My Sister's Murder by Melissa Willingham (book recommendations website .txt) 📕

expected the rest of it to be the same way. But half-way through it, her words took on an ominous turn. I’m not sure who she was referring to in her nervous scribbling, but I think Tracey was very upset and worried. Here is a sample of her words:

“He makes me very uneasy. I feel so edgy whenever he’s around. I don’t like the way that he looks at me. It’s as if he’s a hungry lion and I’m his intended prey. No one’s ever watched me the way he does. It scares me sometimes. I don’t want to be alone with him. I’m afraid of what he might try to do to me. I believe he wants to hurt me. But, I can’t be sure of what he’s thinking.”    

***

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Dear Diary,

I feel as though I’ve stumbled across something very significant. Whatever I hoped to find in her diary, I never anticipated this. Tracey was obviously frightened of some unknown individual. Was it Sean, her devoted boyfriend? Whoever it was, she said she didn’t want to be alone with them. Well, she was by herself with Sean a lot. She never seemed uptight around him. I mean, they were intimate together. She said so in her diary. He’d never have harmed her, would he? Here is a sample of her last entry, dated February 28th, the night before she vanished:

“He kept staring at me during dinner tonight, but no one else even seemed to notice. His pupils felt like two daggers slicing through me. I could tell he was undressing me with his eyes. Those cold, dark, black eyes of his give me the creeps. I know he wants to have sex with me. I’d rather die first, before I’d ever allow him to touch me. He makes me sick the way he salivates over me.”       

***

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Dear Diary,

The search was called off today, since nothing was ever found. After I read my sister’s haunting words, I knew I must turn her diary over to our parents. So I gave it to them this morning and they took it to the police station, after reading her cryptic entries. I also shared with Mom and Dad how I felt like Tracey had been trying to communicate with me. Mom screamed, “You’re lying!”

She ordered me out of her sight, so I went to my room. Later she came in, apologizing to me. We both cried and held each other close. Dad walked in to join us in a group hug. Later, I was in for another scare, much like the other night in my bathroom. Again, I was brushing my teeth. I glanced down at the water swirling down the drain. The lights flickered off and on a couple of times.

When I looked back up, Tracey appeared in the mirror, this time her hair was wet and her head was bleeding. The pink heart-shaped Valentine’s necklace Sean gave her was missing. I screamed in fear, yet I couldn’t move away. “Catch him, Jenna!” she pleaded, as her image faded. When my parents entered the bathroom, she was no longer visible.    

***

Friday, March 18th, 2011

Dear Diary,

Somehow I know after seeing Tracey in my mirror last night that she is dead. She has been murdered by someone yet undiscovered. I still hold out hope that I am wrong. I told Mom and Dad what I saw, but I don’t think they believe me. The police took Sean to the station today for questioning.

They suspect him of foul play and hope to get a confession. He maintains his innocence and denies any involvement. God, where is my sister? We need some closure. This not knowing is so agonizing. Does Sean know what happened to her? Is he lying or telling the truth?

***

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

Dear Diary,

Tonight I knew true terror. The day began normally enough. We had company over to try and cheer Mom up. She’s been so gloomy lately and so have I. Courtney came over to visit for a few hours. Ronnie and Dean dropped in for a while, too. A couple of Mom and Dad’s mutual friends showed up as well.

After dark, when everyone went home, we all turned in for the night. I was lying snug and warm in my bed, about to drift off. I realized that I hadn’t yet written my entry for tonight, when all of a sudden I heard Tracey whisper. She called out, “Beware of the danger!”

I heard a noise at my window and glanced over. I was startled to see a man peering in at me, while trying to raise my locked bedroom window. I couldn’t make out who he was. I started yelling at the top of my lungs. I jumped out of bed and bolted for my parents’ room. Dad searched the house and ground, yet found no one. He called the police to file a report. They came to look around, but the prowler had already gone. However, some DNA was recovered from a sharp nail protruding from my windowpane. I hope we’ll be able to identity whoever he was and nab the pervert.

***

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

Dear Diary,

Following church services, Dad decided to set up a booby trap underneath my window. If the stranger ever shows up again, he’ll be in for a big surprise. One false move and he’ll have his foot caught in a mouse trap. Along with that, Dad put up a motion detector by my window as well. If someone tries to come near it, the light will illuminate the area.

He will not be able to operate under cover of darkness. I feel really nervous about sleeping in my room. But, hopefully everything will be fine. I believe God will protect me and keep me safe from harm. I only wish that Tracey had been so fortunate.

***

Monday, March 21st, 2011

Dear Diary,

It’s been three weeks since Tracey went missing. No one has seen or heard from her, except for my visions and hearing her voice. I know she warned me of the man attempting to gain entry into my bedroom. I told my parents and for once, I think they believed me.

It all adds up, especially when one considers how she used mental telepathy when she was a child. By communicating with me, we were able to find her back then. I keep concentrating hard and hoping to reach her somehow. Maybe she will contact me again soon with vital information.

***

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Dear Diary,

I didn’t have to wait too long for my wish to be granted. So much has happened over the course of one day. It is a sad and grim day of mourning and grief, pain and despair for my family. After school, I came home to sit in the den while watching TV. As I looked at a rerun of ‘Friends’ and thought of Tracey, she appeared to me suddenly. I could see her face staring back at me from the screen. Her hair was matted with dried blood and her eyes were dull; devoid of life. “Old Mill Road,” she whispered. “Find me.”

I immediately told Mom and Dad. The next several hours were a blur of activity. They summoned the cops, who then conducted a search on Old Mill Road. There is nothing out there but a dirt road and an old windmill, which has long since been abandoned. The authorities combed the surrounding fields and ventured inside of the windmill to investigate.

At first, they noticed nothing amiss or unusual. But, upon further inspection, one of the officers noticed something in the water, near the wheel. He hopped into the frigid water and explored underneath it. There, pinned down by a large stone, he discovered the body of my sister, Tracey. She’d been in a watery grave for three long weeks.     

***

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Dear Diary,

I can’t contain my tears as I write this entry. I was allowed to take a few days off from school. My precious sister is dead, murdered by someone unknown. I never thought this could happen to my family, not us. It’s always supposed to occur in some other family, but not my own. Nothing ever prepares you for the shock of losing a loved one, especially when you know they were deliberately killed.

So many questions remain without answers, needing to be resolved. Why Tracey, when everyone seemed to love her? Who’d ever want to hurt my dear, sweet sister? She never did anything bad to anyone. She was so beautiful and smart, my role model. How could some monster just end her life? 

***

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Dear Diary,

Mom is inconsolable and had to be heavily sedated. She can’t cope right now with losing one of her daughters. I can barely comprehend how we’ll make it through another day of pain. Dad has thrown himself into his work to try and deal with his grief. What will we do without Tracey’s smile, her laughter, her warm presence in our lives? Oh, dear God, she’s not coming back to us, ever again, this side of Heaven. Life will never be the same anymore. How could it possibly be?

Police arrested Sean for my sister’s murder. They are pretty sure he killed her. They believe he followed her from their friend’s house, after the argument over that girl. They think he got her off somewhere secluded and did away with her. So far, there’s no real evidence to back up their theory. If he did it, he has hidden his tracks well. I thought he loved Tracey. How could he do this to her? What kind of twisted love is that? He says that he’s innocent. But, I wonder, is he really? 

***

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Dear Diary,

The results of the autopsy came in today. My sister’s body will be released for burial soon. Investigators believe she was struck over the head twice with a tire iron. Once she was unconscious, she was sexually assaulted and then strangled to death. The assailant carried her body to the old windmill and pinned her under the wheel there.

Although she was submerged in the water for three weeks, they found DNA underneath her fingernails. They also located semen inside of her body, from the rape. How horrible that this would happen to poor Tracey! She was an angel, who never hurt anybody in her brief life.   

***

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

Dear Diary,

Mom is still under medication and hasn’t said very much in the past few days. I feel so bad for her and even worse for Tracey. Dad is handling things better than Mom and I. He tries not to show it, yet I know he’s hurting inside, too. He’s just being strong for the only two women left in his life now. We need him and depend on him for guidance. He is our solid rock, just as Jesus Christ is also.

We had some visitors today, well-wishers offering their condolences to us. I could barely conceal my tears as they were here. I cry so much nowadays. I can’t seem to stop the river constantly flowing from my tired eyes. I’m not sleeping well and I have almost no appetite. Friends and family brought over casseroles, yet we’ve barely touched the food. Who could eat or sleep at a time like this, when one feels like their whole world has been torn apart? How could we ever manage to piece it back together again?

***

Sunday, March 27th, 2011

Dear Diary,

I just want some peace, Lord. We found love, warmth and open arms in church today. Kindness, caring and understanding poured out from everyone at the funeral. Tracey was interred today, after church services ended. Due to decomposition, the casket had to remain closed. A picture of Tracey was placed upon her coffin in memoriam. I felt so sad, realizing it was the last time I’d ever be near her. The pastor said she would be at peace now. But, I believe she won’t rest until her killer is caught.

Sean was allowed to attend her funeral, since he