“My brother was here under an alias on vacation. According to his friends, they were partying on a boat they’d rented and he fell overboard. He never resurfaced. From what I’ve learned since then, that’s fairly common around here. The town is full of stories and legends about the lake being cursed and spirits holding people under and refusing to give up the dead. My family was devastated when Esteban’s friends told us what had happened and that the police couldn’t find his body.”
“When was this?”
“It’s been a little over a year. His alias was—”
“Jake Randolph.”
She blinked. “How did you—”
“In spite of what Tanya Jericho’s parents believe, the family of a young woman we’d thought had drown until proven wrong, I take every disappearance or death in this town very seriously. My officers and I do everything we can to investigate and get answers for the families. I may not have known that Jake Randolph was an alias for Esteban Covington, but I’m not likely to forget anyone who has gone missing or died here. We did everything we could to find Mr. Randolph. But, as you said, the lake is dangerous and often doesn’t return those who disappear under the water. It’s why we alert every citizen, every tourist, about the unique dangers and hazards and warn them to wear life vests when they go out on the water. Your brother wasn’t wearing one, and unfortunately he paid a high price for that. We tried—I tried—to find him. But we never did. I truly am deeply sorry for your and your family’s loss.”
The sincerity in his voice, in his eyes, again surprised her. It had her chest tightening with the grief that still tugged at her heart every day, threatening to send her to the dark place she’d only recently managed to crawl out of. She drew a shaky breath. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
He gave her a sad smile. “What is it that you’re here to warn me about exactly? Does your father blame me and my team for your brother’s death? Has he put a contract out on the police because he’s angry that we never recovered your brother’s body?”
“His bodywasfound.”
“I’d know if we’d located a body.”
“Not if my family, led by my other biological brother, Rafael, paid a private company to search the lake in secret. It took a long time, mainly because they posed as fishermen and were careful so they didn’t bring attention to what they were really doing.But they finally found him and brought him home for a private burial. I’m sure you can understand that my father didn’t want any publicity.”
“Actually, no. I don’t understand. Your brother using an alias on vacation, okay, that makes sense because he didn’t want any attention. But why wouldn’t his friends, and your family, tell the truthafterEsteban disappeared? I would have expected your father to bring in resources we in Mystic Lake could never afford and search for his son’s body.”
“You really can’t understand?” She shook her head in exasperation. “What do you honestly think would have happened if my father brought in all of those resources you mentioned and made no secret of the fact that he was searching for his son’s body? The media would have been crawling all over this town, making it difficult to even perform the search. And do you honestly believe the Feds wouldn’t have jumped at this, opening a new investigation into why my brother was here, why he used an alias, whether some crimes were going on or whatever else they could come up with? We were all dealing with the grief of losing him. Facing all the rest would have made it so much worse.”
He sighed. “I see your point. But I wish you or your father had come to me. In spite of what you might have assumed, I would have done everything I could to protect your privacy. No one should have to worry about being bothered by the media, or even other law enforcement agencies, during a time like that. I could have helped ensure the search your people did was expedited and explained away so that it didn’t draw the attention you were concerned about.” He waved a hand as if waving away his words. “Doesn’t matter. You recovered your brother’s remains. That’s what matters. Although, I’m amazed I never heard about the searches being conducted in spite of the company you usedbeing secretive. How long did the searches last? Or, more to the point, when did they end?”
“Several months before Tanya Jericho was found. When you were looking into that Phantom guy who ended up being a serial killer.”
He looked past her toward the back wall of glass, his eyes taking on a haunted look.
“You found her, though,” she continued. “Tanya. Alive. You rescued her. And later her parents decided to sue you and the town for not finding their daughter until after she’d been held captive for close to a year. That’s when the mayor banished you to your little hideaway up here.”
His gaze shot back to her, his eyes darkening with anger. “I banished myself. Until I read that lawsuit, I’d never known the full extent of the horror that had happened to Tanya during her year of captivity. It was… I couldn’t—”
His phone buzzed in his pocket. A look of relief crossed his face as he pulled it out, as if he’d literally been saved by the bell. Or, in this case, the buzz. But when he read whatever was on his screen, his expression turned hard, just like at the woodpile earlier.
He stood. “One of my officers finally had a minute to answer my text about the mayor’s meeting. He confirmed that there is no meeting. You lied. For all I know, everything you’ve said since you got here was a lie. What exactly is your angle? What did you hope to gain by coming here?”
She stared at him in growing dismay. “Maybe the officer you spoke to didn’t know about the meeting and—”
“He checked with all of my officers, just to be sure. It’s time for you to leave, Ms. Covington.”
“There really is a meeting. I swear. And it’s starting soon. I’ve got no reason to lie.”
“And my officers do?”
She held out her hands in a helpless gesture. “Maybe the mayor threatened them if they told you about it.”
“Why would he do that? Our department doesn’t have an adversarial relationship with him.”
“Even with a multi-million dollar lawsuit in progress, one that was brought specifically because of your handling of the Tanya Jericho case?”
His jaw tightened. “We’re definitely done.” He reached for her arm.
She hopped off the stool before he could grab her. “Wait. Please.”
“For what? You still haven’t told me why you think I or anyone else is in danger, or even what you supposedly need from me. You asked for ten minutes. I gave you longer than that. I’m beginning to wonder if your purpose in coming here was to stall for time so whoever is with you could get into place as I left to go down the mountain for this fake meeting.”
