A short story by

K. SUE COLLINS, author of Catharsis

Years ago…

Her name was Wendy Wallace. The most innocent name I had ever heard. She had red hair, straight, dark, and shiny. Unlike most redheads, her face wasn’t littered with imperfections. It was free of freckles. Smooth, flawless, perfection. Who knew what she would become when she got older. Her prospects were unlimited. Her future had no boundaries. She could be anything her little heart desired. Well, that was before I came into her life. Her destiny belongs to me now. Cute little teenie bopper high school cheerleader. I own her.

"Hi," I avoided her eyes. Not for fear, but because I want to knock her off her guard.

She was wearing her cheerleader garb. Her arms were full of pompoms. She tried to remain polite. "Hi," she said my name. I took the pompoms from her arms. Her keys were in her right hand. Wendy wanted to protest, but with the Student Council election slated for next Tuesday, she couldn’t afford to alienate any potential votes. The crowd I hung with represented a possible extra fifteen votes.

She unlocked her car door. Wendy was a creature of habit. She wanted to be team captain so bad, but poor Wendy was always second to Tammy. But not today, Wendy was always my first choice. It was ten o’clock at night and she was walking out to her car in a deserted parking lot by herself. Didn’t her parents ever teach her about safety.

"Let me help you," I lifted my head and offered up a smile.

Wendy smiled back, she relaxed a bit. Good, no fun when they’re tense. She opened the door to her four month old Mazda Miata. She bragged to everyone when rich mommy and daddy bought it for her on her sweet sixteen. Not that I’m jealous, my father got me a vintage Carmen Ghia.

I held the door open with a pompom free hand. I propped it open with my left knee. I leaned over and tossed the cheerleading accessories to the passenger side atop her AP Chemistry book. I needed to hold her attention for just a moment longer. I could sense the break of contact.

"Well, uh, thanks — " She slunk into the driver’s seat.

I placed my wrist on the top of the door. "So, how about Smithee’s pop quiz yesterday? You do good on it?"

"Guess." It was a well known fact that Wendy was an overachiever who was wet to get into an ivy league school. She would positively freak if she ever received a grade under 90%.

I held on just a little bit longer maybe a lingering amount of hope. "Getting out late tonight, huh?"

Wendy was trying to close the door on me. I removed my arm. "I’ll see you tomorrow – " She was eyeing the clock. I let her go. She must have had a curfew. No sense in her getting in trouble. She started the car and hit the lights. I moved out of the path of the car. As she drove away, I waved at her. Her overhead light was on. I saw her see me. I felt warm inside knowing her last memory of leaving school was my smiling face.

Wendy’s car was pulled over to the side of the road. She had the driver’s side door open. Legs dangled over the seat as she gabbed on the phone. The front tires were blown. It was a miracle she didn’t kill herself in the crash. I pulled my car over next to hers.

"Hold on," I heard her say into the cell.

I hopped out of the car and she breathed a sigh when she caught sight of me. "Wendy," my concern was simply a mask. "Are you all right?"

She held up her finger to silence me. "Uh-huh, all right. I have someone here with me." I cringed. "Call you later." She shut off the phone.

"Hey," she gave me a weak smile.

Mock shock. "Wendy, what the hell happened here?"

She pushed herself out of the car. "I dunno. I was driving. I heard a loud pop and then I lost control of the car. I went skidding into side here. If it weren’t for all the grass and weeds I would have gone crashin’ into the ditch." She pointed to the right of her.

I whistled as I pretended to care that she almost ended her own life. "So who were you talking to on the phone your mom and dad?" I said it with fake mild curiosity.

In the slight light of the streetlamp and overhead car light I could see her make a disparaging face. The idea sickened her; it pleased me. "You’ve got to be kidding, my parents would totally freak the hell out if they found out I got into a car accident. Naw, it was just AAA. They’re gonna send a tow truck to meet me. I’ll have to think about what to tell my parents when I come home in a tow truck."

I walked over to the side of the car and crouched down and examined the tires. They were wasted. There was no way she would be driving out of here. I stood up. She was standing next to me. Her presence wasn’t helping any. I wiped my hands together. Her hands were resting on her hips. She wanted me to do something. I suppose snapping my fingers would make the tires reinflate. I looked at my watch as though I had somewhere more important to be. "Do you have a donut?"

"Huh?" she scrunched her face. "What’s that?"

For a high GPA student common knowledge escaped her. "A spare," I explained better. "Do you have a spare tire?"

"Oh, that, I think I just have one." She leaned up against the car. Her pleated skirt ruffled in the wind.

I checked my watch again. "So, when is triple A coming?"

Wendy shrugged her shoulders. Her arms crossed over her sighing chest. "They said between 15 and 45 minutes. Quite a window, huh?" She was attempting to play coy with me. "Could you wait with me?"

I could smell her nervousness. If it were anybody else here she would have acted the same way. It didn’t matter who the warm body was, as long as there was one. Ah, the hangups of being popular and pretty. I stared at my watch. "I’d love to, but I’m going to Shane Winter’s party."

The question mark formed over her head. Shane was the football captain. She had the mega hots for him. She thought he reciprocated. She hadn’t heard about the party. She hadn’t been invited. "Shane has a party tonight?"

"Yeah, sure does. Parents are out of town for the week a funeral or something. I’m surprised you weren’t planning to attend. I thought you and Shane were tight."

Wendy didn’t know about the party. She felt slighted and insulted, but at the same time she needed to check it out. Without an invite, what chance did she have.

"Oh, yeah, that party. I was on my way home to change, then I was going to go." She wasn’t a good liar. One thing I had over her. The good girls never could lie well.

Spinning around, I walked to my car. "I guess I’ll see ya there." She chased me down. She latched down on my arm.

"Wait, I mean." I stared at her clawing at my arm. She offered a novel suggestion. "Why don’t we go to the party together? You’re on your way there anyway, I’ll find a ride home with someone else."

I scratched my head, considering the idea. "I’m not sure, you really need to stay here with your car."

Wendy bounced up for a second. The enthusiasm a cheerleader has when they want to get their way. "No, no, see, AAA will come and they’ll take right to my mechanic’s. So please?" She batted her eyelashes at me. I loved it when they begged. If I were about to change my mind and leave her here that sealed her fate. She thought she could manipulate me. Me? No, she was neither that charming nor intelligent. I would teach her a lesson…

"Okay." Let her think she won.

She jumped up and down. She saved herself from a cheer. "I’ll be back." She started back to the car. I stopped her.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Getting my books." I could sense she wanted to add a "Duh". Manners permitted her from doing so.

"No, no." I explained the reasoning. "Leave them. You see that way you can tell Smithee that you couldn’t do the assignment, because your books are at your mechanic’s and you wouldn’t be lying."

She had to agree that was convincing. "Come on," I persisted. "You know you want to do that. Be bad for once."

"Okay," she decided. She aimed for her car. "Let me get my jacket and lock up my car."

I pointed to my car. "I’ll get the car warmed up for you." I flicked off my lights off the second after she locked up.

When Wendy turned around with her coat and she couldn’t find me. I took what I need from my car. "Hey, where did you go?"

Stupid girl, she was giving me a honing signal to find her. I clubbed her from behind. She went down. Her groaning gave me the exact location.

When I finished, I tossed the body into ditch. I started to go to work. I hit my headlights on. I removed the hubcaps and tires. I had the perfect place to dispose of them with gloved hands. I took her school books and hurled them into the ditch. I surveyed the car for anything I could take. It glistened in the pale illumination. I was careful not to touch anything else in the car besides the Saint Christopher medallion. It was perfect. The patron saint of travelers. I was going to do a lot of traveling in my lifetime.

The school mourned. I cried with the best of them. I was so convincing in my performance I was sent to the school psychologist to "talk about my feelings." They let me go home early so I could be sorrowful on my own terms. The school almost shut down for the week. Sympathies running wild in the school made it impossible for teachers to demand research papers to be turned in on time. Everyone was cut slack. Deep down inside I could tell most of the school appreciated what I had done for them. Perhaps I would grant them another wish during finals.

The police had no clues. They were baffled. Profilers were assigned to the case. The profile was wrong. Mid-twenties to late thirties. Ha! No leads, no witnesses. No connection. They were looking for one who did not exist. The sheer brutality was not linked to someone her own age. It was someone who had developed his craft. Kudos for being right there. The theft angle left them sour. It was incomprehensible to them that Wendy would be killed for her hubcaps. The media didn’t know any better. They called him the Hubcap Basher. Insipid title. Mine was much better. Red Chapel. Wendy wasn’t my first victim. She would not be my last victim. Not by a long shot. It won’t be long before I perfected my talents. I will rip this little town apart. I will be part of history. I will be more famous than Hinkley, Holmes, Manson, and Ridgway combined. Wendy Wallace was lucky. She was the only one present for Red Chapel’s coming out party. It was an honor. But not to worry, many more would have the chance to experience what Wendy did. I’ll let them enjoy it longer. Must let them know that they will be documented. I am making them famous. They will be all over the news. It is a special time. The world must celebrate. Red Chapel has been born…