Before She Was Found(25)

I wonder what it’s like to be so in love with someone that you would do anything to be with them.

Emery said that the sheriff was sure that they were going to catch him but they never did. That’s what everyone thought at first. They thought he would come home eventually, but he didn’t. One night, a few months later, two sisters were walking home from a church meeting. There was no moon and no stars out so it was pitch-black. The girls couldn’t see anything but they walked that same route all the time and they were together so they weren’t scared. It got later and later and still the girls didn’t come home.

Finally, their dad went out looking for them and a few hours later he found the body of one of his daughters by the train tracks. She had been beaten to death. I wanted to ask her what happened to the other sister but I didn’t want Kendall to yell at me.

It was getting dark outside and Kendall’s room filled with shadows. The branches from the big tree outside started tapping on the window like long fingers. I wanted to turn on a light but I didn’t want Kendall and Emery to think I was a scaredy-cat so instead I picked up Skittles and started petting her. I pressed my face into her silky fur and started to feel better right away.

Kendall said they never did find the other sister; she disappeared into thin air. And then she said a year after the first girl died another one died. And then another, and another. All found by the train tracks. One beaten to death, one strangled, one stabbed and one drowned. All killed by Joseph Wither. She said that every few years or so a girl would vanish. Those were the girls he loved and took with him.

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until Skittles scratched at the back of my hand because I was holding her so tight. I let her go and she ran beneath the bed. I asked them how many girls Wither killed and how many he ended up taking. Kendall just shrugged her shoulders and told me to get out of her room. They had stuff to do.

Emery told Kendall not to be so mean. That Wither gave her nightmares when she was a kid. Like I said, Emery can be nice. I wish some of that would rub off on my sister!

Anyway, I found a weird website called DarkestDoor that’s all about urban legends and myths. All you have to do is post a question about your topic and people from all over will chime in with their ideas. It’s pretty cool. I haven’t had the nerve to post anything yet. I’m afraid to because my mom is ALWAYS looking over my shoulder watching what I’m doing online.

She is so paranoid. If she knew I was in chat rooms she would freak out. But she has an after-school meeting this week and won’t be home until five. That will give me some time. Plus, Violet showed me how to use incognito mode so no one can figure out what websites I’ve been on.

I caught Gabe looking at me during class today and obviously Mr. Dover did, too. Mr. Dover said, “Gabe, maybe you should just talk to Cora after class instead of staring at her.” Even Gabe laughed. Everyone did, except for Jordyn.

After school, Violet and I were walking outside when she got a Snapchat. It was a really bad picture of me with my eyes half-closed and this weird look on my face. Written across the screen was the word Bitch. I don’t even know what that means. Violet tried to make me feel better by saying that Jordyn was just joking around, that she takes pictures of everyone and writes stupid stuff.

Just then Jordyn came running up to us and started talking like everything was perfectly fine. She even invited me over to her house this weekend. I don’t know. It’s all very confusing.



Beth Crow


Monday, April 16, 2018


When I return to Violet’s room, Officer Grady is in the doorway, waiting for me. I peek around his large frame, which fills the space. The nurse has finished collecting the blood samples, the wayward strands of hair, the bits of evidence that may have been left behind.

Beneath the warming blanket, lies Violet. She is on her side, facing the wall, curled up like a wooly caterpillar. The IV tube snakes out from beneath the blanket and up to the IV bag, where a clear liquid drips slowly into my daughter’s bloodstream. She looks so small, so fragile.

“I just don’t understand,” I say, coming up to Officer Grady. “Joseph Wither is the name of a person that the girls did a school project about. Why would Violet say that a make-believe man attacked them?”

“Boy,” Grady says. “Joseph Wither is a boy. Was a boy,” he adds, seeing the question on my face. “He hasn’t been seen by anyone in decades.”

“I don’t have time for this. I need to get back to my daughter.”

“Ms. Crow, please,” he says. “I have to talk to her. We need to find out what happened. Cora Landry isn’t in good shape.”

I think of Cora and how bad her face looked. Someone tried to kill her; there’s no other way to look at it. “Okay,” I finally say. “You can talk to her, but I want to be there.”

Officer Grady looks like he wants to argue with me on this point but quickly understands that there is no chance of changing my mind and nods in agreement.

“You can stay while I talk to her but I’m going to ask that you don’t interrupt. Some of the questions I ask may be upsetting but I have to ask them. Like I said, time is ticking. The longer that monster is out there, the more difficult it will be for us to catch him. As far as I know, Violet is the only witness who can tell us what happened.”

We step into Violet’s room together and I look to the nurse. “She seems more alert,” she says. “She had a drink of water and asked for you.” I feel a pang of regret for running out of the room when Violet needed me.