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Nana tskked. “No, girl. Your daddy said to stay inside.”
She halted and gritted her teeth. “But why? The neighbor kids are out playing.”
“Your father said it’s dangerous and he’s right. Last night they dragged a car from the lake. And there was a body inside.”
Lorna Bea knew that. But she wanted details. “Who was it? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Nana said with a yawn. “But your daddy will have my head on a platter if I let you go out.”
Lorna Bea tapped her foot. She didn’t want to get Nana in trouble. So, she slumped down in the chair and looked at the books on the shelf. She snagged the one about Widow Lake to take upstairs and thumbed through it as Nana finished cleaning the kitchen. When the dishes were done, Nana rubbed her temple with another yawn. Her naps were coming more and more often these days. And sometimes she didn’t remember things.
“Lie down, Nana,” Lorna Bea said. “I’ll read for a while.”
“Thanks, sugar,” Nana said. “I’ll just grab a cat nap.”
Lorna Bea waited until Nana fell asleep in the rocker then tiptoed upstairs with the book. She tossed it on the bed, then threw open the bedroom window, climbed out onto the tree limb and studied the lake. Sunlight bounced off the pockets of moss and murky water. The air was so still, she smelled honeysuckle mingling with the cloying scent of dead flowers. Weeds drooped and birds foraged for food on the dry ground.
A steady stream of cars trailed toward the cabin rentals. She spotted Cade and Betsy outside playing at the edge of the woods by the water.
Quickly, she scrambled down the tree. Reaching the bottom limb, she swung herself down to the ground.
After a glance around, she jogged toward Betsy and Cade.
Betsy was chasing the kitten and Cade had binoculars, scanning the lake.
His curly brown hair was scattered all over his head. “Why was your daddy mad when we came over last night?” Cade asked, as soon as he saw her.
Lorna Bea bit her quivering lip. She didn’t know how to answer something she didn’t understand herself. Maybe it had been a mistake to come out here.
Betsy hummed as she chased the kitty. It ran toward the boat dock, and Cade called out, “Don’t run off again, Betsy!”
She scooped up the furball and danced along the bank with the animal.
Cade’s freckles bunched as he looked at Lorna Bea. “Is your dad always like that?”
Her cheeks burned. “He’s just scared something bad will happen to me.”
“Why does he think that?” He raked a stick across the dirt.
“I don’t know. He’s just always telling me to stay away from strangers.”
Cade sighed. “Yeah, I guess I get it. My folks always warn us not to go too far and not to swim alone or get in the car with strangers.”
Lorna Bea nodded, although she thought there was more to her daddy. That he was upset about something. But she was too afraid to ask.
Lorna Bea sat down on the log beside him. “Nana said they found a body in the lake last night. Who was it? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Cade said. “But Dad said he heard someone at the marina say they’re looking for more bodies today.”
THIRTY-TWO
As soon as Ellie saw Cord’s name on her phone screen, she feared he’d discovered the little girl’s body.
“Found something in the shed at Widow Lake,” Cord said when she answered. “Looks like a bone, maybe a grave.”
“Dammit,” Ellie muttered. “Could belong to our missing woman or child.”
“The dirt was recently turned. Might be more bones but I haven’t disturbed it. I saw fresh prints outside and inside the shed, too.”
