Free Skulls by Tim Marquitz Page A

passenger seat and got into the car. It shifted under his weight and Jacob propped his arm against the window to keep from thumping against the door. Cass let herself slide into him, bumping him with her hip. He glanced at her surreptitiously and she smiled back.
    “Where do you live, Jacob?” the sheriff asked, sliding a small window in the divider open so he could be heard.
    “Just down the street a bit, on River Trail, closer to the Sudderth side. Paradise Park.”
    Tate gave a sorry grin and nodded. Of course he’d know about the trailer park. Nestled as far away from the nice houses of Country Club Road as the mountains allowed, Paradise Park was anything but a paradise.
    Every third trailer was abandoned, windows kicked out, doors missing. Graffiti covered the outside walls in flaking layers, some so much you couldn’t tell what the original color was. The gangs marked their territory with defiance, often selling their drugs openly on the street.
    The people that lived there kept their eyes open. If it wasn’t the gangs causing problems, it was the squatters that packed into the abandoned trailers. Anything not locked down tight that had even the slightest value at a pawn shop, went missing.
    Even with his trailer at the far end of the park, furthest from the worst of it, Jacob was wary of what went on there. His neighbors peered out from behind their curtains every time they heard a noise outside. You couldn’t walk down the street without being watched. It was so bad his friends had taken to calling the place, Paranoid Park.
    The sheriff pulled away from Chris’s house and Cass grabbed Jacob’s hand. She smiled and shrugged. Jacob nodded, knowing their night together was over.
    The rest of the ride was quiet, only the occasional squawk of the police band radio breaking the silence. A few uncomfortable minutes later, they pulled up around the corner from Jacob’s house.
    “I’m gonna let you out here so no one sees the cops dropping you off.” He met Jacob’s eyes in the rear view mirror. “I’ve had the pleasure of running into your dad over at the Chrome Horse a couple of times…” He shrugged and let the rest of his sentence go. He hit the door locks. “Go straight home, Jacob.”
    “I will,” Jacob answered, popping the door open. He leaned over and gave Cass a quick hug and tentative kiss goodbye. He felt the sheriff’s eyes on him in the mirror.
    He gave Cass a wan smile as he pulled away. “So much for hanging out,” he whispered to her. She nodded.
    Jacob hopped out of the car with a quiet huff and shut the door. The sheriff leaned out of his open window. “I’ll get her home safe. Don’t you worry none.” He smiled big and pulled off.
    Cass waved from the back seat as Jacob watched the squad car drive away. When it was out of sight, he headed for home. The party was a bust and he was back way earlier than he had expected. He hoped he could at least get some sleep.
    He slipped inside the trailer and locked the door behind him. The house was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator. He went to his room as his head began to swim. Images of Terrance crept forward. Jacob cringed as they invaded his mind, Terrance’s tortured screams echoing inside his skull.
    He kicked off his shoes and fell into bed, rolling over to turn on the CD player. The initial blast of music cleared his mind and he scrambled to turn it down. The volume at a more reasonable level, Jacob focused on the music. He sang along, pulling the blankets up over his head. Vague flickers of Terrance and Katie danced at the very edges of his conscious mind.
    He squeezed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth to the rhythm of the music. Terrance’s plaintive wail screamed along inside his mind. It took him a long time to settle down and relax. His night with Cass had been cut way too short. He growled when he thought about it. Snuggled up in his bed, he had only the dead for company.
    As the disc played on, he found a bit