Murder by the Lake by Thea Cambert

Author:Thea Cambert [Cambert, Thea]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Summer Prescott Books
Published: 2022-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

“So, you think Beryl might’ve killed Silas in a jealous rage?” Stewart whispered as he and Esme stood at the edge of the makeshift flag football field back at Piney Woods that afternoon.

“Possibly,” said Esme. “It’s yet another drama. Jealousy. Sibling rivalry. Unrequited love. A woman scorned.”

“Well, the sibling rivalry part I can relate to,” said Stewart with a snicker. “I mean—not that I’d ever poison Jacob.” He looked across the clearing at Beryl, who stood next to Pearl, who was standing next to Opal, all of them watching the game. “But wow. That means Beryl seriously threw her sister under the bus when she told us she suspected that Opal baked the fruitcake.”

“Well, murderers do tend to at least try to cover their tracks as a rule,” said Esme, cocking a brow at him.

Kent sped past, football tucked under his arm, a whole passel of other players chasing after him to no avail.

“Wow, Kent’s in great shape,” said Stewart. “The irony!”

“Exactly,” said Esme. “Back in high school, he was the nerd. Now all those sports stars of yesteryear have nothing on him. He’s not even breathing hard!”

They watched as Kent scored an easy touchdown. The spectators went wild, the cheerleaders waved their pompoms, the handful of band members played the fight song, and high-fives were passed around. Buck clapped Kent on the back, grunting out some sort of chant that the other players joined in. For a moment, Esme thought they would hoist him up onto their shoulders and carry him off the field, but Kent got a call on his cellphone and had to step away.

Ethan and Esme even got into the game for a little while, running up and down the field while Stewart snapped photos of them having fun at the “family” reunion with their many aunts and uncles.

Play continued for a while, and the game finally wrapped up, with more than one player complaining of back pain. Alan and Nan stopped by the field, and Ethan went off with them, telling Esme he wanted to spend some quality time with his stand-in mom and dad.

“I’ll come with you,” Esme offered, starting to follow them.

“No, that’s okay,” said Ethan. “I can get the photos I need myself. You stay here with Stewart. I won’t be long.”

“Yes!” said Stewart. “Don’t leave me here all alone.”

“Stew, there’s a whole big group of people here,” said Esme, walking back over to him.

“I know,” Stewart said under his breath. “But one of them is a cold-blooded killer. And I’m not sure which one it is. Besides, you have to give me your take on something.”

“Really? What?”

“Another drama. That.” Stewart nodded to the other side of the field, where Buck and Coach Henderson were walking off toward the edge of the woods, heads tilted together, talking quietly.

“Looks like Coach Henderson is talking to Buck Primrose,” said Esme, crossing her arms. “Anything else you need to know?”

“I can see they’re talking,” said Stewart, shooting her a glare. “But what are they talking about?”

“How should I know?” Esme watched the two for a moment.

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