Buried
Secrets by J.C. Valentine
Publication Date: November
29, 2016
Genres: Adult,
New Adult, Mystery, Thriller, YA, Suspense
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Synopsis:
How do you live with
yourself when you don’t even know who you are?
On a chill October
night, a girl goes missing setting the small town of Oakridge on edge. James
has spent the last five years running from a past that still haunts him to this
day. Now he finds himself thrust back into a life he thought he left behind.
Finding out his new home may be haunted and reconnecting with an old friend
while being thrust into a murder mystery, James finds himself trying to figure
out which end is up while questioning his own sanity.
**AUTHOR’S NOTE** Buried
Secrets is a New Adult, mystery thriller with very little romance but heavy on
the suspense.
Exclusive Excerpt
Prologue
Fall crept
in like a burglar while the town slept. It brought with it a chill that felt
refreshing after one of the hottest summers on Oakridge record. A slight,
sticky fog hung in the air and evidence of Halloween was on
nearly every doorstep in the form of carved jack-o-lanterns. Skeletons hung on
doors, and festive orange lights draped roofs. Leaves coated the ground, wet
and matted to the sidewalks and streets.
James breathed in the
cool air that stung his nose just a bit. He loved when school let out at the
end of the day. He never could wait to get out of the confines of the small,
overcrowded classrooms. Even now he couldn’t fully escape it. Classmates of his
walked and ran the same mile stretch he was, laughing and talking about
anything and everything. Right now, he knew the junior high girl and her friend
from his science class walking a few feet behind him were debating the hotness
of Tommy Henderson, the varsity basketball player for Oakridge High. Everyone
knew him, and everyone loved him. He was going to take the team to the
championships. Probably would graduate and take some college to their
championship, too. Something the whole town could be proud of.
They met a few years
ago when James was playing in the woods. AJ found him digging for worms—he’d
been on a mission, wanting to teach himself how to fish, to live off the land
like the people from ancient times—and he’d offered to help. AJ had run off,
leaving James to sit and wonder where he had come from—he hadn’t heard him
approach in the first place. He returned cupping a handful of water in his
palms. He’d dumped the liquid in the hole James had dug, and moments later,
worms began squirming to the surface.
They became fast
friends. James kept their friendship a secret. He wasn’t sure why exactly,
except that AJ was his only friend, and he wanted to keep him all for himself.
If he told someone, they might want to meet him, then the magic might go away.
So they spent all that summer collecting worms and pretending to be hunters in
the deep woods behind Oakridge Park. When summer break was over and school was
back in session, James was disappointed to find that AJ wasn’t in any of his
classes. In fact, he wasn’t in any classes in the school. No one heard of him.
He finally broke and
told his mom and dad about him one evening over dinner, because he was worried
about AJ and needed to share him with someone, so he could feel close to him
again. Like if he kept him a secret, and didn’t see him, then he wouldn’t be
real anymore. It was an odd way to look at it, he knew, but he hadn’t ever had
a friend quite like AJ. He was fun and daring and super inventive, and he liked
James, flaws and all.
So when he told his
parents about AJ, they were happy for him. His mom said he probably just missed
him in the halls. The schools weren’t huge, but they were big enough to lose
someone in. His dad said that AJ probably just went to a different school.
Maybe in the next town over, since no one knew him here. That settled it for a
bit, and the next time James saw AJ, which was at the park just after sunset
one evening when James was on his way home from skipping rocks in the small
stream in the woods, he asked him about it. AJ had told him that both theories
were wrong. He lived a few miles west through the woods and his mom
homeschooled him. He said his dad did some sort of factory work in the next
town, which was just enough to pay the bills and put food on the table,
according to him. It was only then that James realized AJ didn’t wear the best
of clothes, and he wasn’t as kempt as James was. But that didn’t make any
difference to him. In fact, he felt closer to AJ than ever before. Finally, he
had found someone who would never judge him. Someone who could truly understand
him.
So when Mercy
Worthington fell into step with him, James’s heart beat a rapid tempo and his
stomach turned to knots.
“Hi,” she said in a
very delicate, but cheerful voice.
James stared at the
ground and muttered a hello, but he couldn’t get up the nerve to really look at
her.
“I’m Mercy. You’re
James, right? James Clearwater. I think my dad works with yours at old man
Jenson’s. He does the proofs, doesn’t he?”
James nodded. His dad
worked at Jenson Design Studio where he developed photographs in one of the two
darkrooms. His dad had big dreams of one day owning his own studio and becoming
a famous photographer. Mercy’s dad was a set designer. James knew everything
there was to know about Mercy and her family, and not just because the whole
town knew who her family was, but because he paid attention and took notes.
James was in love with Mercy Worthington, and had been since the third grade
when she’d taken a job behind the lunch counter for a day and handed him a
carton of 2% with that big, white smile of hers trained squarely on him. She
was a senior at the high school, which made her five years older than James,
who was thirteen now and in the seventh grade.
Today, like every
day, she was radiant. Her dull blond hair waved gently behind her as the breeze
caught it and when he found the nerve to look up at her, he found her green
eyes smiling on him.
He was going to marry
her one day.
“I thought so,” she
said, grinning. She took in their surroundings. “Do you take this route every
day?” He nodded. “I’ve never seen you, and I walk this way every day. How come
I’ve never seen you?”
He shrugged. “I
dunno.” He felt awkward and short on words. He stuffed his hands in his
pockets.
“You don’t talk much,
do you?”
He glanced at her and
caught her teasing smile. He smiled back, feeling a little of the tension leave
his shoulders. Why was she being so nice to him? A part of him felt like this
must be a trick, but when he looked around, he only saw other kids from school
walking silently or in small groups or pairs, chatting quietly. Could she really
be interested in him? The only kids besides AJ that talked to him were the ones
who poked fun of his clothes or his haircut, his slight lisp or the way he
tripped over his own feet. She probably just felt sorry for him. He had heard
of that before, girls who felt sorry for the underdog and took pity on them.
Normally, he would get mad at being a charity case, but right now he couldn’t
care less. Someone other than his family knew he existed. Mercy Worthington
knew he existed. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like a shadow slinking around in the
world unnoticed anymore.
“So how long have you
lived in Oakridge, James?” Mercy asked, as they crossed the street.
“My whole life,” he
replied.
She nodded. “Do you
have any friends? I never see you with anyone.”
He shrugged. “Some.”
He didn’t want to look like too much of a loser.
“What about a
girlfriend, do you have one of those?”
He felt himself
blush. “No.”
“I know what your dad
does for a living. So what does your mom do?”
“She likes to garden,
but no one pays her for it,” he said. His dad was old-fashioned and believed
that the wife should be home with the kids while the husband went out and
provided for the family.
“That’s cool,” she
said. “My mom is a painter. Sometimes she sells her art to the museum or to
some person with lots of money. She’s pretty successful. I was thinking of
painting when I get out of college. What about you? Do you know what you want
to do after college?”
Honestly, James
wasn’t sure he even wanted to go to college. His dad never pushed the notion,
insisting that he wouldn’t amount to much more than a gas-station attendant anyway. He wanted to be an
astronaut when he was little, like most boys that age did, then he switched to
a fireman after a class field trip to the fire station in fifth grade. Now, he
just wasn’t sure what he wanted.
“I’m not sure,” he
said honestly. “Maybe I’ll just travel across the world for a while and live
off the land until I figure it out.” That had been a dream of his and AJ’s, to
hitch rides all over the country with nothing but a backpack and a few dollars
in their wallet.
Her face lit up with
excitement. “That is so cool that you said that. I always dreamed of seeing the
world, but my dad said that education comes first. I will have all the time in
the world to do what I want after I get my ducks in a row.”
James wasn’t sure he
believed that, but he kept his mouth shut.
Heavy footsteps
approached from behind and moments later a big, strong arm wrapped around
Mercy’s shoulder. Tommy Henderson had arrived.
“Hey, babe.”
Tightening his grip on her neck, he pulled her in for a sloppy kiss.
“Hey,” she said when
she came up for air. “Tommy, this is James. His dad works with my dad. He’s
going to travel across the world one day.” She said this with a grin that made
James’ stomach flutter a little.
Tommy sized James up,
and James knew he was trying to figure out where he knew him from. James knew
him from the many times he “accidentally” knocked his books from his hands, and
“inadvertently” tore up his homework. James was afraid if he recognized him, he
might have to endure another embarrassing moment involving colorful adjectives
and descriptive threats, and he just didn’t want to be made a fool of in front
of a girl like Mercy Worthington.
He hung his head,
allowing a few scraggly scraps of hair to shield his eyes.
“Travel the world,
huh? Like a hobo or something?” He laughed, his deep, belly rolling chortle
that made all the girls weak in the knees. James thought it made him look and
sound stupid. “What are you hanging out with this joker for? He’s like two feet
tall. I could smash him with my pinkie.”
James felt his finger
press down on the crown of his head in demonstration.
“Hey,” Tommy said,
putting himself between James and Mercy. “You trying to steal my girlfriend?”
“Stop picking on him,
Tommy,” Mercy snapped.
Tommy sneered at
James, then his features smoothed, and he turned on a smile for Mercy.
“Whatever you say, babe. Just making sure the boy understands there’s no
competition. You’re my girl, aren’t you, babe?”
Mercy rolled her
eyes. “Of course, Tommy.”
They had come to a
fork in the road where James’ house was to the left and Mercy’s to the right.
“I’ll see you around, James,” Mercy told him, smiling apologetically.
“Yeah, see ya,” Tommy
said, then ruffled James’ hair like he was some little kid.
James watched after
them as they turned and walked off. After a few feet, Tommy turned to face
James. “And, James.” James raised a questioning brow. “Stay away from my girl.”
Mercy punched Tommy
in the side playfully, and he laughed, tugging her closer as they resumed
walking. James felt his body begin to shake. He was angry. At that moment, he
wanted to beat Tommy Henderson until his arms were too weak to continue. For
the first time in his miserable existence, James thought he felt angry enough
to kill.
As the sun set, the
day turned bitter cold, and the rain had moved in. It was sheeting down now,
and Mercy’s shoes were soaking wet as her feet beat through every puddle. She
was running, the rain pouring down her face in rivers, filling her eyes and
blinding her to her path. Someone was chasing her.
She’d decided to walk
home after an evening at her boyfriend, Tommy’s, house, and almost as soon as
she rounded the first street corner, she felt someone following her. The
shadowy figure kept pace for a couple of blocks, then steadily picked up pace,
until Mercy broke out running…and so did they.
She was crossing the
park playground now, and she could just make out the hill ahead. Her house was
just over that hill, and if she could make it, she could get help. As her feet
slipped, trying to find purchase on the soft, mud covered ground, Mercy could
feel her muscles begin to cramp and burn with exhaustion. Against her will, she
was slowing. When her feet hit the loose bark covering the playground, Mercy
did slip. She caught herself with her hands and scrambled to her feet, pushing
herself harder until she finally reached the bottom of the hill. There she used
her hands, her fingers digging into the grass, and pulled herself up until she
could look over and beyond to her house. The lights inside were a warm beacon,
and she felt a sudden urgency come over her.
As she came to her
feet, Mercy heard a muffled thud, and glanced over her shoulder. It was a
mistake that she wouldn’t live to regret.
The shadow stood
before her, and to her surprise, she recognized the dark figure.
“What do you want
from me!”
A visual sweep
revealed something big and heavy looking in their hand, and with quick
precision, the shadow raised its arm high in the air and brought it down hard.
A slow trickle of blood broke through her hairline and ran down her forehead,
then her face and dripped off her chin. A second blow caused it to grow thicker
and run faster and Mercy fell to her knees, then finally her face, where her
eyes focused and glazed over and her breaths faded away to nothing. And still
the shadow hit her, until all the fury, all the anger subsided.
Her last vision was
that of the warm yellow glow coming from the living room window where her
mother and father, sister and brother sat watching the evening news and waiting
for her to come walking in the door any moment.
Stooping down, the
figure wrapped its cold, wet fingers around Mercy’s ankles and pulled, slipping
frequently under the girl’s slight weight as it dragged her lifeless body into
the copse of oak trees beyond the playground. Come morning, when the sun broke
through the clouds, children would run and play, never knowing the horrors of what
happened just a short distance away.
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About J.C. Valentine
J.C. Valentine is the
USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward
Fighters Series and the Forbidden Series. Her vivid imagination and love of
words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which,
despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family
members to read. No, she isn’t sorry. J.C. earned her own happily ever
after when she married her high school sweetheart. Living in the Northwest,
they have three amazing children and far too many pets and spend much of their
free time together enjoying movies or the outdoors. Among the many hats she
wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a
Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for
fellow authors. Sign up for J.C.’s newsletter and never miss a thing! http://bit.ly/1KxXWWB
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