A Night to Die For

When a boy finds a girl's body in the ditch on prom night...he becomes the primary suspect in her murder.

Prom dreams. Prom Screams.

Mario Woods is looking forward to one normal night before he graduates. He's spent most of high school riding solo. But when fate lands him a date for prom, he figures this might be his chance to be less of a loner.

Only, prom turns out to be a disaster. Just when Mario thought the night couldn t get any worse, he sees something on the side of the road while driving home. That something is Prom Queen Maribelle Starr murdered and left for dead.

All Mario wanted was to go to prom...but somehow, he ended up in hell.

Leseprobe:

Mario

A car approaches. But not just any car. When he spots me, standing next to my little Nissan pickup, he turns on his flashing red and blue lights.

There isn t much traffic out here, especially late at night. No houses nearby either. This section of Wessinger Road has just two lanes and then grass with lots of tall fir trees farther back. The ditch is a few feet deep, and that s where the girl s body lies, fully clothed in a red dress and heels. My whole body is shaking. I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders back, telling myself to relax.

The deputy gets out of the car and shines a light on me. You all right, son?

I cross my arms in front of my stomach and hope I can keep it together. I was driving by and saw something in the ditch. I couldn t tell what it was. I got out and shined the flashlight on my phone down there. Just as I saw it was a girl, you pulled up.

The beam from his flashlight moves from me to her. Oh, no. He sta rts running down into the ditch. He yells up at me, You sure you didn t hit her? With your vehicle?

No. I mean, yeah. I m sure! I didn t hit her, I swear, I call back. I just found her there.

He s down there for only a minute before he s radioing for help. Dispatch, I ve got a female juvenile and she s unconscious with no pulse. Send medical, code three and extra units. Location is Wessinger Road, just south of Hart Road. Her skin is tacky. I m starting CPR.

I pace the side of the road. Back and forth. Back and forth. I keep wondering if there s something I should be doing, but he told me to stay put.

After a few minutes have passed, I yell out, Is it working?

He doesn t answer.

A minute later, I hear the sirens. A fire truck and an ambulance pull up, and a few seconds later, another deputy. I stand back and watch as everyone moves into action.

When the original deputy climbs back up the steep embankment a while later, he s breathing hard. Dispatch, page out detectives, he says into his shoulder mic.

Is she dead? I ask. I read his name tag: Deputy Mitchell.

He wipes his brow as he replies. Yes. He circles my truck, his flashlight zooming in on every little dent and scratch. The beam finds Elana, my prom date, curled up in the front seat. She doesn t even stir.

Oh, god, I mutter. I hold my stomach tighter. I can t believe this is happening.

The other deputy goes to work taping off the scene with crime tape.

Deputy Mitchell pulls out a notebook. Can I see some ID?

I pull out my wallet and hand him my driver s license. After he writes my information down, he says, Step over here with me, please. Away from your vehicle. I follow him over to his car. Who s the girl in your truck?

My prom date. Elana Dexter. She s kind of, um, out of it, at the moment.

Too much to drink? he asks.

I don t want to tell him, but he ll check for sure no matter what I say.

Yes.

Just broke up a party not too far from here. You two go to a party tonight after prom?

Yes, I say. How d you know?

Neighbor called it in, he says. Said it was getting noisy. So, what about you? Have you been drinking as well?

No.

Can you tell me what happened tonight?

We left the party and Elana didn t want to go home right away. Didn t feel well, you know? So I drove around, she passed out, and then, like I said earlier, I saw something in the ditch, so I stopped.

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