Chapter Seven
A sinking feeling hit her and she suddenly felt sick. How had he found her? How had he gotten into the house? Where were her friends? Thousands of questions flooded her mind as she tired to understand what was happening. She looked into Matt's eyes and flinched as she saw the raw hate burning in them.
"Matt, what..." She was cut off when he slapped her across the face. Dovie tearfully put her hand up to her stinging cheek, trying not to let the tears fall. She knew from experience that it would only make Matt angrier.
"Did I say you could talk?" he demanded.
"You asked me a question." she stammered. "I assumed..."
He rewarded her with another slap. "Don't assume anything, Dovelyn. You keep your mouth shut until I tell you to talk." Biting her lip, she nodded as he continued to scream at her. "First off, I'm not even going to discuss your moving into the same house with three single guys, let alone guys that I've told you quite specifically I want you to have nothing to do with."
"He's my cousin!" Dovie yelled, losing her patience. "You can't tell me to have nothing to do with my family!"
His punch sent her flying off the bed and into the dresser. "Shut up!" he screamed. "I'm not finished. You will hold your tongue! What I want to know is why there were a total of ten guys over here last night and why you were touching all of them!" Matt spat the words out at her violently. "God, I always knew you were easy, but now I realize just how much of a slut you are." Dovie began to panic as Matt advanced toward her, pure hatred on his face. "Since you seem to be giving it away to everyone lately, I think I'll join the fun. After all, I am your boyfriend."
Dovie scrambled backwards in an attempt to avoid him. Matt closed the distance between them rapidly, pinning her against the wall. He grabbed her arms roughly, and she winced in pain. She glanced to the door frantically, wishing one of the guys would miraculously appear. Matt seemed to read her mind and sneered at her.
"They're not coming." he whispered maliciously. "They'll be in the studio all day."
"How do you know that?"
He held up a piece of notebook paper. "They left you a note." he said with false cheer. "Wasn't that sweet of them? By the way, Lance said he loves you very much, that he meant everything he said to you last night, and to stay safe and call if you need anything." His fake smile fell from his face and was replaced with a look of contempt and anger. "You seem to have acquired yourself a very fine and caring boyfriend. Did you happen to forget that you had one already?"
Dovie stared at him wide-eyed. She wondered briefly if she would ever see Lance or Justin again. Having seen the look in his eyes before, she knew he had planned something, and from experience it wasn't likely to be something she'd enjoy.
"Matt, please, I..."
He silenced her with a single look and dragged her to her feet. From there, he half led, half carried her to the bed.
"No! Matt, please!"
"Shut up!" he screamed. "Did you honestly think that I wasn't going to find out that you were cheating on me? And with that... That singing freak?! I don't think so! You're going to pay and pay dearly."
Dovie felt his hands on her and shut her eyes tightly against his intrusion. His hands gripped her arms so tightly that she knew she would have bruises the next day. She whimpered with pain and tried one final time to get away from him unsuccessfully before feeling something hard smash into the side of her head. For a brief moment, she saw stars, then mercifully she passed out.
Across town, Howie once again picked up his cell phone and dialed Dovelyn's number. He'd been trying to get in touch with her unsuccessfully for hours. After hearing the answering machine pick up once again, he sighed and clicked the phone off.
"Still can't reach her?" Brian asked.
"No, and I can't seem to shake the feeling that something's wrong." he replied softly.
Kevin suddenly looked up. "Wait, wasn't *N Sync scheduled for the studio all day? Maybe she went with them."
"Great idea, Kev!" AJ said. "Try one of their cell phones, D."
Still somewhat uneasy, Howie did as he was told. The phone rang only once before someone picked up. "Hello?"
"Justin? It's Howie."
"Hey Howie. What's up." he answered casually.
"I was wondering, is Dovie at the studio with you guys?"
Justin sounded confused. "Dovie? No, she was tired this morning and decided to stay home and sleep in. Why don't you try the house? Do you have the number?"
"Well that's the thing, Justin," Howie began nervously. "I have it, and I've been calling all morning without getting an answer."
"She didn't answer the phone?" Justin repeated, beginning to sound concerned. "That's not like her."
"That's what I thought."
A tap on his shoulder caused Justin to look up. When he did, he found Lance looking at him worriedly, with the others behind him, sharing his expression. He shrugged, then quickly relayed the news to his friends. Lance glanced at the others and sat down slowly while Justin looked away and attempted to sound normal.
"Okay." he replied, his voice beginning to shake. "I'm sure it's nothing, but could one of you run by to check on her please?"
Howie heard Justin's voice break and knew how worried he really was. "Sure, Justin. I was going to do that anyway if she wasn't with you guys."
Relief began to seep into him. "Thanks, Howie. I really appreciate it. Let us know, okay?"
"Yeah. Talk to you in a few."
Letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, Justin turned back to face his friends. "Dorough's going to check on her." he said quietly.
Lance stood and began pacing. "I don't like this, Justin. I don't like this at all."
"Me neither." Just agreed solemnly. "I say we check on her ourselves."
Ever the voice of reason, JC answered him sounding upset. "As much as I'd love to, we can't, Justin. We're in the middle of recording. Jive would throw a fit if we left."
Lance turned on his heel and looked JC straight in the eye. "So what? If we don't get it done today, we'll just come back tomorrow. Right now, we need to think about what's more important�work or friends."
All five men looked at each other silently for a split second, then simultaneously stood and headed for the door.
The Backstreet Boys pulled up to the house a mere thirteen minutes after Howie had gotten off the phone with Justin. Together, they approached the front door silently. Nick was the first to notice something was wrong.
"Guys?" he whispered. "I'm no expert on this, but shouldn't the doorknob actually be attached to the door?"
AJ cursed under his breath and sprinted for the door. Shoving it aside, he gazed around the room seeing nothing unusual. "Dovie?" he shouted. "Dovie?" He was greeted by silence. "Damn it, Dovelyn, answer me!" The boys looked at each other, then began looking around the first floor of the house for their friend.
"Guys, over here." Brian called from the kitchen.
The remaining four rushed into the room. "Did you find her?" Nick asked breathlessly.
"No." Brian answered. "But look."
Following his eyes, the guys saw the trash can; their eyes widened when they saw what it contained. Inside were dozens of pictures that had been taken of Dovie with her friends over the last few weeks. Howie slowly reached over and picked up one of Dovie with the five of them, while AJ found one of Dovie with *N Sync, and Kevin one that he could only assume had been Dovie and Lance cuddling on the couch. All were in the same condition. In each photo, the faces of everyone but Dovie had been scratched out. Behind them, Nick gasped. They turned and saw what he had just noticed. Stuck to the back of the kitchen door with a knife was a picture that Howie knew had been Dovie's favorite. It was of her and Lance, taken the day she'd moved in with Justin�or rather, it had been. Someone had scratched out Lance's face and then attempted to set fire to it before finally sticking it to the door by piercing the knife through Lance's chest. A commotion at the front door grabbed their attention and they ran into the entryway to see the members of *N Sync stumble through the door.
"Have you found her yet?" Lance asked hurriedly. The Boys shook their heads and Lance cursed loudly.
Justin immediately headed for the stairs, only to be stopped by JC. "JC, what do you think you're doing? She could be in her bedroom! I have to get to her!"
JC forced his younger friend to look at him. "That's exactly what I mean, Justin." he said calmly. "She could be up there...and something could have happened. Let's call the police and then Kevin and I can go up to look."
"No!" Justin shouted. "If she's hurt, I need to be with her!"
It was Lance who was finally able to calm him down. He quickly walked over to them and grasped Justin's shoulders firmly. "Justin, listen. I know how much this is worrying you. But think�what good would you do Dove if you found her up there hurt, or worse? You wouldn't be able to help her at all. Please, listen to JC. Let them go up. You...we don't need to find her hurt." Lance pleaded with his friend, tears clouding his vision. Numbly, Justin nodded and allowed Joey to lead him to a nearby chair. Brian was already on the phone with the police. Grimly, JC and Kevin mounted the steps to check Dovie's room.
Knocking lightly, Kevin called Dovie's name through the closed door. When they heard no response, JC called once more, advising anyone inside that they were entering. Kevin then turned the knob and began to push the door in. His efforts were quickly hit with resistance. Frowning slightly, Kevin raised his eyes to meet JC's.
"Dove?" he called again. "Dove, can you hear me?" JC's voice was thick with fear.
Kevin nudged him aside gently and then pushed the door roughly with his shoulder. The door groaned as it gave way, pushing aside the heavy bag blocking the way. They entered the room silently, worry suffocating them. One glace told them that something terrible had happened to their friend. Dovelyn's normally spotless room was a mess. Clothes, books, and trinkets littered the floor, landing where they had fallen when an angry and unidentified hand had thrown them. The bedclothes were rumpled and torn, with suspicious-looking blotches on them. More deep red puddles were scattered around the room, an indication of the struggle that had taken place there. JC knew he was looking a place where Dovelyn's innocent blood had been spilt and his stomach heaved in rebellion. He was forced to leave to quickly reach the bathroom.
"Good God," Kevin breathed in prayer, "let her be safe." He turned and ran to the next room. Finding nothing there either, he proceeded to swiftly check the rest of the upstairs rooms before meeting JC and returning to the den.
Lance and Justin both stood quickly when the two returned. "Did you find her? She's okay, right? She was just sleeping or in the shower or something, right?" Justin said hopefully. Sadly, Kevin shook his head and Justin attempted to come up with another reason for where his beloved cousin had gone that his mind could deal with. "Okay, so she went to a friend's house and forgot to leave a note. It happens; she'll be back soon."
Looking at Kevin worriedly, JC answered him. "No, Justin. I don't think she went to a friend's. She didn't go anywhere willingly, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?" Lance stammered nervously.
"Her room... Well, it was a wreck." Kevin began.
"So she's messier than we thought." Justin interrupted. "I'll tell her to clean her room when she gets back."
JC was shaking his head as two police officers entered the house slowly. "Did someone here call about a break-in?" the tallest asked in a booming bass voice.
"Yeah." JC answered him. "Our house was broken into, and our friend is missing."
"And what makes you think your friend is the victim of foul play?" the same officer asked.
JC looked at Justin and Lance sorrowfully before answering. "She's a really neat person, and her room is a mess. And there are puddles of blood on the bed and carpet in her room."
Lance and Justin gasped as Nick stepped forward. "There are also a bunch of mangled pictures in the trash that Dovie treasured, as well as one stuck to the kitchen door with a knife." he said quietly. The officers nodded to each other, and one headed upstairs while the other moved toward Nick to talk to him.
"All right, son, what was this you were saying about mangled pictures?"
Nick glanced at his friends nervously before answering. "Yeah, um... They're in the kitchen trash can . Someone scratched out all our faces. Dove was the only one that was untouched."
The officer wrote in his notebook, then posed another question. "And the photo stuck to the door with a knife?"
The young man closed his eyes briefly. "Yeah. It's of Dove and her new boyfriend, Lance. Apparently, he didn't like seeing Lance cuddled up with Dove. That picture was really messed up. He had scratched out Lance's face again, then burned part of it. Finally, he stuck a knife through where Lance's heart would be."
"Okay. Show me where these pictures are."
Nick nodded, then led the policeman silently into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later and looked all of the guys over carefully. "Which one of your is Lance?"
"I am." Lance spoke up softly.
The officer focused on him. "You're Dovelyn McKenzie's boyfriend?"
"Yes, sir."
"Were you aware of anyone Miss McKenzie had as an enemy, or of anyone who wanted to harm her in any way?"
Lance nodded, closing him eyes and swallowing hard, remembering bits and pieces of information that Dovie had told him about Matt. "Yes, sir." he answered. "According to what Dove has told me her ex-boyfriend, Matt used to beat her fairly severely on a regular basis for the two years that they were together."
This revelation produced gasps from the five Backstreet Boys, who had gotten only hints that Dovie's past relationship was less than perfect. Hearing of Dovie's mistreatment made Howie seek the nearest chair quickly. The officer was silent for a moment, jotting down notes and giving the five obviously shocked men a chance to digest what they were hearing.
Howie looked up dazedly and uttered the one work on everyone's mind. "Why?"
Before anyone could answer, the second officer re-joined them from upstairs. He quickly crossed the room to his partner and whispered something into his ear. The first nodded and the second left the house and walked swiftly to the patrol car outside.
"What's going on?" Justin asked frightened, sensing something was very wrong. When he received no answer, he jumped up and ran toward the stairs. Abruptly, the remaining officer darted over and grabbed him before he could get any farther than the second step. Justin was livid with anger. "Let me go!" he screamed. "Damn it, if you won't tell me anything about Dovelyn, I'll find out for myself!"
"Son," the officer said gently, "you don't want to go up there."
"Let me go!" he repeated.
The officer's voice was sterner this time. "Son, you can't go up there."
Justin wasn't deterred. "Why the hell not? It's my house!"
"It's a crime scene, Mr. Timberlake. It can't be disturbed or cleaned until we investigate Miss McKenzie's disappearance further."
Paling, Justin went limp in his arms. "Cleaned?" he repeated dully. "Why would it need to be cleaned?"
"There's a great deal of blood in the room, sir." the officer replied quietly.
"Blood?" Justin echoed, struggling to understand. The sympathetic look in the officer's eyes proved to be the singer's undoing. He collapsed to the floor, sobs wracking his body. JC and Chris immediately ran to their friend to attempt to comfort him, but he shook them off. "NO!" he cried hoarsely. "No, this is not happening! I'm supposed to keep her safe! She's safe because she's with me!"