this and other authors.

  The following is a work of fiction and does not represent any factual person or event. Similarities to any person, living or dead, is completely unintentional. The sole purpose of this novel is to entertain the reader in hopes that he or she can escape into a different life, at least for a brief time.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  BONUS CHAPTER – Journey to Redemption

  CHAPTER ONE

  Alex awoke as she usually did, quietly, utilizing all her senses before opening her eyes. It was quickly apparent she was not in her warm and comfortable bed. She was lying on her right side; the exposed skin on her arm indicated her body was on something cold, vaguely damp and unyielding. The stench of rotting leaves, decayed wood and the acrid smell of a long-extinguished campfire filled the air.

  In the distance she heard sporadic traffic. There was also the ker-plop of what might have been a frog landing in water. The water sounded much closer than the street with its traffic sounds. The next sound was right in front of her. There was the barely audible eek-eek of a rodent scavenging three or four feet away. Alex fought the instinct to roll away from the rodent, but couldn’t resist opening her eyes to see just how close it was. She didn't see it amid the underbrush as movement higher up caught her attention. A snowy owl silently descended with claws outstretched. It pierced the mouse’s body, killing it instantly. Alex felt the air stir as the owl brought down its mighty white wings, taking the lifeless treat back into the trees for a late night (or maybe early morning) snack.

  Still she did not move. The events of the night before began to flood her mind. She remembered a man in a bar called ... what was the name? Oh, yes! The Last Call. They had driven to a lake just outside of town. Her thoughts were clear now: She met the man at the bar. He introduced himself as Brad. After her drink arrived, she told him she needed to visit the restroom. She walked purposefully into the Ladies' Room, then immediately left. She stopped where she could watch him. As she expected, he poured something into her drink and swirled the straw twice around the glass. No one else seemed to notice as the patrons flirted and tried to impress each other. She waited another few moments before walking back to her seat. Using her most beguiling voice, she asked if he had missed her while she was gone. They chatted as a few more lonely-hearts melodies played on the jukebox. She pretended to sip her drink, and then lowered her eyelids and let her head fall forward. She pushed her hair back from her face as she slurred her words telling him she wasn’t feeling well.

  Brad moved to her side of the table and suggested they go for a ride. "Perhaps the night air will clear your head," he murmured in a caring voice. She agreed and he helped her out of the booth. Alex was dead weight as he stood her up. He wrapped his arm around her small waist and ducked his head under her arm, holding it around his neck. Anyone who saw them would think she was drunk and he was simply helping her home.

  They made their way to the parking lot and he led her over to a plain white work van. He opened the door and lifted her up into the passenger seat, pulling the seat belt across her and fastening it with a firm click. He closed her door with a solid thud. A moment later, he climbed into the driver side, started the van and pulled out of the parking lot. Alex slumped against the door and almost closed her eyes, leaving them open just a little so that she could see where they were headed. She mumbled something that vaguely sounded like, “Where are we?”

  Brad told her to rest. “I’m taking you to a quiet place I know by the lake. It’s beautiful, and you’ll feel better once you get a little of the lake air in you. This is for your own good, you know. I can’t let you drive home in the condition you’re in.”

  About ten minutes later they turned onto a gravel road. Alex saw the dark bulk of a sign and couldn’t read what it said in the dark, but she knew the sign for Lake Monroe well. The van began to bounce and shake as they drove along the gravel entrance road and then turned onto a dirt road. Alex used the bouncing as an opportunity to bring her right leg back toward the seat, and allowed her right hand to fall next to the door. As Brad opened his door and slid off his seat, Alex quickly reached inside her right boot and grabbed the knife she kept hidden there. At the same time she dropped her left hand to the seat belt latch and pressed it as quietly as she could. She heard Brad open her door as he mumbled under his breath, “Let's get the party started.”

  Brad's evil chuckle was cut short as Alex lunged out the door. She brought the knife up and out where she expected his neck would be. He saw the movement and stepped back just in time. “What the…,” he started, but Alex was determined to prevent this man from getting away. She brought up her right foot and caught Brad in the chest, pushing him away with all her strength. He fell backward to the ground and she saw him roll over so he could get back up. Alex lunged forward and jumped on his back. She wrapped her long legs around his waist and repeatedly jabbed toward his throat with the knife.

  Brad was not going down that easily. He backed up quickly, pounding Alex into the side of the van until she lost her hold. He grabbed her arm and swung her away from the van toward the trees. Alex fell hard. She blacked out when her head connected with a good-sized rock, worrying about what she would find when she awoke, or if she would wake at all.

  Now here she was on the ground by the lake. Alex had no idea if Brad was watching her or if he had left. At least there had been no reaction when she opened her eyes. She didn’t hear any movement. She tested her arms and legs, and they didn't seem to be confined. It’s now or never, Alex thought, as she slowly lifted her head to take stock of her surroundings.

  Ow, that hurts, Alex thought as her head shifted. She brought her hand up and discovered a lump on her temple, just above her right ear. She looked under the van and saw Brad lying on the ground along the driver's side. He wasn’t moving, and his head was at a very unnatural angle.

  Alex spied her knife a foot or so away and grabbed it by the handle in case Brad felt up to going another round. She sat up facing the van. Still she neither saw nor heard Brad move. Slowly her body began to feel like hers again, at least other than her head. Alex expected that lump would remind her for several days what happened tonight.

  She stood up, listening and watching for movement from Brad. She crept around the van, approaching Brad from the top of his head
so he wouldn’t be able to strike out at her with his legs. As she got closer, she noticed a wide, dark line across his throat and a large dark stain on his shirt. His eyes were open, but he didn’t see her. He would never see anyone again.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Alex looked at the sky across the lake and could tell it was still pre-dawn. The moon had ducked behind the tree tops, but it didn’t look like the sun was going to come up quite yet. Alex guessed it was around 3:00 or maybe 4:00 in the morning. “Whew!” Alex said under her breath. “This would have been awkward if anyone was going to be here soon.” Still, fishermen head to the water early and time was of the essense.

  The driver door gave a faint little creak as Alex opened it. Taking a firm grip of Brad's wrists, she dragged him the rest of the way to the doorway and propped him up in a sitting position with his back to the van. She stepped over him, pulling herself up by the steering wheel. She leaned down, grabbed Brad under his arms and heaved as hard as she could, leaning backward as she did. She pulled until she had Brad’s back on the driver’s seat. She readjusted her hands for a better grip and yanked with all her strength. Brad's waist cleared the edge of his seat.

  Alex slowly released her grip, making sure his body was stable and didn’t slide back out of the van. She exited through the passenger door and went back around to the open driver door, where she maneuvered Brad’s legs inside toward the pedals as she grabbed Brad’s shirt, pulling him upright. She finished positioning his body into the driver’s seat to make it appear as if he had simply stopped to take in the lake view.

  Alex searched Brad’s pockets and found what she was looking for. Brad had pulled out a pack of Camel cigarettes and a lighter as they chatted at the bar, complaining about the dictators who didn’t respect a man’s right to smoke. That was shortly before they had left the bar, but it gave Alex the tools she needed to finish her task.

  The back of the van was filled with boxes of hardwood flooring, waxes, polishes and cleaners, all surrounding a gas-powered generator. Most importantly, Alex found an almost full can of gasoline. She opened it, leaving the cap loose on top. She set it in the center of the back doorway. Finding a dirty rag among the bottles and cans of chemicals, she quickly wiped down everywhere she had touched…the seatbelt latch, door handles, and steering wheel. She took special care where her face, arm and hair had touched the passenger door, the seats, and then the cigarette pack and lighter. She even wiped down the exterior passenger side of the van where Brad had pounded her into it. She spied a trashcan nearby and found empty beer bottles inside. Using the rag to grasp them, she brought the bottles over to the van and put them on the floor around the driver seat. Hopefully the police would think Brad had too much to drink and passed out.

  Alex noticed it was getting easier to see, and guessed it was probably nearing 5:00 a.m. Not much time left, she thought. She went to the back of the van and used the dirty rag to knock over the gas can, spilling its contents toward the front of the van. She closed the doors and wiped them down again, just to be sure. “A little paranoia never hurts,” she thought as she closed and locked the passenger door, making sure she left no evidence she had been there. Since she took nothing but a few dollars into the bar, she wasn’t too worried about leaving anything of hers behind.

  Going back around to the driver door, Alex stood on the running board as she used the rag to hold the cigarettes and knock one out of the pack. She lit the single smoke with the lighter and held it outside the van as she wiped the lighter again with the rag. This wasn’t easy to do with one hand. She positioned the lighter on Brad’s leg, picking it back up with the rag and wiping it down between her thumb and fingers. She returned the lighter and pack of cigarettes back to his pocket where she had found them. She used the rag to roll the driver window down about an inch. Dropping the rag onto the gasoline spilt on the floor between the front seats, she took one last look and dropped the lit cigarette in the gasoline near the rag.

  Alex jumped out of the van and used her hip to close the door as the interior of the van went up in flames. It was light enough now that Alex was able to take a quick look around. She found the bloodied rock her head had struck and lifted it with great effort. She walked the short distance through the woods toward the water and hefted the rock up to her shoulder, hurling it into the lake like a shot put, hating the loud splash it made. She found a tree limb with a lot of branches and dead leaves, using it to brush away her footprints and the evidence of the fight from around the van. She also erased her footsteps leading toward the water. She then walked backwards through the trees using the limb to brush away any evidence she was there.

  The flames in the van were now hot enough to break the windows. The added oxygen caused a large whoosh as the flames leapt out and began to blacken the paint as it licked the roofline along where the windows had been moments before.

  When Alex was at least fifty feet away, she made her way back down toward the water and tossed the branch and the knife as far into the lake as she could. Alex walked along the rocky beach before heading back into the woods, moving quietly and quickly around the lake until she found a campsite. She saw a Winnebago in the distance, about six or seven campsites from where she stood. There were other vehicles around, but all was quiet. She crept toward the Winnebago and just as she approached it on the side away from the other vehicles, she heard a door open a few feet away.

  She heard someone yawn as they stepped onto the camper’s steps. Alex could see that it was the small camper next to where she stood. She reached into the wheel well and found a Hide-a-Key. She quickly and quietly opened it and took out a key, shoving it into the door lock. She turned the key, opened the door and slipped inside, closing the door softly behind her. She looked through the window and saw the next camper sway back up as the person stepped onto the ground.

  “That was too close for comfort,” Alex said under her breath as she silently locked the door and made her way to the small bathroom. She looked in the mirror and saw the damage from the previous night. She slipped off her auburn pageboy wig to inspect her head. Blood had trickled down her face and her temple did have a lump, though she could use her long, curly strawberry-blond hair to hide it. Her face was dirty and her heavy make-up smeared, but worst of all was the blood on her blouse. She must have hit Brad’s carotid artery at some point, by the looks of it. She had significant blood spray across her chest.

  Alex took off her clothes and shoved them with the wig into a plastic garbage bag before stepping into the cramped shower.

  Her scalp cried out in pain as the lukewarm water ran over her head. I hope that’s not bad enough to need stitches, she thought as she gingerly massaged shampoo into her hair. The light smell of grapefruit filled the shower and perked up her spirits.

  The sound of sirens started up in the distance and grew louder as she finished soaping her body and rinsing away all evidence of her nightly foray. She dried off and dressed quickly, just in case visitors came by earlier than she expected. She towel-dried her hair and left it loose to help hide the lump protruding above her ear. She added just enough makeup to look presentable. One last look in the mirror told her to she needed a loose baseball cap and the transformation would be complete. No one would recognize this clean-cut, girl-next-door as the depraved woman Brad had picked up last night.

  She looked at her boots and found they were relatively clean so she put them back in their boot box, which she placed in her wardrobe. She took the plastic bag of grungy clothes and wig into the kitchen and opened the corner cabinet. Removing the pots and pans, she pressed her hand against the back wall, sliding the loose board there to reveal a compact hiding place. She manipulated the bag until it fit the space, added the Hide-a-Key, and slid the panel into place. Putting the pots and pans back into the cabinet and closing the door, she felt confident no one would find any evidence of her escapades.

  Alex was exhausted and her muscles sore from her fight with Brad, but a strong cup of coffee and scrambled eggs gav
e her a second wind. She put her dishes in the sink, and picked up her coffee. She opened the door to the Winnebago and stepped outside to find several of the campers clustered together near the picnic tables. She saw Joe, her next-door neighbor, but did not see his wife, Carla. It must have been Joe leaving their camper as I came home, Alex thought. She pasted a smile on her face and wandered over to the group. She listened as they chatted.

  “I got no idea,” Joe was saying. “Mebbe I should wake the wife. She sure would hate to miss the ruckus.”

  This was followed by a communal chuckle. Carla was known to enjoy a little gossip now and then.

  Just then, a man Alex knew only as Mr. Drake came out of the woods from the direction of the burning van.

  “Crimeny!” Mr. Drake’s normally pale face was red and beads of sweat trickled down toward his chin. “There’s got to be two fire trucks and at least a dozen cop cars back that-away.”

  “What was it?” Carla had walked up behind Alex. “What’s going on?”

  “Seems there was a fire in a van about a half mile or so through the woods. Looks like somebody musta’ been inside. Coroner’s car was there.”