It was as likely a scenario as the one that the cops had come up with: dragging her down the mountain and her losing the shoe but nothing else.
As he walked down the hill, Ben was still trying to organize his brain because there was a problem with his thinking. Julia lived close to the trail. Julia was also a runner. Before she went on her jog, she most likely would have gone to the bathroom. And if the urge hit her, she’d probably have enough control to wait until she got home and could use a clean bathroom. Why would she go into a filthy outhouse unless it was an absolute emergency?
And if she was having bladder or bowel problems, would she have really jogged that day?
As much as he hated the idea, he went back to the outhouse, held his nose, and opened the door. He tried to put himself in Julia’s mind. Would she really have made a pit stop here?
Ugh, as Ro would say.
The wooden walls were rotting and the roof let in daylight. There was a toilet seat that covered the shit hole in the ground. He could understand a guy taking a piss in the cavity, but who in their right mind would sit on such a disgusting toilet seat? Maybe a guy in desperation but never, ever a girl. His eyes looked into the brown, mushy gap.
And then he saw his answer.
He felt faint.
Still holding his nose, he left and quickly climbed down the hillside. He fast-walked along the jogging path, spying Nora and Ro on a bench, chatting away. It was good that Ro had come with him. Besides the fact that he loved her, it was also good because she was so adroit socially. He took in a deep breath of fresh air and let it out slowly. Did it again and again and again. He threw his shoulders back and put on his best bland expression. He went over to the bench.
“Hey.” They both looked up. “I’m all done.”
“Find anything?” Nora asked.
Ben looked down. “I know this is going to sound odd . . .” He took in a breath and let it out. “On the day that Julia was abducted . . . did she by any chance . . . like, have her period?”
Nora turned a ghastly shade of white. She dropped her head to her knees. Immediately Ben and Ro started fussing over her. She batted them away with her forearm. “Stop. I’m all right.”
The next few moments passed in awful silence. Finally, Nora lifted her head. Ben had pulled out a water bottle from his backpack. He undid the top. “Here, Nora, take a drink.”
“Thank you.” Nora took a sip, and then another sip. She exhaled forcefully but her intake of breath was still shallow. “I’m all right, thank you.”
More time passed. She drank again. Then she looked at Ben. “Yes, she did have her period and it was unusually heavy.” Tears spilled out of her eyes. “I didn’t want her to go jogging, but she insisted.” More tears. “How’d you know? It wasn’t a lucky guess.”
Ben rubbed his eyes. God, he felt tired . . . more than tired. He felt as if someone had taken a cudgel and whacked him over the head. “This is just a thought, Nora.”
“Go on!” Her voice was stiff and harsh. He didn’t take offense.
Ben said, “I don’t think the killer was thinking about pulling a random girl off the jogging trail. He’s a thinker . . . a planner. I think he was staking out the outhouse. The spot is hidden. Just as important, the killer can hide the victim behind the building for privacy.”
“You think he raped her behind an outhouse?”
“No, but I think that’s where he abducted her from.”
When he stopped talking, Nora said, “You’re trying to protect me. But the more I know . . . you can be as blunt as you need to be, okay?”
His eyes got moist. “Nora, I think he drugged her chemically . . . a rag to the nose until she passed out. I think he dragged her unconscious body up the hill to the street above. I walked the area. The road is filled with parked cars. It’s easy to hide behind them. I think he knew exactly where to park his car. When he got up there, he stowed her in the trunk but not before taking her shoe. And once she was locked up and knocked out, he went back to the trail and threw the shoe down the hill to throw the cops off. Then he went back up to his car and drove away.”
Nora waited. “What does that have to do with her period?”
Ben steeled himself. “Why would Julia have used an outhouse when she lived so close? It had to be an emergency, something she needed to do right away, and something that didn’t involve sitting on the toilet seat.” He felt himself go hot. “Ellen was older than I was, but I remember stuff about her.” He exhaled. “Sometimes girls leak and it’s embarrassing for them. When I looked down the toilet hole, I saw a few tampons.” He wiped his eyes. “She was probably leaking and she didn’t want to be embarrassed.”
Chapter 5
Once back at the motel, Ben started stuffing his meager belongings into his duffel. He was panting, his skin red and flushed. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Our plane tickets aren’t until tomorrow,” Ro told him. “Besides, I haven’t seen Stanford.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about Stanford, Ro. I need to get out of here. I can’t breathe, I can’t function, I can’t think, I can’t talk!” He turned on her. “It’s bad enough that I do what I do with my own sister. But to see someone else in misery like that and know I played a part in it . . . Uh-uh, never again!” He zipped up his duffel. “You do what you want. I’m leaving.”
Ro stood there in a seedy motel of his choosing, staring at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Go then.” The sound of her voice made him stop. “I’ll be fine. I’ll take care of the car and the motel bill and whatever else you leave behind in your wake. Unless you need the car to get to the airport. If so, I’ll rent something or take an Uber or a taxi.”
He continued to look at her with vacant eyes. Eventually, he threw his duffel on one of the beds and plopped onto his back on the mattress. “I’m acting like an idiot.”
Ro sat down next to him and took his hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that misery, Ben. I saw all the suffering in your eyes. For what it’s worth, I liked your theory.”
“Doesn’t bring me any closer to who he is.”
“Who they are?”
“It’s only one killer. I’m sure of it.” He sat up. “Why do you put up with me? I’m not rich, I’m not a BMOC, I don’t play football, I’m not even all that cute.”
“You’re very cute. And maybe I put up with you because I love you.”
“Whatever for?” He spoke more to himself than to her. “I love you too. I love you and thank you very much for doing this for me.” He looked at his watch. It was past four. “Let’s grab an early dinner and call it a night.” He turned to her. “I’d be happy to see Stanford. It would be my pleasure to do something nice for you. We’ll stick to the plan.”
“What does ‘call it a night’ mean to you?” Ro asked him.
“What does it mean to you?”
“It means doing something more than eating a greasy meal and reading bad pornography.” She smiled. “Maybe it means acting out our own pornography.”