C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent (2 page)

Skye popped back up and set a ring of keys before her. “Try this set. One of them should get that door open. They’re skeleton keys. Good for old or difficult locks and such.”

Julie couldn’t help herself. “I’m sorry, but what was that song you were just whistling? I haven’t heard it in years.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, but then smiled. “Phil Collins’ Another Day in Paradise.”

“That’s what it was,” Julie exclaimed, hitting her palm on the counter. She picked up the ring of keys. “Thank you.”

“No problem at all,” Sky replied, half grinning.

“Anyway, what do I owe you for the keys?”

“They’re free rentals, so just bring them back when you’re done,” Skye said, now smiling warmly.

Julie frowned slightly. “You don’t need a deposit or anything?”

But Skye laughed. “Hey, it’s a small town. I’d find you,” he answered. “And, I trust you.”

“Well, thanks,” Julie answered, now a bit flustered. That smile of his warmed her insides.

“Oh, and if they don’t fit for some reason, here’s the number of a buddy of mine who can help,” Sky added, handing her a business card. “He’s my go-to guy, Steve Ricks. I’m pretty good, but I’m working right now. He can open literally anything, or at least break it so badly that it opens in the process,” he said, chuckling.

“Hey Julie,” Sam said, tugging on Julie’s blouse. “Can I get this? It might come in handy,” he said, holding out a measuring tape. “You know, for the movers. And I could measure stuff. Please?”

Julie looked down at Sam, holding her emotions in check. Her little brother hadn’t asked for anything in weeks. And, she thought, it was a harmless enough gadget for him.

“Why not?” She said, smiling now herself.

“Thanks, Julie! You’re the best big sister ever!” And Sam began measuring his shoes,
and then his legs.

Skye laughed. “Nice to be able to make someone happy so simply, isn’t it?”

“You have no idea,” Julie answered. “Thanks again for your help. I’ll bring them back as soon as I can.”

“Like I said, no problem,” Skye answered, and went back to work on his brass key, whistling.

Julie grabbed some Clorox, a bucket and sponge, some Windex and paper towels, and light bulbs. As she and Sam made their way to a check out aisle, she glanced at the clock on the wall and realized the movers would be arriving soon. She quickly paid for everything and hurried Sam out to the truck. She figured they would have just enough time to buy some basic food at the local grocery store, as their refrigerator would also be arriving shortly. She stocked up on a balance of healthy foods, and a little junk food, not too much, for Sam’s benefit.

The drive back to their new home was quiet, with Sam preoccupied measuring the length of the window, the seat, the dashboard, and anything else within his reach. Julie was glad she’d bought him the tape measure. It would keep him busy for a while.

As they turned the corner onto her street, she saw a giant white and orange moving truck parked in front of their house. Two short, burly men exited the truck, one going around to the back to open the slide door, and the other making his way up toward the house.

Julie parked her truck in the driveway and hurried to meet the man just as he was knocking on the front door.

“We’re here,” she said, slightly out of breath.

“Perfect timing,” the man remarked, flipping through some paperwork on a clipboard.

Julie rifled through her purse, drew her keys out, and opened the door to let the movers inside.

“Sam, you get the food, while I let these guys know where to put everything.”

Sam shoved the tape measure into his pocket and complied. Good to keep him occupied, she thought to herself.

Julie found herself busy the next two hours, directing the movers as they brought in furniture and boxes. Sam, long finished with bringing in the bags of food, leaned against the dining room wall, watching the men bring in box after box. He didn’t say a word, but simply observed.

Finally they were finished, and once gone, Julie walked around the house, surveying it. The place did feel a little more like home to her now, and she was glad for it. She hoped Sam felt the same.

But Sam was still leaning against wall, now staring blankly at the floor.

“What do you say we go check out that locked room, Sammy?” She asked him.

Sam looked up at her, his eyes holding a mixture of brightness and tension. “Together, right?”

“Right, buddy,” Julie assured him.
Maybe this will be a good bonding experience for us
, Julie thought to herself. She grabbed the skeleton keys from her purse and motioned for Sam to follow. She looked up the staircase and took a deep breath. So did Sam. Climbing up the worn and noisy stairs, a little trepidation crept into Julie, and Sam must have felt the same, because he slipped his hand into hers, squeezing it tightly. At the top, they walked down the hall, hand in hand, and came to a stop at the locked door, exchanging nervous looks.

Julie let go of Sam’s hand and he instead clung to her pant leg as she fumbled with the keys for a moment. She tried one of the smaller ones. It stuck in the lock and barely moved when she turned it. She tried the next key, which was slightly larger. Again it wouldn’t turn the lock. She held a third key in her hand and slid it slowly into the lock. She turned it to the right and heard a soft click.

Sam glanced up at his big sister, his protector, with wide eyes. Julie forced her face to retain a calm demeanor, although her heart was pounding within her chest.

“Here goes nothin’,” she said as confidently as she could, and pushed the door open.

Chapter
3

The room was cast in semi-darkness, and Julie stood frozen as she let her eyes adjust. The only window in the room had a heavy curtain covering it, blocking out the sunlight. She ran her hand along the wall to the right of the door, searching for a switch, but when she found it and flipped it up, no light came on.

Julie crossed the room and raised the curtain, letting the sunlight bathe the room. She turned to see Sam’s disgruntled expression.

“This is just girly stuff
,” Sam said, his tone matching his face. “Can I go play in my room?”

“Sure, go ahead,” she told him.
So much for bonding.

Sam left and Julie faced the room again, letting the full effect of what she saw wash over her. The room’s décor was from the ‘90’s, and dust covered every surface. A twin bed was set against a wall, covered with a plain quilt. Two small drawers were set into the wooden base of the bed. To the left stood a bookcase, full of cobweb-covered books.

Her Uncle Oliver had indeed kept everything the same. Perhaps so his daughter’s memory wouldn’t entirely fade. His daughter, Tara, had been Julie’s cousin, and had passed away some twenty years earlier, at the tender age of sixteen. Julie remembered spending time with her as a youth, and had fond memories of her cousin. It was a shame Tara had died so young. A tragic and mysterious death, Julie remembered.
I wonder if he ever even came back in here after Tara died,
Julie thought to herself.

Julie walked toward the bookcase and knelt down, leaning close to the books to read their titles. None of them caught her eye until she reached a set of identical leather-bound journals nestled into the corner of the bottom shelf.

She removed the first journal and opened it. The name “Tara McGuire” was inscribed on the inside of the front cover. Julie flipped through the journal and found that the date of the last entry was from Tara’s seventh grade year of school.

Julie put the journal back and reached for the other diary, hoping it would have her cousin’s most recent musings, and found that this one started when Tara entered her sophomore year. The entries were sparser; Tara had stopped writing every day. Still, Julie read through her dead cousin’s cursive script, and came to the conclusion that Tara had led a fairly normal teenage life.

The second half of the diary did lead into her junior year. Julie was pleased to read that Tara was popular, and smiled at her cousin’s complaints about her father’s strict rules.

Dad says I can go to the party, but that I have to be home by eleven. Eleven! And, he’s going to pick me up! How embarrassing.

Julie smiled. Her Uncle Oliver must have loved Tara very much. It must not have been easy to be a single father to such a beautiful teenager.

Down at the bottom of one page was a sentence that read:

I don’t like the way he looks at me. He

But when Julie turned the page, she found the next couple of pages had been ripped out. How strange.

Julie flipped through the diary and found there were three other areas where the pages had been torn out. She frowned to herself. Had Tara removed them, or someone else? And why?

Curiosity coursed through her. Perhaps Tara had hidden the missing pages somewhere. Or again, maybe the police had taken some of the entries at the time of her death.

Julie was lost in thought, and she jumped when the door to the room creaked open a little.

Sam popped his head in. “Julie, I’m hungry.”

Her own stomach growled too, and Julie pushed herself to her feet, crossing over to Sam. She glanced quickly around the room, scanning for any hidden crevices or potential hiding places. She still wanted to look through the rest of Tara’s belongings, but she needed to make lunch and get some unpacking done first.

“How about I make us some sandwiches?” Julie asked, grateful she’d had time to go to the market earlier.

“Okay,” Sam answered. “Do we have any chips?”

“Yeah, Doritos. Come on, let’s go.”

Sam ran into his room and came back out with drawing paper and some markers. He sprinted downstairs ahead of her, and she found him at the small dinette kitchen table drawing his favorite animal, a Liger. He concentrated on the details of his art so hard that his face took on a serious expression that Julie had always found incredibly cute. He was a lot like their father had been, serious and intelligent.

Sandwiches made, Julie set one onto a paper towel and handed it to Sam. He took it without so much as a glance up at her.

Julie set his drawing aside. “Anything you’d like to say, bud?”

“Uh, where are the chips?”

Exasperated, Julie answered, “They’re in the pantry.”

Sam slid out of his chair and grabbed the chips from the pantry. On his way back, he stopped and looked over at Julie with a smile. “Thank you.”

Julie returned the smile. “You’re welcome, Sammy.”

His paper and markers set aside, Sam was preoccupied, as if there was something on his mind.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Julie said casually.

“What were you doing in Tara’s room?” He asked.

“Well, I was snooping, I guess you’d say,” Julie always tried to be truthful with Sam. “I was looking through her books.”

“You were reading her diary,” Sam pointed out accusingly. “I would have gotten in trouble if I ever read yours.”

“Well, that’s true. It still is, so don’t get any ideas.” She laughed and ruffled his hair, but Sam was still solemn.

“What happened to our cousin Tara, Julie?”

Julie didn’t know how to answer. She knew Tara had been brutally killed, and she remembered talk of murder. But it had been so long ago, she herself had been just a child. It was all hush-hush.

“I’m not quite sure,” Julie told him. “I thought looking in her diaries might help me understand.”

“But you didn’t find anything…interesting?” Sam tried to find the right word.

“No, buddy, I didn’t,” Julie said, but her mind wandered to those missing pages.

“Maybe I could help you,” Sam said. “You always said if you become a private detective, I could be your helper. Maybe I should measure the room.” Now he took his new tape measure out of his pocket, admiring it. “You know, it has this latch that makes the tape stay out. Then you can reel it right back in!” He showed her right then and there how to do it, and Julie couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, alright, I see that. It’s very cool, Sam. Come on, eat your lunch now.”

Sam reluctantly put the tape measure away and munched on his sandwich.

“I might let you help me later,” Julie offered, “but I have a
lot
of unpacking to do. While I do that, I want you to organize your own room. Arrange your toys, so they have a place other than the floor. Your clothes. Then, when we’re done, we’ll see if we can find anything else in Tara’s room. Deal?”

“Deal,” Sam said with a mixture of resignation and anticipation.

Who knows?
Julie thought as she cleaned up and got ready for some real work.
Maybe he can help. Two heads are better than one, after all.

Chapter 4