Free Tommy Nightmare (Jenny Pox #2) by JL Bryan Page B

to tell him the bad news. It
should probably come from family, she thought. Dr. Goodling would
know just what to do. “I mean, they’re kind of missing. A lot of
people are missing right now. The authorities are straightening
everything out, though.”
    “I don’t understand,” Tommy said.
    “Um…oh!” Darcy pulled her key ring from her
purse. “I have a spare key to the Goodlings’ house. I feed Maybelle
when they’re out of town.”
    “Maybelle?”
    “She’s de-barked, so she’s creepy.” Darcy led
him to the front door and unlocked it. “I was going to feed her and
take her out. Want to help?”
    Darcy led him into the house. A Welsh Corgi
jogged up to them, then opened its mouth and rasped at Tommy.
    “She’s really sweet, actually.” Darcy rubbed
the dog’s head. Maybelle gave a few more soundless barks at Tommy,
then followed Darcy deeper into the house. In the laundry room,
Darcy filled Maybelle’s bowl with food.
    The Goodlings made pretty good money, Tommy
thought. Their house was spacious and full of sunlight. Some of the
rooms were two stories high.
    He wandered into the living room and looked
at the photographs on the wall. There was the object of his
obsession, the girl whose face filled his dreams. Golden hair,
enchanting eyes, mysterious smile. In the pictures, she was every
age, selling Girl Scout cookies, playing the Virgin Mary in a
children’s play, kneeling in her cheerleading uniform with her fist
tucked under her chin.
    While Darcy filled the dog’s water bowl,
Tommy went upstairs.
    He found Ashleigh’s room right away. It was
large and frilly, with a private bathroom and walk-in closet, and
everything here smelled sweet.
    Tommy sprawled on her bed and buried his face
in her down-stuffed pillows. He sniffed deep. This was the right
place, the right girl.
    “Um, hey, Tommy?”
    He lifted his face from the pillow. Darcy
stood in the doorway, watching him.
    “What?” he asked.
    “So I guess I should go,” Darcy said. “You
can wait around here.”
    “Wait!” Tommy stood up. “Where is Ashleigh? I
have to know.”
    “Um…”
    “Tell me!’ Tommy shouted. He seized the girl
and shook her. “Where is Ashleigh?”
    “She’s dead!” Darcy wailed, and then she
broke down crying. She sank to the carpet. “She’s dead! Jenny
Mittens killed her!”
    Tommy squatted down and looked her in the
eyes. He squeezed her arm tight, pushing fear into her.
    “Explain,” he said.
    Darcy led him into the back yard, past the
duck pond and the shaded outdoor swing to a magnolia tree with
sprawling arms and royal purple blossoms.
    “It’s called a Purple Queen magnolia,” Darcy
said. “It was Ashleigh’s favorite. That’s why I buried her
here.”
    Darcy pointed to the giant gnarled roots of
the tree, which might have been hundreds of years old. A section of
the otherwise immaculate lawn had been churned up between the
roots, leaving a muddy mess.
    “Ashleigh is…buried here?” Tommy asked. He
felt dizzy. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
    “Well, Jenny turned her all to bones and
little pieces,” Darcy was blubbering, with a little drizzle of snot
running from her nose. “It was so bad. And Dr. Goodling never came
home. And I couldn’t just leave her there. She was my best friend,”
Darcy sobbed.
    Tommy felt kind of bad for the girl. He
wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he could never do that.
His touch never comforted anyone.
    “I wish she could come back,” Darcy said. “I
wish it was me instead of her. I’m the one who sinned. I’m the one
God should have taken.”
    Tommy stared at the churned earth. Fury
swelled inside him. The girl had been alive only a few weeks ago.
Alive and ready to give him answers, bring him understanding. But
something had happened, and he’d missed her completely.
    If he’d been faster, and if he’d been here
for her, she would still be alive.
    Tommy screamed and punched the solid trunk of
the magnolia. “Fuck!” he