Page 1 of The Creekside Murder

Chapter One

Jessica had followed the trail to Tiffany’s dead body hundreds of times in her mind. She hadn’t expected the area to look so different now. She dug her hiking boots into the mushy ground to survey her position. The forest seemed to close in on her, suffocating her, warning her. She was done heeding warnings.

Huffing out a breath, she plowed ahead. She pushed aside the bushy shrub in front of her, tripping over its twisted trunk. She grabbed a handful of leaves to steady herself, their sharp edges scratching her palm. As she glanced down at the red lines crisscrossing her skin, she noticed the mulch of the forest floor giving way to dirt and pebbles.

She closed her eyes and cocked her head. Barely discernible beneath the whoosh of the breeze through the trees and the chattering birds, she detected the sound of gurgling water. Her lids flew open as her legs propelled her forward, her boots crunching over the gritty path that would take her to the water’s edge—the place where a killer had dumped her sister’s lifeless form ten years ago.

She broke through the trees a few feet before a babbling creek scurried over slick rocks and detoured around branches clawing their way out of the water—one shapedlike an arm positioned to drag unsuspecting hikers into the water. Panting, she dropped to her knees and trailed her fingers in the icy stream until her fingertips turned white with the cold.

Her head dipped to her chest and the tears that had blurred her vision, threatening to overcome her on the trail, rolled down her cheeks and slid from her chin into the swirling water. The current carried them away but couldn’t rid her of the pain lodged in her heart. She’d cried in this spot before…cried and raged and pounded the earth over the loss of her older sister, the sister who’d protected her in foster care.

They’d had different fathers—losers who’d abandoned Tammy, their mother, and them, without a backward glance or a penny for support. Tammy hardly batted an eye when they’d left. She just moved on to the next bum, who left her with a baby boy months before Tammy’s death from an overdose.

When Tammy died, none of her family was interested in taking in her hodgepodge of kids, so they all went to foster care…except their brother. Just a baby, he’d been snapped up by some childless couple, eager to give him a great life.

He’d been the lucky one.

But Jessica’d been lucky to have Tiffany as her sister—until someone ended Tiffany’s life. Jessica’s gut told her that Tiffany’s killer still roamed free and clear, but law enforcement disagreed.

Avery Plank sat in the Washington State Penitentiary for murdering a dozen women, including Tiffany. Although he’d never been convicted of her sister’s murder, he’d confessed—adding it to his résumé while the cops closed the case and moved on. But Jessica refused to move on.

Now Morgan Flemming wouldn’t let her move on.

The bushes rustled behind her, and Jessica twisted her body around to eye the tree line, the pebbles on the ground digging into her knees. She peered at the shivering branches and held her breath as a few birds winged it skyward.

She let it out on one word. “Hello?”

Her voice sounded small amid the unrelenting nature that pressed her on all sides. She cleared her throat and pushed to her feet, tugging on her down vest. “Anyone there?”

A twig snapped. Her heart pounded. She clapped a hand against the slick material covering her chest and licked her lips as her gaze darted back and forth across the wall of green.

Several seconds of silence later, she emitted a puff of air from her lips. Creatures big and small ruled the forest and typically stayed out of sight, especially during the daytime hours. She had nothing to fear from the animal variety. The human species was a different matter.

She yanked a couple of flowers from the red dogwood blooming creek side and tossed them into the water. She blew a kiss as the petals drifted away on the current.

Shoving her hands in the pockets of her vest, she tromped downstream, her boots leaving divots in the moist earth. She didn’t have far to walk, and the creek led to her next destination.

Fifteen minutes later, she stumbled to a stop. A dirty piece of yellow tape fluttered from the end of a branch jutting into her path. She grabbed it and twirled it around her fisted hand as she scanned the memorial—a heap of teddy bears, bouquets of flowers, green felt pennants printed with the university’s name, gutted candles, and cards, soakedthrough with moisture, the sentiments printed inside blurry and forgotten.

The outpouring for Tiffany hadn’t been quite so effusive. After all, Tiffany hadn’t been a student at the university. She’d worked in the cafeteria, a recovering junkie and sex worker…at least according to the police, but Jessica knew better. Her sister suffered from addictions, but she’d never been a sex worker.

Jessica sighed and released the yellow tape. It unraveled from her hand, leaving striped indentations. She ducked under another branch and picked her way over the pebbled shore to the shrine that had grown on the spot where a pair of hikers had discovered Morgan Flemming’s body.

She crouched down and ran a finger over the head of a purple teddy bear, dislodging the crusted dirt from its fur. She chucked a couple bunches of motley flowers into the flowing water and righted a few candles. Most of the cards could be tossed, but maybe someone was saving them for the family. Whether the words could be read didn’t really matter. The thought counted.

She stacked the cards and placed a candle on top of the pile. As she reached for the final card, it flipped open and the black scrawl inside caught her eye. Likely a newer card or protected from the elements by another offering, its letters weren’t smudged.

As she flattened the card on her knee, her gaze skimming the words, icy fingers squeezed the back of her neck.

* * *

PROFESSORFINNKARLSSONentered the last grade on his laptop and snapped the lid closed. He grabbed his briefcase and coffee and locked the door to his office behind him.He had less than two minutes to make it to class, but dread slowed his pace, filling his shoes with lead.

He didn’t want to spend another class discussing the murder of Morgan Flemming, but his criminal justice students hadn’t wanted to talk about anything else since her body was discovered by the side of the creek a few weeks ago. He’d planned to introduce a new unit today, and he didn’t want his students to sidetrack him again. Finn didn’t have time to spend on the Morgan Flemming case. He had a prescribed amount of material to cover in a limited amount of time for the semester—at least that’s what he told himself.

A minute later, as he walked through the side door of the lecture hall, he glanced at the seats full of eager students. This would’ve been his dream at any other time in the semester.

He plugged in his laptop and navigated to the slides for today—how the Constitution affected laws. Probably the last thing his students wanted to discuss.

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