On Lover's Lane - Melissa Willingham (love letters to the dead .txt) 📗

killings and sniff out the murderer.

***

Missy and Sandra finished making dinner stuffed pork chops, seasoned new potatoes, fresh garden salad, and berry cobbler for desert. "Gotta go, mom," Missy said kissing Sandra on the forehead before bouncing out the kitchen door.

"Don't wait up." Missy pulled out her cell phone and "speed dialed" Logan as she cleared the driveway. "Just leaving; pick me up at the corner. I have got to check out what's in old man Peter's shed, that he won't let anyone near. We will get to old man Smith, too. Mom thinks I'm gonna be tied up at the library, so hurry."

As Missy turned the corner, she saw the crowd of people standing in the street. Missy could see Ethel Morgan as she walked closer to see what was happening. "Hey Ethel, what's going on?" Missy asked.

"Oh, honey! They just found another body out at "Lover's Lane," Ethel replied.

"Anyone we know?" Missy asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach now.   "We don't know yet." Sheriff Baxter said they won't let out any information until the family is contacted first.

***

Culprits Are Revealed

"Hank, you there?" asked Sherriff Baxter over the police radio.

"Yes Sherriff, I'm on my way to the scene. I should be there soon," replied Deputy Smith.

Sherriff Baxter quickly responded, "Turn around I need you to go talk to Ethel, I got her grandson Seth here. It looks like I was wrong after all."

"Oh no, I guess someone did not like the fact that he was getting all the attention," Hank said eerily, before telling the sheriff that he would contact him once he was at Ethel's place.

Upon his arrival, Deputy Hank Smith finds Ethel Morgan and Missy Kennedy sitting on the patio with phones in hand awaiting the news of the newest victim found. When Ethel noticed the Deputy, knowing she the town gossip had still not heard who was killed, her heart dropped out of her chest.

She just knew that the Deputy was there to tell her that her dear grandson Seth was the victim. She had not seen him in quite some time now and he usually checked in with her.

"Ethel, I need you to stay seated, my dear. Unfortunately this is not a pleasant visit. Missy can you give us just a minute? But please stay close for Ethel," requested the deputy.

As Missy sat there, she could not help but overhear Hank telling Ethel that Seth was the newest victim. However, there was little more information at this time. The Sherriff would contact her when it was time to come in, and would probably send a car as she should not be driving until she has had time to calm down and settle her nerves. Of course, Hank was much nicer about it, but Missy was great at condensing the information as if she were writing a documentary on the murders.

***

Two Days Later:

Logan and Missy, knowing Seth well, decided that it was time to end these murders finally. There had to be something that was missing or not being put together correctly and Missy was determined that she would be able to complete the puzzle.

Logan being her boyfriend and the Sherriff's grandson made access to the reports and evidence quite possible especially since he had them at home and he needed to sleep sometime.

"Missy, hurry up! If he wakes up and finds us here I'm done for."

"Logan, calm down. You're going to wake him up if you keep on yelling like that."

A moment later, Missy bursts out, "Have you noticed that no one has ever looked at Hank? After all his father was one of the original suspects. He is a supposed witness, and everything he does is a cry for attention to his father. "

"I guess no one would suspect that good ole Hank could do anything like that," Logan answered with a chuckle.

"Seriously Logan, Think about it for a minute. Hank has the access, the time, the materials, and the possible cause. Who knows all of that stress could have made him a criminal mastermind in disguise."

***

Later that evening, Missy voiced her suspicions to Floyd Baxter.

"Listen Sherriff, I am telling you Hank is the most likely suspect. I have also noticed that he is always making assumptions that end up being true," exclaimed Missy trying to exude confidence and integrity.

However, Sherriff Baxter seemed very unconvinced. "Missy, I know you mean well and all, but how about you leave the police work to me and go do something with my grandson or one of your other friends. Just remember to stay far away from "Lovers Lane," for obvious reasons."

Just as Missy started to walk out the door, the lights went out in the sheriff's office and there was nothing but dark and a few safety lights.

"Missy get down, while I see what is going on here," ordered the Sherriff.

A few seconds later, there was a voice disguised by some kind of machine. It sounded like the ones in horror and robbery movies. "Sherriff, you should have listened to the young girl there. She may have saved you some time, you see there is a lot to this story that you do not know," exclaimed the voice.

The mysterious person continued. "I am going to make this one easy for you. For ages now, no one really knows how long. People have been doing whatever they want, acting a fool, running around on the ones they love, and destroying their families. My father saw this, and started ending the problem and once he stopped I saw need to finish his work."

Missy, knowing who it was already, asked, "Hank, why did you murder Seth then? He did not do anything to you."

"Missy, you know it all, girl. I knew you would be the one to figure all of this out and bring it into the light. I just knew your meddling would make me proud. People need to know that it was me and my father. They need to know why we did what we did and why it is important to carry on this mentality."

Just then Missy shouted, "He is in here; he has a gun on me. I feel it."

One shot later and Sherriff Baxter said, "Missy, move to the right, get away from him while I get the lights."

Hank was dead, the others were on their way to take care of his father Jeffrey Smith, and the souls of the victims can now rest. In the end, it seems that the misguided loyalty and raising of a son can turn a good man sour.

***

Newspaper Account

Police have confirmed on the night of September 8th, five couples were murdered on the 500 block of Hillcrest Avenue at the top of the hill, which is affectionately called "Lover's Lane". The victims ranged from twenty-year-old couples to fifty-year-old couples.

At least three of the couples were married, while the other two couples were unmarried. The victim's identities are not being released at this time until the Sleepy Pines authorities can notify all of the family members.

Deputy Hank Smith of Crawford County is the main suspect and elegit murderer. The deputy has been arrested and is currently in custody. This is the same town of a similar unsolved murder spree some twenty years ago in 1993.

Sheriff Floyd Baxter has also arrested the current suspect's father Jeffrey Smith citing a break in the over twenty-year-old cold case and believes the two sets of murders were closely related. Both killing sprees included five different couples and have to this point both cases have had no convictions.   We asked Sheriff Floyd Baxter why he feels the murder cases are connected and this was his response, "The original case showed elements of killing with passion. Four out of five cars that were affected had been immobilized by gun shots to all four tires and then the coroner had confirmed multiple stab wounds to each victim with a small sharp object like a knife or dagger.

The wounds reflected that the killer was in a rage, stabbing vital areas multiple times around the head and neck. The most recent killings were performed with a similar small sharp object and appear to be committed with the same passion."   After we asked the Sheriff why the first set of cases were not solved he had provided the response, "We have continued to collect facts pertaining to the case and this office feels confident that the five cases from 1993 will not remain open indefinitely."

Next we followed up with what steps were the Sleepy Pines police department taking to ensure the killer of these cases will be brought to justice? Sheriff Baxter advised that the current investigation is aided with the most up to date technology including biological DNA identification, chemical testing and continuing assistance from county and federal authorities.

***

Jeffrey Smith, charged with the 1993 multiple homicides, was a decorated Gulf War veteran who was devastated when his girlfriend was included as one of the five couples in the now famous "Lover's Lane" murders of 1993. At the time, there was no further evidence connecting Mr. Smith with the murders.

His girlfriend was one of the ten victims found on the scene, but was with a male companion who allegedly was driving her home the evening the murders occurred. Both Mr. Smith's girlfriend and her companion, Dave Tanner, were found partially clothed, suggesting that there was a romantic relationship.

While Mr. Smith was an original suspect in the 1993 homicides, further investigation revealed there was no evidence leading to an arrest. Prior to Smith's arrest, Sheriff Baxter confirmed there were only two other suspects in the original 1993 investigation which included Harley Peters and Samuel Kennedy.

Peters lives as a recluse near "Lover's Lane" and has always had public disdain for anyone trespassing on his property. Samuel Kennedy's wife Sandra was the lone survivor in the attacks but couldn't identify the killer. Samuel was a natural suspect since his wife, who was separated at the time, was at the "Lover's Lane" with another man.

The victims of the 1993 "Lover's Lane" killing spree were: Cindy Parker, John Slate, Gina Dawber, Dave Tanner, Becky White, Danny Johnson, Steve Seray, Terri Tang, Walt Newman, and Sandra Kennedy, the only survivor. The remaining relatives interviewed from the twenty-year-old tragedy expressed common themes of closure and justice that the killer has finally been caught and will stand trial.

One family member who requested to remain anonymous stated, "Jeff Smith did not deserve to live the last twenty years as a free