AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The old boathouse was one of the landmarks around town. It was a historical spot, and tourists regularly visited it to photograph it for its picturesque quality, and to see the nature of the remains of the construction.
Some people even dived off the nearby pier, although others said it was too dangerous to do so.
Never before had it been the scene of a crime.
May had never even had to respond to a call from that area, except for a few cases of people getting drunk on boats and needing to be helped back to shore.
Now, as she approached, she saw flashing lights, bright in the darkening surroundings. Clouds had covered the setting sun, creating a somber and gray evening that seemed appropriate somehow.
May parked next to the police cars, noticing a few other vehicles nearby. She climbed out and headed down the hill.
There was the boathouse. Its weathered boards were lovingly maintained by the town’s arts committee, who also cut the grass and kept the area beautiful. It was a peaceful, scenic place, usually.
Now, May’s heart was in her mouth as she headed over to the scene.
She saw the police were standing right at the water’s edge. So was it a drowning? Or had a body been dumped in the lake? She wasn’t sure what to expect, and felt filled with trepidation at what was playing out.
“Back, please. Step away,” Sheriff Jack was saying to the small crowd of onlookers who were staring, hypnotized, at the water.
Feeling this was getting stranger and stranger, May hurried toward them.
And then she drew in a shocked breath as she saw what they were looking at.
The body of a young girl was in the water and May saw immediately, with a clench of her heart, that it was Emily Hobbs. She’d committed her pretty features and dark hair to memory over the past weeks.
But the scene was beyond bizarre.
Emily was laid out on a makeshift wooden raft, clothed, staring sightlessly at the sky.
Candles were placed around her body. They were no longer lit, and had clearly burned out or blown out in the breeze, but all the same, May felt absolutely shell-shocked by the sight. She could not stop staring, her anger rising as she wondered who had orchestrated this overdramatic murder scene.
And why?
Already, one of the police officers had waded into the dam, dressed in PPE, and was carefully guiding the raft through the waist-deep water and closer to shore.
May had so many questions. But given the sheer bizarreness of the scene, all she could do was watch in silence as the police officer somberly pushed the raft in to shore with his gloved hands.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Sheriff Jack said quietly to her. “I have no idea what kind of person we could possibly be dealing with.”
“Me either,” she whispered back.
“I notified Emily’s parents immediately. So that job’s done.” May guessed that had been a gut-wrenching task. She was glad her boss had done it.
“Keep everyone back,” he advised.
May turned, noticing to her dismay that the crowd was growing. Word about this haunting, disturbing scene was quickly spreading and she knew it would take a team effort to keep back the crowds.
At that moment, Owen arrived at a run. She turned, glad to see her investigation partner on the scene, and that he could help her with keeping the onlookers under control, and preferably, removing them from the area.
“Please keep back from the scene,” May said firmly. “If you are not here in an official capacity, it will be best to leave. We need to make space for our emergency workers.”
She looked sternly at the onlookers, who all looked away, embarrassed to have been caught out gawking. Taking in the situation immediately, Owen turned to the crowd along with May.
“Leave the scene if you’re not involved,” he said, stepping toward them and forcing them to step further back, allowing the other police to get the crime scene tape in place.
“And no photos!” May added hurriedly, seeing an opportunistic twenty-something-year-old with a phone in his hand. “There are family members we need to consider here. There may be legal implications for the investigation. Put your phones away, and give us some space!”
Reluctantly, the people turned and shuffled away. May heard conversations in low voices, whispered words all around her, as the townsfolk headed back to their vehicles, discussing that shocking scene.
