Lake of Bad Dreams by Susan Clayton-Goldner

Author:Susan Clayton-Goldner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: retribution, mystery suspense thriller, school shooting, oregon mystery, investigation, ashland oregon
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

The lack of sound inside their childless house felt like a lack of oxygen. Off and on all day Friday, Suzanne had stepped onto the back patio—hidden from the prying eyes of their neighbors—trying to catch her breath.

Theo spent the day in his study preparing lesson plans for the graduate teacher’s assistant the college had recruited to take over his university classes. Suzanne knew how horrible he felt about being denied access to his office and his students. Around noon, she’d silently slipped into the room to put a grilled cheese sandwich and cup of tomato soup on his desk, only to find it congealed and untouched two hours later.

Friday was Suzanne’s regular day for grocery shopping. But today, one day after the school shootings, she waited until dark, hours after her usual time. She hoped the Ashland Co-Op would be empty and she wouldn’t expose herself to any more judgment and scorn.

After combing her unwashed hair, trying to look normal, she slipped on a clean pair of slacks and a teal-blue T-shirt. The shirt had a sequined butterfly on the front—a Mother’s Day gift from Kristina. Suzanne dumped the coffee-stained yoga pants she’d worn for two days in the hamper. Her first attempt at normalcy seemed hopeless. The face staring back from the bathroom mirror was gaunt—eyes swollen and bloodshot. If it weren’t dark outside, she’d have slipped on a pair of sunglasses.

Standing in the doorway to Theo’s study, she waited for him to look up. When he did, she told him her plans.

“Are you sure? It’s not like either of us is hungry. What if someone…” His voice seemed to scrape in his throat. He stopped himself from finishing the question, lowered his head, and continued staring at the blank pages in front of him. They’d been like that all day, cautiously stepping around each other.

She headed down the hall to the kitchen and tore the shopping list from the notepad she kept on the desk. Though her mind spun at lightning speed and her heart pounded in her ears, it seemed to take forever to reach the garage door.

How does anyone go on after losing their only child? The voice of her dead mother sounded in her ears. Put one foot in front of the other. Keep moving.

Less than ten minutes later, she arrived at the co-op. To her relief, the parking lot was nearly empty. The moon was a waning crescent, barely visible as she grabbed her cloth bags from the back seat and a cart from the bin outside the shop entrance. She pushed it inside.

Margaret, her regular cashier, nodded, her gaze darting around the store, visibly uncomfortable.

Suzanne looked away. She’d thought a trip to the Co-Op would require little of her, but now realized even minimal social interaction was beyond what she could manage right now. She forced herself to move forward.

In the produce aisle, she absently loaded six Red Delicious apples, a bunch of bananas, grapes, a bag of green beans and

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