The Lost Women of Lost Lake by Ellen Hart

Author:Ellen Hart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

20

Returning to the cottage shortly after eight, Jane asked Cordelia if she minded going inside without her. She had something she needed to do, but would be in shortly. Cordelia gave her a what-the-hell-are-you-up-to look. As a lover of the dramatic moment, however, she didn’t argue. She trotted eagerly up the stairs, ready to deliver the bad news all by herself.

When they drove up, Jane had noticed that the garage door wasn’t shut all the way, as if someone had been in a hurry. Curious what she might find, she hoisted the door and stepped into the semi-darkness. Jill’s Jeep was gone. Tessa’s Volvo sat in its usual place. On a whim, Jane pressed her hand to the hood. To her surprise, she found that the engine was still warm. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, nor was she inclined to ask Tessa, especially after her “back off” message earlier, and yet clearly Tessa had gone somewhere.

As she was closing the garage door, Jill’s Jeep drove in behind her.

“I’m so sorry,” said Jill, hopping out. She was wearing white slacks, a navy-blue-and-white striped top, and canvas deck shoes. She looked ready for a night on the water. “I know we planned to be out on the lake by seven-thirty, but I got waylaid up at the lodge.” Opening the back door, she removed an old woven wood picnic basket. “I come bearing provisions. That should make up for the my late arrival.”

“I just got here myself,” said Jane.

“Tessa’s probably chomping at the bit,” said Jill as they made their way up the stairs to the front door. “Thankfully, she’s easily placated with pie.”

When they entered the living room, Cordelia and Tessa were sitting close together on the couch. It took Jane a few moments to decipher the look on Tessa’s face. When she did, she realized it was elation.

“What’s going on?” asked Jill, setting the picnic basket on the stone hearth in front of the fireplace.

“You’re not going to believe this,” said Cordelia, pressing a limp hand dramatically to her chest. “A man was murdered at the theater this evening. The undersheriff was forced to close the community center because it’s a crime scene.”

Jill folded herself into a chair, never taking her eyes off Tessa. “Who was he? Someone we know?”

“His name was Steve Feigenbaumer,” said Jane. She’d gone into the kitchen to grab herself a beer. She figured she was owed. “He’s a Chicago cop.”

“He is?” said Tessa.

“Was,” said Cordelia, patting Tessa’s knee.

“He was your Peeping Tom, the guy looking in your window the other night,” said Jane, squeezing off the bottle cap and tossing it in the garbage. “Kelli thinks his murder is related to Lyndie LaVasser’s.”

“But Lyndie wasn’t murdered,” said Jill. “It was an accident. I mean … wasn’t it?”

Jane sat down on the La-Z-Boy. “Afraid not. Kelli said that her trachea had been partially crushed, that she was probably dead before the car left the road.”

“Lord,” said Jill, her hands twisting in her lap. “How did this man—”

“A gunshot to the head,” said Cordelia.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.