Devils Among Us (Devin Dushane Series Book 1) (3 page)

May 16, 1964

Laney Bennett and her cousin Beth were driving out a country
road with the windows down, singing along to the Beatles as their hair blew in
the wind. Even though it was Beth’s car, she was too timid to drive on such a windy
road in the dark, but Laney had no fear. The two cousins were the best of
friends, but were contradictions in just about every way imaginable.

Beth was a faded version of her boisterous cousin. Laney’s
silken hair was so dark it was nearly black, and her deep velvet brown eyes had
been known to make grown men dissolve into stutters. It wasn’t just Laney’s
looks that drew everyone to her; she was truly alive with a vibrancy and
charisma that glowed around her like a living thing. In contrast, Beth had
light brown hair and hazel eyes and was so reserved that she would have
completely faded into Laney’s shadow had she not pulled Beth into the light
with her. Laney didn’t look down on anyone; she didn’t know how. Everyone was
her friend, which is why she had been crowned the prom queen just a week
earlier. Teachers and parents loved her, because she was at the top of her
class, polite, and well spoken. Her friends loved her because she was fun,
fearless, and had a wild streak that kept things interesting.

As the song ended Laney glanced over at Beth. “Ready to
document a night of rockin’ and rollin’ at the Summit?” Beth’s parents had
given her a new camera for her birthday, and she was adjusting knobs and dials
on it as they drove. She grinned up at Laney. “Absolutely! I’ll catch all our
friends on film before we split up after graduation.”

Laney rolled her eyes. “Beth, its Fenton. We’re not exactly
going to lose track of each other.”

“You never know. People are going to be going off to
college, getting married or who knows what else. Things will be different, and
I want to hold on to the memory of us right now. Who knows, this time next year,
you could be married and getting ready to have Michael Jr.” Beth snickered at
Laney’s blank expression.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You know how practical
Michael is. He won’t want to be burdened with a wife while he’s in college.”
Beth thought she heard a wishful note in Laney’s voice.

Michael Leary was not Laney’s typical boyfriend. She liked
bad boys and fast cars. Michael was clean-cut and serious. He was going to be
the valedictorian of their class and was set on going to Virginia Tech for an
engineering degree. He had no social skills, and before dating Laney, most of
the senior class had never spoken to him. Michael’s wheat-colored hair was
never out place, his clothes were always crisply pressed, and his black-framed
glasses hid his ghostly grey eyes. But he truly cared for Laney. He quoted her
Shakespeare, picked wild flowers, and had actual intelligent conversations with
her. In fact he hung on every word she spoke. They were completely wrapped up in
each other, and for Laney it was a breath of fresh air.

“It’s too bad he couldn’t come out with you tonight. What
was he doing again?”

“He’s working on a physics project in the shop at school. He
says it has to be perfect by Monday if he wants to ‘maintain his academic
reputation’ and win the physics scholarship.” Laney was copying the serious
tone and expression Michael always used when he spoke about his studies, which
caused Beth to break into a fit of laughter that Laney joined in on.

“I don’t mind that he couldn’t come. He’s planned a picnic
for just the two of us tomorrow afternoon to make it up to me.”

“That is sooo romantic! Laney, you are so lucky to have him!
What a step up from Dean.”

“I know. He makes Dean look like an even bigger loser.”

Dean Delluca was Laney’s last boyfriend. He cared more about
fast engines and tight skirts than an education or planning for the future.
Laney had fallen hard for him, but her heart had been shattered when his ex-girlfriend,
Angela Pence, turned up pregnant with his baby while they were dating. Dean
swore that he hadn’t cheated on Laney and that the baby had been conceived when
the two of them had broken up temporarily in the fall. Devastated when he told
her, Laney had run into the house in tears and refused to come back out. Only when
her neighbor, Henry Maddox, had broken Dean’s nose and cracked two of his ribs
did she come back out to help her brother Bobby pull Henry off. Henry and Dean
worked together, and Henry had given him fair warning that he would kill any
man that ever hurt the sweetest girl in the neighborhood.  

Laney flew around the curve and caught another gear. They
were within a mile of the entrance to the Summit. Beth just shook her head when
she glanced at the speedometer. She should be used to Laney’s driving by now. What
was the saying, “Drive it like you stole it”? Beth nearly laughed out loud at
how aptly that fit Laney. Last summer, before Beth had her car, they hadn’t
been able to get a ride out to the Summit for the summer kick-off party. Laney
had been furious with her brother, because he’d refused to give them a ride because
he and his buddies were watching a baseball game on television. So Laney had
stolen his car. With the help of their friends Charlotte and Ruth, the girls put
his car in neutral and pushed it out of the driveway, jumping in it as they hit
the street. There were benefits to hanging out in your brother’s garage, and
Laney was a fast study on the art of hotwiring.

By the time Bobby hit the porch, they were down the street
and around the corner. He had to call a friend to pick them up to follow the
girls out to the Summit. Bobby arrived just in time to see his baby sister drag
racing Frank Coleman down the flats on the south side of the lake. Frank had
baited her into it by razzing her about that being way too much car for such a
little chick. He hadn’t looked like he minded losing to her too much when Laney
kissed his cheek afterwards and promised him a dance.

Bobby hadn’t been able to stay mad at her either; he got bragging
rights that his car was so fast it could win races even with his little sister
behind the wheel. Henry had been egging her on the whole way, since he was the
one that taught her to drive. Maybe that was the problem with Laney’s driving—not
many girls in their class knew how to drive, but if they did, they’d had nice
subdued lessons in their parents’ sedans. Very few teenage girls learned how to
drive in a souped-up hot rod.

Beth came back into the moment as the tires crunched into the
gravel lot next to the pavilion. The crowd was already thick with teenagers
dancing to the music of the jukebox. Beth scowled as she smoothed wrinkles out
of her skirt and got out of the car.

“Why did you make me wear a skirt if you were just going to
wear pedal pushers and a cardigan?” She eyed Laney’s white cropped pants and red
cardigan suspiciously. Laney never went anywhere without make-up on, but it was
fairly light tonight, and even her fabulous thick hair was pulled into a simple
high pony tail with her bangs swept to one side. Her only jewelry was the gold,
heart-shaped locket she never took off. She was still gorgeous, but it was
definitely understated for Laney.

Laney shot her a saucy smile and wiggled her eyebrows. “My
boyfriend isn’t here, so I have no one to flirt with, but you, on the other
hand . . . let’s just say that I hear Peter Christianson is going to be looking
for you tonight.”

A crimson flush crept up Beth’s cheeks to her hairline.
Peter had been her date to the prom, and ever since, they’d flirted in the
halls at school, but nothing had come of it. He was more than Beth had ever
hoped for—six feet of blonde-haired, blue-eyed gorgeousness, and as their
quarterback, he was probably the most popular boy in school. Up until a few
months ago, he’d been completely infatuated with Laney, as most of the boys
were, but then out of the blue he’d asked Beth to the prom. She suspected Laney
had put the bug in his ear, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the
mouth. She also guessed that the difference in their appearances tonight was an
attempt to push her more into the spotlight.

As the girls linked arms and headed towards the music, Beth
thought to herself
I’m ashamed to think how much I’d hate her if she wasn’t
just like a sister.

Beth took pictures of everyone there, some of them twice.
She snapped a great picture of Laney dancing with Henry, and he took a very
sweet shot of Laney and Beth together.

It must be Laney’s week for arguments
, Beth thought
as she watched Laney having words with her ex, Dean, on the other side of the
dance floor. Earlier in the week Laney had it out with her brother Bobby. Laney
was getting ready to come in to her inheritance, and Bobby didn’t agree with how
she was planning on spending it. The Fenton sheriff’s department had set up a
trust for both Laney and Bobby when their father was killed in the line of
duty. Laney was planning a cross-country tour before she started college in the
fall, and she was still trying to get Beth to come along. Bobby was furious
over the whole thing.

“At the very least, invest it in your future. Pay for an
education and get some skills other than flirting. Being a tramp is only going
to get you so far in life!”

They were arguing in the kitchen, but the slap across his
face echoed down the entire street like thunder from a brewing storm. “How dare
you stand there and pretend you’re concerned about my future!” she screamed.
“You only want my share of the money to open your stupid garage.  I should just
set the money on fire, for all the good that would do me. You wouldn’t have the
sense to run a business.” With venom in her eyes, she stormed out of the house,
and the two hadn’t spoken since.

Now Beth watched Dean grab Laney’s arm and shake her a
little. Beth frowned to herself.
Laney should stay away from him she doesn’t
need the drama that follows Dean.
Besides, with a new wife and a baby on
the way, it didn’t look good for the two of them to be together. She was relieved
when she saw Laney knock Dean’s hand off her arm and walk away. Her relief was
short-lived when Peter stopped Laney and leaned in close to her ear to tell her
something. He rested his hand on her elbow while he spoke. Beth bit her lip and
tried to turn away when a voice just over her shoulder stopped her.

“She can’t help it, you know. We all follow her around her
like she’s some kind of pied piper.” Henry stood behind her, sipping a beer. “Just
because she’s hypnotic doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful. Give him time. He’ll
get tired of being turned down and realize what he’s missing out on.” He didn’t
take his eyes off Laney as he spoke.

Beth looked up at him with sincere eyes, “Do you ever get
tired of her turning you down?” It was no secret that Henry was in love with
Laney, but at twenty-three, she saw him more as a big brother than a lover. So
he stood in the wings waiting for his opportunity, always looking after her,
always hoping.

Henry Maddox stood watching the girl he loved from across
the dance floor. He wasn’t afraid to ask her to dance or to tell her how he
felt, he just had to be patient. As long as Laney is still wearing my locket
there’s a piece of her heart that’s already mine.

 Henry had given Laney the heart-shaped locket for her fourteenth
birthday. It cost a month’s pay, but was worth every penny when she opened it
up to reveal the picture of her father. Henry had asked Mrs. Bennett for the photo,
knowing Laney only had a vague memory of her father because he’d been killed
when she four. She’d squealed with delight when she saw it and threw her arms
around him. When he fastened the chain around her neck, she’d looked up at him
with tears in her huge brown eyes. He couldn’t help himself. Henry was five
years older than she was, and if her uncle, who he worked for at the time, ever
found out, he’d tear Henry apart. He had gently tipped her chin up and given
Laney her first kiss. Before the kiss, he’d been infatuated with her; after the
kiss, she might as well have wrapped him in chains, as he completely belonged
to her.

Henry sighed again and then smiled down at Beth, thinking,
for the first time, how pretty her eyes were. He threw his arm around her neck
and said, “Come on, let me buy you a soda.”

Before they walked away, Beth looked back towards Laney and
Peter, but they were gone. That familiar hate bubbled into her heart.

Two hours later Beth was looking for Laney. She was bursting
with excitement, because around nine-thirty, Peter had finally asked her to
dance. They’d spent an hour tucked away in a corner talking, and Peter had
asked her to go steady with him. She couldn’t wait to tell Laney about it. But
after thirty minutes of searching, her excitement was turning to worry; she
couldn’t find Laney anywhere. Beth asked Henry to help, but after forty-five
minutes of searching, they grew panicked. It was closing in on midnight, and
only about a dozen people were left in the pavilion when Henry asked Charlie Rinker,
who ran the Summit, to call the police.  

It’s not very often that the prom queen goes missing in a
small town. Within thirty minutes the Summit was crawling with sheriff’s deputies.
By 4:00 a.m. there were over a hundred volunteers searching the woods around
the area, and plans were being made to bring in boats to search the water. They
began a new search with a single line moving forward, one man every twenty yards,
searching the ground for any sign of Laney.

At 5:15 a.m. as the sky began to lighten to a charcoal grey,
Henry Maddox let out a tortured cry that echoed out over the lake. The raw
animal pain of the sound sent a shiver through the growing crowd. Officer Kenny
Dalton was the first to get to Henry, but he stopped in his tracks a few feet
away and then spun around and began vomiting. Someone had the good sense to
tackle Bobby before he reached the scene. Years later, seasoned veterans of the
sheriff’s department would say they had never seen so much blood in a crime
scene.