Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
Justin found the spot relatively easily. Even the dark and the rain couldn't stop him. He could still make out the tire tracks in the soft sand, off the side of the road. He could see skid marks. Justin knew that if returned in one hundred years those marks would still be there.
He stopped his car, grabbed a shovel and a flashlight, and got out.
The rain fell onto his body like a refreshing mist. Coming out here in the middle of the night was somewhat morbid but he had wanted the shelter of the darkness. It had only been a short time ago that he had deciphered the Caretaker's hidden message. He should have come here immediately after leaving Lulu's grave but he had been afraid. He was still afraid.
Justin slammed the door shut and began walking fifty paces into the field. That was how far they had carried the man that night. That was how far he was walking now.
When he reached fifty paces, he was standing over a spot where the earth was uneven and there was little grass. It did not look like it had taken a year to settle. It only added another strike to what his heart had already confirmed. Finding out what a dead corpse looked like after a lengthy decay would be about as pleasant as confirming his suspicions. Either way, he was going to vomit.
He set his flashlight down and began to thrust his shovel into the soft sand. Soon his shirt was slick with sweat and rain and he needed to take it off.
When they had buried the man, they hadn't had anything to dig with, so the grave hadn't been deep. With each dig of the shovel, it brought with it a fear that he would stab into something dead and rotting.
When Justin was waist deep he stopped. The body wasn't there. It wouldn't be buried that deep. He pulled himself out of the hole. His body was covered in sweat, mud, and debris. He sat there, just staring at the grave. He finally realized that he wasn't gaining anything by sitting there, he stood and picked up the flashlight.
Something in the hole caught Justin's eye. A glimmer of metal, stuck in the mud. Justin pulled it out and saw that it was the crucifix that Lance had insisted they drape over the man's neck.
Justin's trip had been in vain. What was left of the man was buried six feet under in Orlando's Private Cemetery.
Justin slowly walked back to the car and stared at the small piece of yellowed newspaper that had sent him on his quest.
After leaving the funeral he had returned to his apartment. He had wanted to spend the day with Jamie, hopefully in bed, but something about the ring had bothered him. It was on the tip of his tongue but the harder he tried to remember the farther away it slipped.
He had stared at September's second message.
September~SJUTCLRIUESLAVAKEYNIEANVKYOEJLDOESEICYDHILOSLOFI LAWLTIUPRNIOCNEHECTAIOPLMPOOLPREORLTOOOWLG
Starting with the first letter, then using every third letter would tell her to streak naked during the next day's school lunch.
But no one had thought to look at the other letters.
As soon as Justin had seen the ring in Jamie's hand he knew that something was wrong. As more and more details of that night came pouring back to him he remembered that the man had been wearing an expensive ring.
And that Lulu had been the last person to touch him when she folded his arms across his chest.
Starting backward, using every third letter, September's letter read:
GO TO POLICE OR I WILL DIE, LOVE YA, LULU
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