Lakeside Mystery by Carol Ericson

Author:Carol Ericson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-04-30T01:30:17+00:00

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BY THE TIME Ashlynn pushed open the door to her place, she could barely move her head on her stiff neck. She’d taken an ibuprofen in the car, but she needed another.

“Do you want something to drink? I’m going to pop another pill and put some ice on my neck.” She hung on to the freezer door. “Ice or heat?”

“I’d start with ice, but I’m no expert.” He sidled up next to her at the fridge and said, “Bottled water or tap?”

“I use the water from the refrigerator. I figure it’s filtered, and I haven’t grown any horns yet.”

He brushed past her and lifted two glasses from her cupboard. “Ice to go with your ice?”

“No, thanks.” She crouched next to the fridge and pulled a plastic bag from a drawer. “I’m going to fill this with ice and deposit it against the back of my neck. I guess it could’ve been worse, huh?”

“Are you going to tell me what happened at that fundraiser to make someone come after you and try to run you off the road?”

“I told you everything that happened. I did not draw attention to myself.” She punched the button on the ice maker to release the ice and fill her bag.

“Someone noticed you, or someone recognized you. You run one of the most popular blogs in the city. Why do you think you can run around incognito?” He took her place in front of the fridge and filled up two glasses with water.

“LA Confidential is not really my blog. I didn’t make it popular. That was Sean’s doing.”

He cocked his head at her. “Take credit where credit is due. Your brother is gone, and you’ve done a helluva job in his place. That series you did on Reed Dufrain and the shenanigans at the Brighter Day Recovery Center was top-notch. That drug lab sounded like something from a TV show. You did that, Ashlynn. Why are you selling yourself short?”

She shrugged and her bag of ice crackled against her neck. “Just feels like it’s Sean’s baby, like it’ll never be mine.”

“Make it your own, or do something else. I thought you said something about a podcast?”

“Yeah, Sean intended to turn LA Confidential into a podcast. I had started helping him.”

“Take the idea and run with it.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and steered her toward the couch. “Sit down, and I’ll tell you what I found out from Tiana’s parents.”

She lowered herself to the cushion on the end, positioning the bag on her neck. “Was it hard talking to them?”

“Hard for me?” His eyebrows shot up to his hairline and the dark lock of hair that had a habit of falling across his forehead. “What I feel is nothing compared to what they’re going through.”

She nodded. “I remember when the detective came to tell me about my brother’s murder. He was so uncomfortable, I almost felt like I was supposed to comfort him. I didn’t want to break down too much because I was afraid of what it would do to him.

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