They call it Lizzie's Grave, a single headstone on a hill near the old oak tree.
Fourteen year old Elizabeth Martin whose hair was the color of chestnut and her emerald eyes sparkled with anticipation. She was standing outside of Whirlwind, a school for young ladies, it was the fall of 1890 and getting kind of cold and windy even for the southern part of Florida. Lizzie as most of her family and friends called her, decided she would go check out her dormitory . Ralph, the family's butler and sometimes carriage driver, dropped her off at the door, putting her bags on the doorstep and wished her well at her knew school. This was her second private school in a month. She was a bit of a rebel as her father called her. She was a tomboy, more willing to climb a tree and go fishing then sitting in a parlor and sipping tea. Her mother Cassandra Lee Martin was the daughter of a plantation owner who grew up in the "old south", she was the type of woman who didn't speak unless spoken to and a real southern belle. Lizzie's granfather was a man known to be cruel to get what he wanted and what he demanded most was respect from his children. When Cassandra met Lizzie's father they had to run away and get married because her father did not like Samuel. At that time Samuel had been the son of a poor farmer who couldn't afford much. But Samuel had high expectations and wanted to be president one day. Lizzie had grown up rebelling against all of those expectations because she wanted to be her own person. Since Samuel Martin was the mayor of a small town in northern Florida, he had decided that his daughter was going to learn how to become a lady, and have manners like most young ladies were supposed to have, whether she liked it or not.
Lizzie walks into her dormitory room, "Hi, I am Rachel, I guess we are going to be roommates this year, and I hope good friends." Her name is Rachel Stoltz, who was also fourteen, with eyes as blue as the sky and hair as yellow as the color of corn coming off the cob, was just the type of girl Lizzie's father would have approved of for a friend, she was a young lady in the eyes of most people, Rachel knew how to rub elbows with the important people but yet could still climb a tree with the best of all the boys. Most of the time Rachel would rather fish then hang around the stuffed shirts as she called most of the people her father associated with. But her father happened to be a State Senator and he also wanted his daughter to learn to be a lady so that one day she may entertain his constituants. The girls start talking about their families and the expectations their fathers wanted, even when they didn't, when the headmaster Thomas Barton knocks on the door and tells the girls it is time for them to come downstairs for their dinner.
As the girls come out of their room, Lizzie turns to Rachel and says, "he's kinda creepy don't you think" Rachel agrees and they walk down the hall laughing.
In the dining room Lizzie and Rachel meet the other girls. There are about twenty five girls in all. Some are a little younger than Lizzie and Rachel. As they were dining Mr. Barton spoke. "Welcome to whirlwind" "I am so glad that everyone of you are here." "There are a few rules I need to go over." "First, no one is allowed outside of the school at night, if you need to go outside for any reason you must tell myself or the head mistress, my wife Angela." Second, there is a room on the third floor that is locked and is to stay locked, no one is to enter this room since I have noticed there is a rat problem in this room and I don't want anyone to get hurt." "This home has been furnished with indoor plumbing for everyone's comfort." "I hope that you will enjoy your stay with us and you will one day leave us with the knowledge of how a young lady must act."The girls finished eating their dinner which was a nice roast with potatoes and carrots, along with a piece of bread and a glass of milk, and then went into the parlor to enjoy the piano played by one of their own, Amanda Chalke. "She is a good piano player don't you agree?" Rachel said to Lizzie. They both nodded and agreed it was time to go to bed. They both had had a long day and were very tired. As they got into their pajamas they giggled about the Headmaster and how creepy he was, they got into their beds and Lizzie fell asleep almost immediately.
The next day classes started and the first class was learning how to set a table, how to eat with the right silverware and how to present themselves as ladies which seemed interesting to Lizzie, but it became boring after that first day. She wanted to learn how to read, about the world around her and how to do Mathematics. Lizzie believed she would be the caretaker of her father's ranch one day. Even though her father wanted her to be a lady, he taught her how to handle a gun and how to protect herself if she needed to. Since her parents had only two daughters Lizzie and her younger sister Ellen were taught how to shoot, ride and rope like a rancher.
For the first month everyday was the same routing,getting up, going to breakfast, having classes of Etiquette, reading, writing and how to calculate the payroll. Each day time seemed to have stalled. The girls had a daily routine in which they followed most of the time.In the afternoon the girls would go outside and sit by the old oak tree on the hill to do their studies if the weather would permit it. Sometimes they would talk about the room on the third floor they weren't allowed to go near., wondering why they had the door locked and if there was anyone in it. They would tease each other about it having a disfigured person hiding in the room or it had a mysterious guest in it. Rachel swore she would hear strange noises on occasion coming from the room. But Lizzie told her that it was probably mice or something.
It was a warm day for October, the sky was blue and the birds were sitting on the trees churping away, the sun was shinning bright and the leaves seemed to stay green all year long, There was an excitement in the air and all of the girls were sitting outside gossiping about what they were going to wear to the Spring Dance that the school held each year. It was held in March of each year and all of the girls wanted to start planning for it so they could get the best dates and the best dresses to impress everyone else. Lizzie and Rachel didn't seem to care so much about impressing anyone, they just thought it sounded like fun and couldn't wait to go shopping for their dresses. They wanted to annoy a few of the other girls who always teased them about being tomboys and liking fishing more than boys. While the girls were outside they heard a scream that sounded in the distance, it sounded almost like a bird screeching than a scream, as they were wondering what was going on Lizzie and Rachel saw Mr. Benton and his wife running toward the path in the woods, Mr. Benton came back out of the woods carrying on of the girls. Her name was Raven and she was 12. One of the younger girls, Sara Denton, who was around 11, had disappeared while walking in the woods behind the school. Another girl, Raven Dupree, was walking ahead of Sara when she turned around and saw a man jump out of the trees and grab her. Raven screamed and started running toward the school. Mr. Benton had heard the screaming and had found Raven at the edge of the forest. Mr. Benton sent one of the older girls into town for the sherriff, Sherriff David Smults daughter Kendra happened to attend the school so she was sent to get her father. The sherriff organized a search. The woods were searched but there was no sign of Sara. Since it was close to midnight the search was called off until the next morning. When the search resumed the following morning they split into three groups, one of the groups went on horseback and the others went on foot. While searching the woods, the sherriffs group came across a small cabin hidden out of sight near a small stream. When the sherriff opened the door they saw the body of Sara laying on a small bed. The sherriff walked over to the body and saw that she had a rope around her neck, apparently she had been strangled.
Time seemed to stand still for the next few weeks. The girls were not allowed to go outside without an adult present nor were they allowed to have the dance. After Sara's funeral, the whole school was locked up and kept isolated as possible. The sherriff seemed to have no clues as to who might have done this horrible crime. It was soon to be Christmas break and the gilrs were finally allowed to go outside for a brief period and were told to stay close to the home. No one was allowed to go into the woods. Lizzie and Rachel were sitting on the grass next to the old oak on the hill. There was excitement in the year because everyone was going home for the holidays and Lizzie was so excited about seing her parents again. She hadn't seen them in almost a year. The letters she had received were few and mostly about the trips her parents had been taking. As the girls were sitting there a man walked up to them. He asked them if they knew where he could find the headmaster. The girls pointed towards the house and went back to talking. Suddenly the man grabbed Lizzie by the arm and started dragging her into the woods. Rachel went running and screaming to the house, and Mr. Barton came running out. By the time they arrived to the woods and looked around Lizzie had disappeared. The sherriff was called again and the volunteers searched throughout the woods. They went to the cabin, but this time no one was there. The search went on for a two weeks but there was no clue as to where Lizzie had gone. Six months went by and Rachel cried everyday and prayed Lizzie would be found alive, but there was no luck in finding her. One day while a farmer was plowing his field about five miles from where the school was located, the farmer noticed something in the field. He walked over to it and discovered the body Of Lizzie Martin, They could tell it was her by the ring on her finger. It had belonged to her mother and her mother had given it to her when she left for school. It was a sapphire heart shaped ring that said Love withstands all.
They buried Lizzie's body on the hill where she had spent so much time with her friend. The Sherriff couldn't find any marks on the body so his conclusion was she must have been strangled.
Fifty years went by and there were more children that had been strangled, the school was finally closed down in the 1940's. A new school was built on the grounds of the old one and the school reopened in 1965. The name of the school stayed the same and it was run by the grandson of the Bartons. Johnathan Barton Brown taught public school for ten years before he reopened Whirlwind.
Sixteen year old Janet Townsend walked up the drive to the school. Her father had insisted that she walk to school instead of being driven by their chaueffer. This was Janet's third time at a private school. Her father insisted that she attend a private school instead of a public one. He was after all the District Attorney for the town of Daviston and his daughter would not be going to any public school.
Janet found her way to her dorm and chose a bed closest to the window. As she was making the bed, DorieLynn Walters appeared in the doorway. "Hi, I am DorieLynn and I think we are going to be roommates and good friends. " Smiling, Janet laughed and said "I hope so."
After unpacking their things, the girls went down to supper where they met the rest of the students and faculty. Janet thought that Mr. Brown was kind of cute, he didn't look too much older than she was and had the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen. At supper the girls got to know the other students and talked about how exciting it was to come to this new school. After supper the girls went into the parlor and sat around talking for a while when Mr. Brown came in and announced it was time for bed.
While getting ready for bed, Janet and Dorielynn talked about their families and their lives. Janet layed in bed thinking about tomorrows start of classes and couldn't sleep. While she was laying there she heard a noise. It sounded like someone whimpering in the closet. She grabbed her flashlight, a big silver light that looked more like a weapon than a flashlight, and opened the closet door. She couldn't find anyone there so she thought she was probably imaging things. As she was going back to bed, she heard the sound again but this time it was coming from under her bed. Janet grabbed the covers, and through them over the top of the bed. Underneath was a girl, she looked to be about Janet's age but Janet could see right through her. She was transparent and Janet jumped back about a foot. Janet looked under the bed again and this time the ghostly figure spoke. "Please don't be afraid." "My name is Lizzie and I need your help."
Lizzie started telling Janet about her life. She told her about her time at Whirlwind and the friends she had made there. "I always liked to sit outside with my friend Rachel." Lizzie said. "One day when we were sitting outside, Rachel walked over to another group of girls down by the entrance to the school and I sat there studying for our Math test, when someone came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder, the sun was high in the sky so I couldn't see the person so well." "The next thing I remember the man had grabbed me by the arms and pulled me up into his arms, he carried me a long ways to a cabin in the woods, where he tied me up on the bed and told me that if I screamed he would kill me." "I was so scared I didn't scream, maybe I should have, because he did some awful things to me." "He made me have sex with him and said that I was his new play toy." "I was so scared." "But I can't remember what he looked like just what he sounded like." " His voice was kind of raspy, like he had a stuttering problem." Janet listened while the little girl talked, she couldn't believe that she was actually experiencing this encounter and thought maybe she was dreaming. But Lizzie continued to tell her about her experience in the cabin and how she had died. Lizzie said " the man had told her he wanted her to do something disgusting to him and she had refused." "He grabbed me by my night shirt, put his hands around my neck and all I remember is feeling like I couldn't breath." "I can remember looking down on my body as he dragged it back through the woods onto a field and just left me there." "He laughed as he left me there and said he couldn't believe how stupid the sherriff was, he had been right under his nose all along." "I have been waiting for someone to come along ever since that could help me find out who the man was and set my soul free from this world." Janet said "How can I help you find this out ? " "I don't know anything about finding a murderer." Lizzie told Janet about the room on the third floor and that the stuff from that room was actually in the attic now. She wanted Janet to go up in the attic and search for it maybe there was a clue about who had been in that room. The man that had killed her had said something about being in that room when he had killed Sara.
The next morning Janet went to her classes and then snuck up to the attic to see what she could find. She had told Dorielyn about her experience and even though Dorie didn't believe her she said she wanted to go to the attic and help. Dorielyn always liked a mystery and she thought it was so neat to be able to help a spirit. While in the attic the girls found several trunks. One had an old white wedding dress and a bunch of newspaper clippings of the girls that had disappeared over the years. Apparently there were several girls that had disappeared not just two. In another trunk they found a bunch of old schoolbooks and study notes. In the last trunk Janet found a blue handkerchief that had the initials E.M. and also a diary that had the same initials. Janet figured it must be Lizzie's diary and took it downstairs to read. Janet had decided to quit searching for the day so that she could get to know Lizzie when she was alive. During that afternoon she read the diary and noticed some of it talked about
