Chapter 75 – Damning Evidence – Holly Hayfield

My weekend was off to a hectic start. All was well until I got home that Friday evening, after counseling students all afternoon. I lied down on my bed to get some rest and casually browsed through my phone as I relaxed. The ChatCat app was sending me notification after notification. I didn’t know what that meant so I opened the app directly. I looked inside to see ongoing pandemonium in the Meredith Solidarity chat group.

“Is it true…? This girl was killed to summon the Killing Cat?” Someone asked.

“It must be! That has to be what this whole ‘Ritual of Knives’ thing is about.” One commenter responded.

After that the comments began moving so quickly that I had to scroll back up just to read what people were saying.

“You’re all wrong! It wasn’t to summon the Killing Cat! It was to appease it!”

“That must be why no one has seen it for so long!”

“I like that idea the most!”

“Has anyone mentioned the names of the people on the list? Even the vice principal is up there!”

“This corruption runs deep! It can’t be a coincidence that this was revealed shortly after Ms. Logan died! She was another name on the list.”

“That’s not all! There are pictures of her standing right beside Malorie! I looked it up. They were in some club together.”

“Also, what was with the weird URL painted into the background of Megan’s video? Did Megan even know that was there? She seemed pretty oblivious.”

“No, there’s something more than that going on here. Remember all those warnings Ms. Sampson gave telling us not to go down into the school basement? This must be what she wanted to hide from us!”

After reading all this I sat up straight in my bed. They were speculating about the murder of Malorie Noelle. I wondered how all this began so I scrolled high up enough in the chat box to see the link. Some anonymous poster had linked to Megan’s video at the exact time stamp that the URL was shown. The secret was officially out. Things would only become crazier from here on.

I scrolled back down to absorb all the thoughts and feelings of my fellow classmates as they talked about Malorie. The general consensus seemed to be that Malorie’s life was some sort of tragedy. Everyone was sympathetic to Malorie after discussing the content of her diary. No one had read the full thing so far, but they were picking out excerpts to discuss. Malorie seemed like a bit of an oddball, but lovable in her uniqueness. Just like I did, they relished her thorough criticisms of the school.

While I read all this I had to ask myself if this was a good development, or a bad one. In the end I decided that this was a good thing. Although I had my suspicions over who dropped this anonymous link, I enjoyed the insight. The charming thing about Malorie’s character was that she seemed like she could be anyone amongst the student body. Her daily struggles were relatable for those of us that attended the same school. Yet, beyond that, there was depth to Malorie’s character that inspired admiration.

It was that final note that made her presumed cause of death that much more tragic. Most of the girls in the ChatCat group were treating Malorie like nothing more than another school legend. However, some select commenters were reading beyond that. Malorie was just the story of another girl that had been force to do time at our school. Yet, she paid the ultimate price for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least that was what many of the commenters thought. I knew the truth was much more sinister. She died doing what was right.

That brought back a lot of negative emotions that I had been trying to suppress for so long. My heart went out to Malorie. She didn’t deserve to die like she did. Even worse, her death had been completely in vain since she never found justice. The only two friends she had turned on her. Her club’s administrator failed her, and then fled. When I repeated the events in my head it was easy to feel Lilith’s rage within my own heart. We were on similar wavelengths, but what was the best way to handle this information?

I fell to sleep thinking about that. I didn’t wake up until sometime in the middle of the night. My mother made dinner and left me a covered plate of food in the fridge with a small note wishing me a good rest. I ate in my bedroom while sitting at my desk and staring at my laptop. I had the ChatCat desktop app opened up and I was going through all the reactions to Malorie’s story. Part of me, a foolish part of me, just wanted to tell them everything.

I knew I couldn’t be so straightforward about things, though. If anyone ousted themselves then they’d be subjected to attack from Ms. Sampson, and even possibly her former companions. I had only loosely looked up some of the people on the list but from what I gathered they were all similar to Vivian Hale in their post high school activities. None of them were what you could consider model citizens. I didn’t want to oust myself to any of them either.

That was what made me wonder about who dropped this anonymous link. Was it Val? She did mention fanning the flames. Was this what she meant? I wouldn’t put it past Lilith either. She had put the list and drawing of Malorie on the webpage in the first place. For all I knew this could be part of her overall plan. It could even be Jay. I could see her doing something like this to prove herself to Val.

I couldn’t waste any more time worrying about it. By the time morning came around I decided to devote this day to being productive. First and foremost I wanted to catch up on my studying. All my counseling efforts had put me behind my personal goals in that area. My grades were still well above average in all my classes, but I wasn’t holding myself to that standard. The bar was low at our school and in order to prepare for college I wanted to aim higher.

Once I finished studying I made breakfast to return the favor to my mother. We talked for a while about school and work. She was excited to hear me talk about my counseling sessions. She was still amazed that I had landed such a great position. I wasn’t the only one having success. It sounded like things were improving at her job. I got the feeling this was going to be a good day.

When noon rolled around I was in high spirits. I decided I’d go out for a jog and leave my ankle monitor behind. I had mastered the art of removing the ankle monitor after removing it so many times. I hardly even worried about it anymore. The damn thing used to live rent free in my conscience but now I was truly relieved of it. The freedom of being able to take it off at will was still something that I was cherishing.

My Saturday jog was going well. It was a beautiful afternoon and everyone I had past so far gave me a friendly wave as I ran by them. It wasn’t until I heard a vehicle pull up beside me that things took a turn. I assumed it was going to be some guy catcalling me. It happened from time to time. Whenever it did happen I just ignored them and kept running. Usually I jogged with my ear buds in and listened to music so it never bothered me.

However this particular person was incredibly incessant. They slowed down beside me and revved their engines multiple times. At first I hadn’t wished to spare them any attention, but it was becoming impossible to ignore them. I pulled out my earbuds and turned to shout at them but was interrupted by a familiar face. It was Val on her motorcycle. She pulled over close to the sidewalk when I stopped running.

“Hey cutie pie! That’s quite the jogging outfit you’ve got there!” Val said playfully.

“Oh… It’s you…? What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Actually, I was about to ask you that.” She said, “Why are you ignoring my calls?”

“What calls…?”

“Do you have your phone with you?” She asked.

I pulled out my cell phone and went through the notifications. She wasn’t lying. She called at least five times since I had left the house.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Sorry, I usually don’t check my phone while I’m jogging. My phone is on silent mode when I run. What’s up?”

“I was calling ahead before I came to pick you up.” She said bluntly.

“Oh no, don’t tell me we’re going on another mini road-trip. Is this place going to be a secret too?”

She laughed.

“Nah, not this time unfortunately. I’ll tell you where it is I’m going upfront. It might be of a more personal nature to you. I’m not going to force you to go if you don’t want to. Just know that Jay, Lilith, and even Sam are planning to meet me in the area.”

“Where is it you’re planning to go?”

“Ms. Logan’s house,” Val said.

I could see why she left the choice in my hands. This was unusually considerate of her, after all. Any other time she’d probably just whisk me away without second thought. She was probably worried about how I’d handle things so shortly after her death. It was something worth thinking about, but my curiosity could drive me past that. Seeing the inside of her home would help me see inside the state of her mind.

Val and I took off. We ended up driving to some shifty looking neighborhood on the far side of town. I would’ve been worried about my ankle monitor before, but thankfully it wasn’t something I had to worry about now. However, I did send my mom a text to let her know I’d be out with Val. Val ended up pulling up to the empty parking lot of an old gas station. Jay was already there waiting on us.

“Oh…? So you were able to get ahold of her after all?” Jay asked not even trying to hide her disappointment, “I thought I’d have you to myself.”

“Not today,” Val said, “The others should be arriving any minute now.”

Just on cue, another car pulled up beside the gas station. It didn’t actually drive onto the property, but stopped beside the curb. Sam got out from the back of the car and the car sped off. I wasn’t sure, but it looked to be some sort of ride-service car. Once Sam saw us she put some pep in her step. She came up to me with her arms opened to give me a hug, but Val stopped her.

“You’ve missed an important student council meeting, you know? Don’t just waltz over here like nothing happened.” Val said with a huff, “I’m surprised you even showed up.”

Sam rolled her eyes at the accusatory tone in Val’s voice. She put her hands into her jacket pockets as the chilly air blew against us. I was feeling somewhat envious of her warm looking jacket. I hadn’t bothered to take one with me when I went out jogging. I thought I wouldn’t be still long enough to be bothered by the chilly air.

“Naomi and I had other stuff to do.”

“Other stuff…?” Val asked.

“It isn’t important.” Sam said, looking away.

“It’s obviously important enough for you to skip our meeting. Allison is vying for your spot in the student council.” Val said.

Sam quickly turned her attention back to Val.

“She can’t be trusted.”

“She could at least be trusted to show up to our meetings on time!” Val said aggrivatedly.

I stepped between the two of them and pushed them away from each other.

“Enough!” I said as I stepped between them, “Can we focus on the task at hand? Sam is here right now and that’s what’s important.”

I turned to Sam.

“Sam, I know you have obligations with Naomi aside from the student council. Can you just give us a little warning next time, please?”

Sam shrugged.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Val was about to fly into another argument with Sam when another vehicle pulled up into the gas station parking lot. I recognized the expensive looking car and the woman driving it. Lilith’s Aunt Margaret stopped her car not far from us. As Lilith got out of the passenger seat, Margaret waved me over with an excited smile on her face. I tapped both Sam and Val lightly on the arm, hoping that they keep the peace while I was gone.

“Holly!” Margaret said happily as I walked over, “Lilith told me you’re involved in some sort of track group. Are you girls getting ready to train?”

I was going to dismiss this misunderstanding and explain that I was no longer involved in any track group. However, as Lilith came around the side of the car I could see she was also wearing a track jersey. I smiled at her broadly and she quickly looked away. So that had been the excuse she used on her aunt to let her come out here. I looked back at Margaret, still smiling.

“There’s nothing like getting a bit of exercise in on the weekend!” I said joyously, “Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to whip Lilith into an athletic fervor today?”

“Ugh…” Lilith groaned as she walked up beside me.

Margaret laughed.

“Haha! I’d love to see that! Unfortunately I have some business to attend to! Call me if you girls need anything! I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour, Lily!”

“Okay.” Lilith said without looking back at her.

Margaret drove off and Lilith and I joined the others. Sam and Val had kept the peace. Even more so, they looked to be mutually amused by Lilith’s aunt.

“Lily…?” Val asked, “Your aunt calls you Lily?”

“Forget it.” Lilith said.

Sam cracked a slight laugh.

“Aw, don’t be like that Lily! I think it’s cute.”

“Please,” Lilith begged, “Forget it. Let’s move on. We only have an hour.”

“You’re right.” Val said, trying to ruffle Lilith’s hair with little success, “Let’s get going, Lily.”

We left the gas station on foot in a pace that felt unbelievably slow. Ms. Logan lived close by, so it wouldn’t be a problem. It was just a major step down from my earlier jogging exercise. I would’ve loved to actually have Lilith make use of her new looking track suit, but she was the slowest walker of our group. I didn’t want to leave her side, so I kept myself at her pace. Val walked in front with Jay holding her around one arm. Sam walked in the middle.

“Which one is her house?” Sam asked.

Val pointed out a house down the street.

“It’s that one there, in the middle.” Val said. “Jay and I came by here after school a couple of days ago.”

“The door isn’t locked?” Sam asked, “Haven’t the police been by here?”

“The door is locked but I’ve got a way in.” Val said. “We’ll be in and out before anyone notices.”

“I doubt anyone one this street would even care.” Lilith said.

As we walked down the street I continued to scan the houses around the neighborhood. I had to agree with Lilith’s assessment. It wasn’t that the neighborhood was shady and lurking with criminal activity that gave me that impression. It was how dilapidated and lifeless the entire neighborhood looked. Lawns were growing out of control, all the buildings were in a state of decay, and nature had more or less reclaimed half the houses in the neighborhood. I had initially expected Ms. Logan’s home to stand out like a sore thumb, but it didn’t.

The way the gray clouds hung over the houses in the distance really drove home the feeling of abandonment that this community had. A number of the houses didn’t look to have electricity, and the utter silence in the neighborhood was ghastly. The sound of our footsteps and Jay’s occasional attempts to flirt with Val seemed to be the only sounds on the street. It was only the howling of the wind through these mostly empty houses that made me aware we weren’t walking through some sort of time-frozen image. The sound of the buildings collectively creaking against the wind was evidence to the dire state this neighborhood was in.

We approached Ms. Logan’s house and stopped in the driveway to wait as Val did her thing. She and Jay walked up to the side of the house, and Val put her hands together so that she could hoist Jay up. After being hoisted up, Jay climbed onto Val’s shoulders. She then used her new height to pull herself up to an unlocked window. She pushed it open as she made her way in. Sam looked unimpressed by the whole demonstration.

“Really…?” Sam asked in amused disbelief, “That’s your way in?”

“Unless you’ve got a better way,” Val said.

It took a moment for Jay to reappear. Once she did, she opened the front door for us and welcomed us in. We all walked in slowly as the creaky floorboards screamed as we made our way in. There was no electricity inside, it smelled horribly, and there were disgustingly large roaches hiding from the light as we came in. We didn’t close to the door in the hopes of letting some of the rotten air out. Sam and Lilith both pulled their shirt collars over their noses.

“What the hell is that rotten smell?” Sam asked.

“It smells like a dead animal.” Val noted. “I wouldn’t be surprised. In fact, you should probably expect to turn up a few dead creatures in here.”

“What do we do now?” Jay asked.

“Now,” Val said and opened up her bag to pull out multiple flashlights. “Now we’ll split up. You and me, we’ll look around here down stairs. Holly, Sam, and Lilith will go upstairs. Look for anything that can be used as evidence to prove Malorie’s story.”

She handed each of us a flashlight. None of us wanted to stay in the rancid smelling building for long. We immediately got to work. Like Val said, we all went our separate directions to begin our search. The search started out slow because of the awful stench, but eventually we started making progress. The house already looked like someone had been rummaging through it as clothing and items were strung about the floor randomly. I suspected that the room was like this before and not a result of the police performing their own investigation.

While searching the upstairs, Sam found a dead possum in the bathroom along with a hole in the ceiling. At least we knew where the smell was coming from and how it got in. We closed the bathroom door and continued the search of the upper floor. There were two bedrooms. Sam searched one alone, Lilith and I took the other. There was nothing of notability for the most part. The place was a health hazard, but we had expected that going in.

It wasn’t until we got to the master bedroom’s closet that we found something of interest. The way the stacks of clothes were folded at the bottom of the closet was incredibly suspicious. Throughout the rest of the house there were clothes strewn all over the floor uncaringly. Why were only these ones folded and stacked neatly? Where they the clothes she normally wore? Lilith was getting the same hunch I was. She started pushing the clothes away as I held the light on her.

Buried beneath the stack of clothes was a small black box. Lilith and I exchanged a look as she pulled it away from the closet. I held my flashlight steady as she opened the box. Inside was a knife. The knife had dried crusted blood across its blade. The blade was resting above what looked to be torn photographs of her and Malorie. The torn pictures seemed to represent their torn relationship. The bloody knife was just the final ornament that completed the image of a ruined friendship.

“She couldn’t let go of it.” I said out loud, although I was mostly speaking to myself, “She couldn’t let go of it after all this time. She had been living with this here in her home, day in and day out.”

“What should we do with it?” Lilith asked.

“Hmm…” I hummed thoughtfully, “We’ll have to leave it where we found it. But let’s get the others and take some pictures of it as evidence.”