Fake Me To Church

Chapter 14.2 - Lake of Fire

- AHMED -

"Whoa," I felt blood rush to my head. "Slow down. You're saying Glenn Clather murdered Ruby?"

"Yes. And Marcus Hall was in on it."

"There's...there's no way." Steven's voice was low, tremulous. "...Why?"

"Because she was a threat—she was a rowdy girl with a promiscuous past who knew a secret that could have destroyed everything Marcus so tenuously held. She knew the only gods he served either fit inside his wallet or dangled between his legs, and she knew that EdgeWay Church of Christ was just another conquest—just another ladder of success whose rungs he'd managed to climb faster than anyone else. Luckily for Marcus, the only other little girl who ever got that close to the truth was Lane Martin."

"What truth, Marissa!?" I asked bluntly, frustrated. "You keep spewing all these riddles and rhymes—just tell us what happened!"

"Oh, haven't you figured it out by now!?" she screamed in reply. "Glenn Clather was a rapist, and Marcus Hall was an opportunist!" She exhaled, shaking her head. "To hear Glenn tell the story, though, it wasn't his fault. His wife Beth had just divorced him, and she was best friends with everyone's favorite tabloid junkie, Madam Caroline. After the divorce was settled, Caroline wrote a nasty piece about Glenn's sex habits based off private info she got from Beth. It was the first time The EdgeWay Press was printed with a parental-advisory label, and it was the first time it was mailed to kids' houses instead of being given out at school."

"And what, Caroline never got in any trouble for writing something like that?" I asked.

"Well, from what I understand, she knew some pretty juicy info on Marcus at the time. I don't know all the details, but apparently there was some major fight he was having with his wife. Either way, I'm fairly certain that banning the Press was the last thing Marcus was going to do." Marissa paused, her voice taking on a biting, acrimonious tone:

"But boys will be boys, I suppose. And if you can't get it from a consenting adult, I guess sex with a seventh-grade wild-child is the next best thing. Glenn followed Ruby one day when she went to the park, he donned the best mask he could find, and he raped her. All her classmates thought she'd disappeared, but it was really just her family who begged the school board to give her some time off while the police were investigating. And that sicko Marcus promised Mr. and Mrs. Densett that he'd be praying for justice, for the rapist to be found. He swore to keep everything under wraps and went so far as to erect a life-sized memorial for the 'missing' Ruby, knowing all the while what really happened."

"B-but how can you be sure?" Steven asked after a moment's hesitation. "How can you—"

"Because I know the rest of the story," Marissa cut him off. "It was late, later than I'd ever worked. I had no idea being a secretary could be so demanding, but due to budget cuts, Marcus had insisted that I be placed in charge of all game ticket sales for the rest of the year—starting with the first basketball match. Kids were yelling and screaming in the auditorium, but the main school building was quiet. Quiet enough for me to hear the faintest of screams coming from a few rooms over. I'd just gotten back from the gym after making two trips to collect all the money EdgeWay made selling tickets at the game. I was headed back to my secretary office at the end of the school's main hallway, and I thought I heard a girl yelling.

"I locked the ticket money in my office, and I heard the scream again. I poked my head outside my office door, and I saw him—Glenn was pulling a massive hoodie on top of some little girl. Seconds later, he was shoving her down the hall and out the back door facing the gym. I followed him as quietly as I could, but I lost him when he went outside. I went to Marcus about it the next day, and he made it clear that he expected me to forget the whole thing."