This story is part 2 of The Pine Creek Murders, a 6 part series that started in The Girl In The House
Remember when I said that The Girl In the House was a stand alone story, and that I had no way to continue it? Well, as usually happens when I say something like that, I figured out a way, because here is part 2, The Man In The Mirror.
Thor Leipheimer had to admit, he had been wrong. When his fiancée had asked him to move to Pine Creek, he was hesitant. He had lived his whole life in New York. He loved the city, and enjoyed his job at the Times. He had never thought of leaving New York, and never thought he would. In the end, his love for Katie won out, and after accepting a job at the Pine Creek Gazette he moved out of the city.
It didn't take him too long to fall in love with Pine Creek. As a photographer, Thor felt like he had died and gone to heaven when he saw the trees, rivers, and other sights that had made Pine Creek famous. He especially liked walking through the Pine Barrens, snapping picks of everything he saw. It was rare that he left the house without a camera, even if it was just a little point and shoot, and he was thankful for the development of high quality digital cameras. Without them, he would have spent a fortune on film in the three months since he moved here.
Luring away a photographer had been a big deal at the Gazette, and they used Thor as much as the could, asking him to do a story about the Ullrich Murder House to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the murders just days after he started. Thor loved the assignment, delving into the Ullrich family history, learning about the murders, and of course the ghost stories that followed. Unlike Katie, Thor believed the stories were true, that Lyne Ullrich did in fact still haunt the house where she died. Of course he would never tell her that. She would just laugh at him.
On of the best resources Thor could find while doing his research had been Wendy Landis, the widow of the man who had died in the house a year ago, and his next-door neighbor. A life long resident of Pine Creek, she knew a lot about the murders, and was more then willing to help him as he wrote the article. With her permission, he had even started writing a book on the murders, including a chapter speculating that Lance's death had been connected to the curse placed on Lyne Ullrich by her father before she died.
Today however was a day to rest and relax. The book had been sent off the editor the day before, and now Thor, Katie, and their friends Mary and Taylor Armstrong were walking through the woods surrounding Pine Creek. They had asked Wendy to join them, but she said no. It was her anniversary, and she wanted to spend it remembering her late husband and by visiting his graveside. They understood.
Thor of course had his camera out, snapping pictures of everything; a bird here, a pinecone there. He even had a picture of Lance's headstone. Mary and Taylor had known Wendy and Lance for a long time and they decided to pay their respects as well.
As they walked along the cliff side over looking Leed’s Lake, Thor saw what he had been looking for since he first became interested in photography. The perfect shot. Leed’s Lake in the foreground, disappearing into the fog as the Barrens closed in from the side. He knew that none of the others could appreciate the view as he did. In fact he knew on only one other person who could; Levi Basso, Katie’s brother.
Levi and Thor had been roommates in college, had taken the same photography classes, and were the best of friends. In fact, it was Levi’s fault that Thor and Katie were engaged. When a snowstorm kept Thor from joining his family in Florida for Christmas one year, Levi invited him to join his family. When Thor first laid eyes on Katie, he knew that she would some day become his wife, and the feeling was mutual. They began dating soon afterwards, and shortly after he accepted the job at the Pine Creek Gazette, Thor proposed. They were to be wed in three months, and Thor eagerly awaited the day when they would become man and wife.
He snapped picture after picture, but there was always something missing; people. Carefully posing the others near the edge of the cliff, Thor prepared to take the shot when he saw something shining between Taylor’s legs. He looked up in time to see a person in black plunge a knife into the base of Taylor’s neck. Blood sprayed everywhere as the killer turned and slashed Mary’s throat with a single stroke. Blood sprayed from between her fingers as she collapsed to the ground. The killer turned to Taylor and finished him off, driving the knife through his throat.
Katie and Thor ran, but the killer followed, with seemingly superhuman speed. As the light faded and the shadows grew longer with the setting of the sun, Katie and Thor thought they had lost him, until he wrapped his arms around Katie’s shoulders and drove the knife up under her rib cage and into her heart. The killer again disappeared as Thor ran back to help Katie, but it was too late. As she lay in his arms bleeding to death, she pointed. Thor looked in time to see the killed, his knife raised, ready for the kill.
Thor awoke with a start, cold sweat running down his chest. It had been a dream. Or a nightmare. He looked at Katie, lying beside him and was glad that he hadn’t woken her up.
He climbed out of bed, careful not to wake her, and went into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and saw the face of a man who had, seconds ago, been in mortal peril. Thor smiled. It was only a dream. No need to get worked up about it. He bent down to splash some water on his face, and didn’t see the man in the mirror, his knife ready to strike.
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