Here’s a look at Chapter one of The Clearbrook Murders: The First One
It was a typical mid-summers night in the small, backwoods town of Clearbrook, Washington. The moon was full, the air was crisp and you could hear the all too familiar sounds of crickets chirping their love songs to each other in the distance.
Clara snuck away from the ball and made her way down to the river where she would soon be reunited with the love of her life, Winston. The masquerade ball was a yearly tradition for the residents of Clearbrook that symbolized an end to the long summer nights.
Clara let her fingertips brush against the cattails as she weaved in and out of the heavy brush leading down to the river, her ball gown flowing behind her. The clock in the old church tower struck midnight and the sweet smell of honeysuckle seemed to dominate the air.
After finally reaching their secret rendezvous point, Clara stood at the water’s edge patiently waiting for her prince charming to arrive. That’s when she saw it. Without warning, Clara let out a blood curdling scream that seemed to bounce off of every tree in the forest. Her eyes hung on the dark figure, the outline of a body that was floating face up in the river, not even ten feet from where she was standing.
The body was clearly that of a male just based on the size of his torso. His face was almost completely submerged in the water, everything except for his mouth which hung wide open, and his eyes that seemed to be staring directly into the heaven and stars above them. The moonlight cast an eerie glow that illuminated his whole face, bringing out the features of his sunken cheekbones. You could see where the craw fish had already started dining on the soft flesh of his cheeks and neck. His limbs were stiff and his lips were blue, it was the aftermath of being in the frigid waters for some time.
Fearing that it might be Winston, Clara reached in and tried to pull his body from the water. It took all of her strength, but the body wouldn’t budge. Crouched down by the banks of the river, Clara was about to give up, but a rustle came from the bushes and a flash of light was shone in Clara’s face.
“Clara?” A deep voice asked.
“Winston! Oh, my God, you’re okay! I thought it was you!” Clara said as she spotted Winston standing beside her.
“What’s going on here?” asked Winston, a confused look on his face. “I came as fast as I could after I heard a scream,” he said again. “Was that you?”
Now covered in mud, Clara dropped the body back into the water and rushed into Winston’s embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, keeping her safe.
Within a matter of hours, the body would be pulled from Blackwood River. Nobody was sure how long he had been there, but by the decay, it could have been days or even weeks. The man’s face was barely recognizable. It was something that Clara was sure she would never forget as the image would be forever burned into her brain.
As dawn approached, so did the town, probably to start their speculation about who was behind the murder. The smell of honeysuckle was no match for the sweet smell of death that now masked the morning air. Sheriff Drew Dawson’s team gave one last heave to free the man’s body from the riverbanks. The corpse settled firmly on the muddy terrain.
If this caught you interest, you can read the rest of the book by buying it here: CBM1
Here’s a look at The Clearbrook Murders: Every Passing Second
Droplets of crimson red blood felt warm on her hands as it rolled down to the tips of her fingers, splashing on the dirt floor below. Ashley’s eyes fluttered open, accompanied by the dazzling pain in her head. It felt as if her skull was caving in on itself. She tried to sit up, noticing that she had been laying on a cold dirt floor, only to find that her hands had been securely fastened in front of her. The unyielding edges of the handcuffs dug into the raw skin of Ashley’s wrists, making it hard for her to move more than a couple of inches without inflicting pain. Her breath quickened and panic immediately began to set in as she realized that this was not normal.
Tiny goosebumps started to form on her legs, as she noticed she wasn’t wearing anything other than a thin small tank top and a pair of white spandex shorts. The same ones she had been wearing under her diner uniform before. Ashley squoze her eyes shut, trying to think of the last thing she could remember. She pushed away the hazy fog that clouded her memory, until she remembered something. She was being carried by someone, and it was dark. There was a sound, something familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. And then they were throwing her into a room and slamming the door shut.
Ashley forced her eyes open, wiping away the tears that now collected there. Through the darkness, she tried to focus her gaze on the tiny red light on the wall. It was the only thing she could see in the pitch black room. The light didn’t flash, it didn’t move, it didn’t change, not even a little. It was always the same, and in a way that was comforting, to know that there was some sort of constant. Between her shiftless gazes at the light on the wall, she noticed that her eyelids were heavy and her vision was starting to blur. Somehow she forced herself to continue staring at the light, afraid that if she didn’t something might change. She stared at it for what must have felt like hours. She didn’t dare find out what might have happened if she gave way to the drowsiness and surrendered to the sleep she so desperately craved. She had to stay alert. She had to stay focused, she reminded herself. Ashley knew she had to figure out where she was and more importantly, how she was going to get out of here.
Just then, Ashley thought she heard something, it sounded like footsteps. Her heart raced as she frantically searched the room.
It was impossible through the darkness to see anything else around her, but Ashley knew she was in a cell of some kind. The walls were built up by cinder blocks on three sides and one chain link fence in the front. It reminded Ashley of the cages that dogs slept in at the shelters, she had never felt quite this trapped before. Ashley felt like an animal. With her wrists still cuffed together, she padded her hands across the dirt floor, she reached in the darkness for anything she could hold onto. Her fingers suddenly wrapped around the cool metal of chains that lay across the dirt floor. She pulled hard, but the chains were stiff and offered no forgiveness. They rattled to the floor as she released her grip. Her short and heavy breath filled the tiny space as the panic started to grab hold of her. The constant dripping of a water pipe somewhere nearby was the only other sound that echoed throughout the room. The sound was just enough to drive her mad.
A thousand questions started to race through Ashley’s mind. ‘How did I get here, who did this to me and what did I do to deserve this?’ She thought, as she frantically started to piece together the puzzle in front of her. She began to let her mind wander, but only for a moment. As fear and panic took over, Ashley’s eyes filled with tears that started to roll down her cheeks leaving little trails of moisture through the dirt on her face. With her wrists still clasped together in front of her, she tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks, as they seemed to roll effortlessly and free from her eyes. It would only be a matter of time, she thought, before she would face her impending doom. Suddenly, from above, a crashing sound startled her. ‘What was that?’ she thought. Her heart slammed against her ribs as she anticipated what would happen next. She tucked her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them, trying to make herself as small as possible.
Suddenly, without her even noticing, a new sound was in the room. It was the sound of someone else breathing deeply. It was quiet, barely even noticeable at first, and it set her on edge. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight, like a dog that was ready to attack.
“Who’s there?” She whispered, but nobody responded. Her panic-stricken sobs got caught in her throat as she struggled to keep them down. Fearing that it might be the person who kidnapped her, she mustered up the courage to say, “Show yourself you coward!” Her words were hot as she said them aloud. Still nothing. This time more pleadingly, “Please!” Ashley let out a sob as she pleaded for the figure in the dark to say something, anything at all, back to her.
“Shhhh, be quiet… He’ll hear you.” Ashley suddenly heard from the corner of the room. A timid voice seemed to be tucked away out of sight. Someone she didn’t even notice to be there until now.
“H-h-hello? Who’s there?” Ashley’s voice shook.
“Please… Please be quiet.” the voice said to her again.
Suddenly, from above she could hear the sound of footsteps as they stomped against the hardwood floor. Ashley looked up to the ceiling, as a sliver of golden sunlight shone down through the floorboards. Loose dirt fell through the cracks in the floorboards with every step from the person upstairs. She blinked away the dirt out of her eyes, refocusing her sight on the tiny red light. It was still on.
After several seconds, the darkness grew quiet again. She stood up from the dirt floor, glaring up at the ceiling. The heavy metal chains dragged behind her as she limped across the cell. That was the first time that she noticed that her ankle was also chained.
“Be quiet or you’re going to get us in trouble,” the girl in the corner sobbed.
Just then a door from upstairs slammed shut, and heavy footsteps started to stomp down the stairs. Ashley cowardly fell to the floor, covering her face, knowing there was nowhere in this tiny cell that would offer a hiding place.
“No, no, no, no,” the girl in the corner cried again.
As the door swung open, a man stepped into view. A light in the hallway behind him cast an eerie glow, creating a silhouette around his tall figure. His feet stomped in the dirt as he walked closer. He pressed a button on the wall, and a loud buzzing sound filled the room. Ashley squoze her eyes shut, but when she opened them, something had changed. The red light on the wall was now green, and she watched as the chain-link fence holding her cell closed, swung open. The man quickly reached in and grabbed Ashley’s arm with a force that could have crushed steel. He pulled her to her feet, taking only a moment to unlock the chains at her feet before throwing her onto a metal stool in the center of the room.
Ashley whimpered as he raised his hand above her head, but it was only to pull the string of the hanging bulb on the ceiling. The light swung from side to side, illuminating their faces. However, what she saw startled her, it wasn’t the face of a man, it was the face of a monster. Masked behind dark fabric, only his eyes peered through. They were dark and ominous, and gave him a sense of danger. She knew the mask was to hide his identity, so that she wouldn’t be able to tell who he was.
Which only meant that she probably knew him.
The stranger disappeared back out into the hallway. Ashley frantically looked around the room that was now illuminated, trying to find a way out, any way that she could escape. Her heart pounded in her throat as she only had a split second to decide what to do next, to decide how the contraption on the wall worked that held them hostage. That’s when Ashley’s eyes met hers. In a cell just like hers, was another young girl. Ashley squinted through the glare of the hanging bulb, trying to make out a face.
Through the glare of the light, Ashley began to make out a face.
“Callie?” Ashley asked, glaring through the dim light. It was hard to tell for sure, but she thought she recognized the faint features of a girl she once knew. “Is that you?” Ashley hadn’t seen Callie in years. Now a different set of questions raced through her mind as she tried to figure out the probability of how they both ended up here together.
“Ashley?” The girl sat up, squinting through the light at her. “What’s going on? Where are we?”
“I’m… I’m not sure,” Ashley looked around the room, disappointed that she couldn’t tell where they were.
“I’m scared,” said Callie, as she too began to cry out in fear.
“Hey, hey it’s okay. I’m gonna get us out of here,” Ashley whispered. She knew her chances were slim, but she couldn’t let that stop her.
The sound of footsteps returned as she heard the man in the hallway.
“Shhhh, Shhhh.” Ashley urged. Just then the man returned, this time he had a small metal object in his hand.
“Why are you doing this?” Ashley cried.
But the man didn’t say anything. With his free hand, he grabbed Ashley by her hair, pulling her neck to one side. He then held a contraption that looked like a staple gun dangerously close to her head.
“Please,” she sobbed. “Just let me go.” The tears began to roll down her cheeks uncontrollably. “We don’t have to tell anybody. I won’t tell anybody,” she promised, shaking her head.
“Hold still,” he argued. The first words she heard him mutter.
She sucked in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. Without even as much as a one, two, three, he pulled the trigger.
“Ah,” she screamed in pain, although she could barely hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears. What had he just done to her? She was sure by the sheer pain that she had just been shot in the head. But if that were the case, why was she still breathing, seeing, thinking? Maybe it took time to die, she thought.
The man in black then disappeared out into the hallway, before bringing in another object, something on a frame of sorts. This time he set it up right in front of her, at eye level. As he moved it closer, she started to see what it really was. Through the shiny black lens she could start to see her own reflection. A girl she barely even recognized stared back at her. The dark smudges of her mascara ran down her cheeks in trails. She could feel as her dark brown hair was matted around her face.
He then handed her a white board with a word scrawled in black ink. She glanced down at the board, only for a second, to see a single word. Guilty. Her heart sank. What did it mean? Without saying anything at all, he motioned for her to hold up the board in front of her, like they did in mugshots. With her hands still cuffed together, she held the board up in front of her. He then motioned with his fingers to smile, curving them up towards his cheeks as he traced the lines on his mask where a smile would be.
“Smile,” he taunted.
The room filled with a bright flash as he snapped the photo, only one though, he had no need to take another.
With anger, she extended one of her legs, kicking the tripod over. She hoped to knock it to the ground, destroying his chances of capturing her photo. The tripod crashed to the floor, with a loud thud. He then struck her across the face, the force alone knocked her from the chair onto the dirt floor. She pressed her cheek against the cold dirt basement, letting out another quiet sob. She didn’t dare move, fearing what he might do next. The man lowered himself down to her level, his face inches away from hers. He peeled the mask up just above his chin, only revealing his lips. She could feel his hot breath and the stubble on his chin as he whispered into her ear, “I want to play a little game,” he paused. “You hide, and I’ll seek.” She could feel his lips turning up into a smile as they brushed across her cheek. The feeling repulsed her. Ashley wasn’t willing to give up, not now. She couldn’t let go without a fight. She quickly flipped over on her back, and anchoring her foot, she kicked hard into the man’s face. He instantly dropped his hold, covering his face as blood poured from his nose.
“You stupid bitch!” He yelled as he pressed the heel of his hand into his nose. “Fine, you want to act like a little bitch, then I’ll treat you like one.” He paused as he pulled her to her feet, throwing her back into the cell. He tossed a metal bowl on the floor at her feet.
“Eat your dinner,” he barked as he slammed the gate shut. He did the same to the cell next to hers. He then pulled the string to the hanging bulb on the ceiling, turning out the light and on his way out pressed the button on the wall, turning the green light to red once again.
Ashley peered into the metal bowl on the ground. It was filled with small, reddish brown pellets. With her hand, she scooped up a handful of what looked like dog food. ‘Dinner,’ she thought. At first, she threw the pellets in frustration, they scattered across the floor in front of her. In the cell next to hers, she could hear the sound of frantic crunching, as she could only assume the girl next to her was scarfing down the bowl of food. This was probably the only food she would get. Ashley looked down at her growling stomach. She cried as she forced a handful of the dry pellets into her mouth, choking it down the best she could.
“A-are you okay?” Callie’s timid voice from the corner started to say.
“Yeah,” Ashley sat up, she sniffed, using her hand to wipe the snot from her face.
“You think you can really get us out of here?” Callie asked quietly.
“Well I’m not sure, but I’m not going to give up without trying,” Ashley said with as much courage as she could muster up at the moment. “Do you know what’s going on? How long have you been here?”
“I have no idea. I don’t even know what day it is,” Callie answered.
“Well, the last thing I remember is leaving the diner on Monday night after my shift,” Ashley replied.
“Monday?” Callie asked with a shaky voice. “The last thing I remember is the school bell ringing on Friday.”
“So you have to have been here for at least three days, you really don’t remember?” Ashley asked.
“No,” Callie said after several moments of silence. Ashley could tell by the sound in her voice that she was upset as Callie started to sniffle. She could only imagine losing three days and not even remembering it.
Just then a searing pain surfaced near Ashley’s head. “Ow,” Ashley said as she held her hand up to her ear, it was hot with pain.
“It’ll stop hurting after a while,” Callie said softly.
“Thanks,” Ashley muttered.
The space between them grew quiet again. “It’s been years,” Ashley finally said. “I never imagined I would see you again like this,” she sniffled.
“Do you think he knows?” Hearing the words out loud instantly made Ashley’s head rush.
“What else would this be about?” Ashley barked at first. “Sorry, I… I just.”
“I know,” said Callie.
The only thing that Ashley knew for sure, is that they needed to get out of here. The red light on the wall shone back at her, as if to taunt her. She had to figure out how that thing worked. When the man in black flipped the switch, it changed the light to green, and that’s how he was able to open the door. The first thing she needed to do though, was get out of these handcuffs. Ashley pulled at the handcuffs in a futile effort to free herself from the metal restraints. It was clear that they were not coming off anytime soon, but she knew she needed to free herself. Ashley pulled at the cuff as it cut deeper into the skin of her wrists. She could feel the blood coating the metal and starting to roll down her arm to her elbow. She needed to be free, she reminded herself, as she continued to pull at the cuffs. Ashley pulled harder and harder at the cuffs until she realized just what it would take to get them over her hands. She couldn’t simply pull them over her hands, no matter how many different ways she tried or how she held her thumb. Ashley swallowed hard as she realized what she would need to do. She would need to dislocate, or even break her own thumb. She knew it was possible, but she wasn’t sure that she had the willpower to hurt herself that badly.
Grabbing hold of her thumb with one hand, Ashley pulled with all of her might on her own finger. She kept pulling until she heard, and felt, a loud pop as the bone slipped out of place. Her stomach did a backflip. The intense amount of pain caused by her thumb tearing out of the socket made Ashley throw up on the dirt floor. ‘So much for dinner’ she thought.
Now that her thumb was no longer seated, Ashley pulled one last time at the metal cuff encircling her wrist and was relieved to see it pull free from her arm.
Now to figure out the contraption on the wall. With her hands now free, she felt across the dirt floor for anything that could help her. A long stick, a rock, anything. Her hands rolled over a small stone as she picked it up between her fingers. And without even thinking, she wound up her arm like she was about to pitch a baseball and threw the rock as hard as she could. It hit the metal box with a clank before falling to the floor. She hurried her hands across the floor, looking for another rock. This one was smaller, but she threw it too. And then another. The light on the wall didn’t change.
“Damn it,” Ashley sighed, it was no use.
Just as she admitted her defeat, on the other end of the wall, Ashley could hear Callie as she cried herself to sleep. Ashley slid across the dirt floor, inching herself closer to the wall, as close as the cinder block and chain link would allow. She slid her hand between a small gap under the chain link fence. For several seconds she sat there, just like this, until Callie reached out her hand, putting it on top of Ashley’s. Callie’s hand felt warm, it was comforting. Ashley smiled, only a little as it was the kindest gesture she’d had in a while.
Ashley rested her head on the wall of the cell, still focusing on the red light until her eyes closed and she slipped into sleep.
Ashley was jolted awake by the loud buzzing sound that filled the room. She looked down at her fingers still pushed up under the gate, but Callie’s hand was gone. Ashley sat up straight, now noticing the light on the wall was green. She looked around, nobody else was in the room and there was no sign of the man from upstairs. She cautiously reached out her foot, using her toes to open the gate. It slowly swung open with a faint screech. Crawling on her hands and knees, she moved toward the opening, sticking her neck out and looking side to side. Still no one. She could now see the other cell door was open too. Peering in, she could see Callie was still curled up in a ball, fast asleep. Ashley moved quickly to her side, shaking her shoulder to wake her.
“Get up,” she muttered. “We have to go.”
It must have been a mistake that the door was left open, and Ashley knew this was their only chance. They wouldn’t have another chance to escape.
Callie slowly sat up, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes.
“Come on,” Ashley pulled her to her feet, pointing to the door. “We’ve gotta go.”
Callie pulled herself close to Ashley’s side. She put her arm around the young girl, with one hand still clasped tightly in the handcuff. Both girls made it to the threshold of the door, where Ashley paused, motioning for Callie to wait there as she held up her hands. She then made a shushing sound, urging her to be as quiet as possible. Ashley then stuck her head through the doorway, looking right then left, where she could see a set of stairs. At the top, it was dark, Ashley couldn’t make out any sounds as she listened quietly. She then turned to Callie, motioning for her to follow as she slowly climbed the steps, careful not to make a sound. The steps were old, and Ashley knew one false step could send an echoing screech through the whole house, one that would be sure to get them caught.
As Ashley made it to the top of the steps, she turned around to make sure Callie was still behind her. Then she sucked in a deep breath of air, bracing herself before stepping out into the open doorway. In front of her was another open doorway, only this one took them outside.
Ashley looked out into the night filled sky, a forest of trees enveloped them on either side. This was it? They were free? Somehow it felt too easy. Just then Ashley felt a shiver run up her spine. She looked back, only to see the shadow of a man standing in the doorway. This had been his plan. He wanted them to think they had gotten away. For a brief moment, Ashley could hear the unmistakable sound of a shotgun behind her. Her heart threatened to jump out of her throat as she turned to look at the girl standing next to her, their eyes wide with fear. Ashley then looked out to the open forest, deciding what direction to run, but when she looked back, Callie was already running in the opposite direction. “Shit!” she yelled. Only it was too late, Ashley was already running. Her legs were carrying her faster than she could think. She looked back, watching as the man jumped from the open doorway, running after them.
She wasn’t far from the house when she could hear the sound of a bullet piercing through the night sky, and then another. Her heart stopped, she wanted to sink to her knees under the weight of grief. Again her ears were ringing, but she knew she had to keep going.
If you enjoyed this sneak peak of book two, you can read more by purchasing the book here: CBM2