Easier to Lie

Chapter Four

"There's been another murder in South Carolina, this time in Myrtle Beach," I found myself glued to the television. I turned it on for background noise while I cooked breakfast. "Nineteen-year-old Sandee Pastor was found in her home late last night. The police are still investigating so all we know at this moment is that it appears to have been a robbery gone wrong. Neighbors say they noticed someone hanging around Ms. Pastor's home Wednesday afternoon, but no one has been able to give a description. We'll update as we learn more information."

"That is one yummy reporter," Leah suddenly appeared beside me, "Looks like Chris Pine with dark hair don't ya think?"

"Did you hear what he said? The killer is in Myrtle Beach. I need to call my mom."

She thought I was overreacting. She didn't have to say it, I could tell in her body language. She did the annoying hair flip and kept a hand on her hip. "Your pancakes are burning," she said.

The news story consumed my attention. I forgot I had been cooking, and once Leah brought it to my attention I could smell the burning batter. "Pop-tart?" Leah held out a blueberry frosted Pop-tart. I took it, but I was disappointed. I really wanted pancakes.

"Aren't you scared?" I asked her, my hands beginning to shake.

"What? Why? Do you know how big Myrtle Beach is? We're safe here. Don't worry about it, okay? We're here to have fun," and that was the end of that conversation.

Adam and Eric came over that afternoon. Both were off work, so they wanted to, and I quote, "chill"—who says things like that?

We watched movies most of the day. When my brain began to feel like it was melting, I grabbed a book from my room. I didn't want to seem anti-social, so I returned to my spot on the couch.

Two chapters into The Lovely Bones, my phone rang. I preferred text messages and everyone who knew me understood that. My mom called sometimes, but even that was rare since she learned to text. Frankie's name appeared on the screen.

"You make it home alright?" I asked. I hadn't heard from him since the goodbye at the door yesterday.

"I'm almost home now. We had some car trouble last night. We didn't make it out of Horry County until early this morning."

We talked for half an hour while Marc was driving. I asked if he had heard about the murder, and to my surprise, he had. "We passed by that place. Cops were everywhere."

"Do you think it could be the same person who killed Kathryn and Julie?"

"Probably," he caught me off guard. "South Carolina is a small state. The murders have similarities."

"They do? How do you know?" Leah kept motioning for me to be quiet, so I went to my room. "They haven't released any details about this latest murder."

"I overheard the cops. This girl had her throat slit and a pink tie holding her head in place."

"Exactly like Kathryn and Julie," all the color faded from my skin and all the air escaped my lungs.

"Yeah, it's crazy. This guy is good."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, really. It's just, this had been going on for like, a year now, and the cops have no leads."

"That doesn't scare you?"

"He's targeting teenage girls. I've got nothing to worry about."

I was too shaken up to continue talking so I told him to call me later. A million things were running through my mind. The Pastor girl was killed in Horry County, the same county we were in. I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom and dad. I couldn't handle all this on my own. I wanted to go home.