The Lake House Secret, A Romantic Suspense Novel (A Jenessa Jones Mystery) (12 page)

Chapter 16

The funeral would begin momentarily. Jenessa fidgeted as she sat on the first row of the church with her family members, wishing they’d get on with the service. Her toe tapped nervously on the floor, feeling Logan’s gaze hot on her back.

A program had been planned, mostly by Aunt Renee, but with some input from the three girls. Music, speakers, the eulogy. Then people would line up to file past the open casket for the viewing of the body and to say their final good-byes.

As she endured the next sixty minutes, Jenessa’s mind was a blur of faces and words and thoughts. Ramey had squeezed her hand a few times during the service, leaning over and whispering something in her ear now and then, but Jenessa’s mind was so unsettled that her friend’s words were indiscernible.

Finally, the pastor stepped down from the podium and opened the top half of the casket, causing Jenessa’s insides to twist. She squeezed her eyes tight, breathing in slowly and wringing her hands.

Oh, God! I don’t want to see him, not like this.

Instead, she wanted to see the father she had known as a girl, the daddy that gave her horsey rides on his back and made her laugh. The one who took her fishing in the bay and roller skating in Golden Gate Park. They should have never moved to this place.

Warm tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Sara handed her a tissue, and Ramey held her hand.

The pastor motioned for the family to begin the viewing line. When it was Jenessa’s turn, she couldn’t do it, not really. She allowed her eyes to blur over his face, focusing on the edge of his sleeves, just above his folded hands—it was the best she could do. Her lips formed a soundless
good-bye
as an errant tear slipped down her cheek, onto the fabric of his jacket.

As she followed her sister up the aisle toward the back of the church, Jenessa kept her head down. When she neared the back rows, a hand reached out and softly clasped her fingers for just a moment. She looked up to find Michael, standing tall in a dark blue suit, wearing a somber expression.

One corner of her mouth turned up into a tiny smile as he released her hand and she kept walking.

~*~

Following the funeral service, the ladies of the church prepared a buffet lunch in the church’s fellowship hall. Jenessa was relieved not to have to entertain all these people in her dad’s home or Aunt Renee’s. As people filled their plates with salads and little sandwiches, Jenessa stood by the door and observed.

Ramey had gone to The Sweet Spot early that morning, as was her routine, and baked her father’s favorite carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. She had delivered them to the church kitchen before the service and now they were set out on one of the long tables.

“Did you get a cupcake?” Ramey asked, sidling up to Jenessa.

Jenessa kept watching the crowd, not reacting to the question. “Do you think Dad actually knew all these people?”

“In one way or another, sure. Your dad was pretty well-known around here, well-respected too. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know.” Jenessa shook her head. “I feel like I hardly knew him at all. These people probably knew him better than his own daughter.” She turned and looked Ramey in the eyes. “You knew him better than I did.”

“Maybe, but you have to know he loved you. I remember him saying a few times how proud he was that you were working for a big newspaper and you were going places.”

“That doesn’t sound like Dad.” Was Ramey making that up to make her feel better, telling her what she thought she wanted to hear? He had certainly never said anything like that to Jenessa.

“Oh, look. There’s Charles McAllister.” A bright smile lit up Ramey’s face. “He’s waving at us.” Her attention was quickly drawn away. “I’m going to go talk to him.”

Jenessa watched as Ramey crossed the floor to where Charles was standing. Was there something blossoming between them? Ramey was a sweetheart and she deserved a good man.

“Cupcake?”

Jenessa spun in the direction of the male voice. “Michael.” She grinned.

He held out a cupcake on a small plastic plate. “They’re delicious.”

“Maybe later.”

“I’ll save it for Jake then.” He lowered the plate. “Again, I’m so sorry about your dad.”

“Thanks. I really do appreciate your coming. It’s nice to see a friendly, familiar face.” A sudden warmth rushed through her at his nearness, taking her by surprise.

“I just wanted to see how you’re holding up before I head back to work.” His hand brushed down her arm and she was sure she felt a spark.

“I appreciate that.” Jenessa flashed him a little smile. “I wish we could talk more.”

“Me too.” His deep brown eyes lit up.

“You see, I’ve dug up some things on this dead body case I’m investigating and I wanted to ask you a few questions.” As Jenessa spoke the words, the sparkle in his eyes dimmed.

“Oh, I see. You just want me for inside information, and here I thought you wanted me for my body.”

Her cheeks were on fire. “I…I…well, no, I just meant—”

He chuckled. “I’m only kidding, Jenessa.”

She gave his arm a sharp jab. “Michael Baxter. You never change. Always the kidder.” Although, he had changed in so many other ways—anyone with eyes could see that.

“I’ve got to fly, but how about I stop by your place after my shift, around nine o’clock?”

“That’d be great. I’ll just be going through Dad’s office this evening with a fine-tooth comb. Hey, that reminds me, do you know anyone who can pick a lock?”

“Planning to break into someone’s house?”

“Of course not. I can’t open the lap drawer to my dad’s antique desk, and Aunt Renee almost came out of her skin when I told her I was going to break it open. I thought that if you knew any petty criminals who could pick locks I could get their name and number from you.”

“No way I’m letting you bring a criminal into your house. Geez, Jenessa. For someone so smart, you can be pretty dumb sometimes.” He grinned.

That was a statement he’d made to her with some regularity when they were in high school. She responded by balling up her fist and shaking it at him playfully. “Hey, buster, you want another sock in the arm?”

Michael covered her fist with his hand. “What about a locksmith?”

“I thought about that, but I’d rather it was someone who could keep their mouth shut about anything they saw in the drawer.”

“I tell you what, I’ll bring my tools and I will pick the lock for you, but right now I’ve got to get to work.” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

A male, standing close by, cleared his throat.

Jenessa’s and Michael’s heads both turned toward the sound.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Hello, Logan,” Jenessa said, stuffing both hands behind her back, her chest tightening at his presence.

“Logan.” Michael pulled upright to his full six-foot-five-inch height, towering above Logan by at least three inches. “I was just on my way out. Take care, Jenessa.”

Michael pushed the door open and was gone, leaving her to deal with Logan.

“I didn’t mean to chase him away,” Logan said with a hint of sarcasm. “Was it something I said?”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. What can I do for you?” Her voice held steady and aloof, her eyes looking toward the crowd as she stiffly rested her back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

Logan rested a hand against the wall behind her and leaned in. “Can’t an old friend say hello and offer his condolences?”

Her gaze shifted and met his. He was now only inches from her. Those liquid blue eyes and that wavy blond hair drew her back to her teens, as if she was standing before him as a seventeen-year-old girl, deeply in love. Her heart began to hammer in her chest and suddenly the room became stuffy and warm.

Forcing herself to look away, she searched the crowd for Ramey or Sara or Aunt Renee—anyone who could rescue her from this moment. But she couldn’t make eye contact with any of them.

He must have sensed how uncomfortable he was making her, for he pushed off the wall and straightened his stance. “I’d still love to get together and catch up with you. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. A lot of things have changed, for both of us.”

“I’m not so sure—”

“Listen,” he cut in. “If you’re going to be staying in town and working at the paper, I’d like to be friends so it’s not awkward every time we run into each other.”

He was right. They would keep running into each other—Hidden Valley was a pretty small town—Aunt Renee had even said as much. Perhaps if she spent more time with him, those overwhelming feelings from the past would lose their power and they could simply be friends.

“What do you suggest?” Was she out of her mind for even entertaining such an idea?

“How about you let me take you to dinner tonight?”

She started to open her mouth in protest, but he pressed a couple of fingers lightly over her lips.

“Nothing fancy,” Logan promised, lowering his hand. “Just two old friends catching up over a burger and fries. What do you say?”

His engaging eyes held her gaze, her lips tingling from his touch. Should she trust him again after all this time—or run? She hated the way she felt every time she bumped into him—a cross between wanting to throw up and her heart trying to jump out of her chest. If Hidden Valley was going to be home again, maybe she should at least attempt to make peace with him, for her own sake.

If it didn’t work out for them to be friends, no one could say she hadn’t tried. “All right. Pick me up at six.” She peeled away from him and wandered toward the crowd to find her family, leaving Logan standing alone by the door. She assumed he was watching her go, and a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed it. A nervous chill shimmied down her back at the thought of his eyes shamelessly following her. She wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or irritated.

Ramey and Sara were huddled in conversation with Aunt Renee near the buffet table and she headed toward them. What would the girls think of her decision to have dinner with her old flame? Maybe it was best not to spill the beans.

~*~

It was nearly five o’clock when Jenessa planted herself at her father’s desk and opened her laptop. She had promised Charles McAllister a story on her father’s funeral, along with a little more background information on him. She plowed through the story, and after submitting her article via email, she sat quietly and pondered Lucy St. John’s murder.

Eleven years ago, Ramey had turned eighteen and graduated from high school when her mother announced that she and her boyfriend were taking off for a more exciting life in Southern California. With no extended family that Ramey knew of, she would have been all alone in the world, if it hadn’t been for the Jones family.

Jenessa closed her eyes and let her imagination run wild with theories. She liked to call it playing the
What If
game.

What if Lucy’s boyfriend killed her? Lucy St. John had been a drunk most of Ramey’s life and her last boyfriend had turned her on to recreational drugs. Rather than heading straight to LA, what if they had gone up to the lake for one last party? Teenagers and the college crowd were known to do that, but would Lucy and her lover have done it too?

What if she had overdosed on something? Or, what if she and this guy had fought over something and he accidentally killed her?

Chapter 17

If only Jenessa knew the name of Lucy’s last boyfriend, she could research him on the internet and hopefully discover something about him. She phoned Ramey. “Hey, can you stop by my house on your way home from work?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here.”

Within a few minutes, Ramey was knocking at Jenessa’s front door. She gave her a quick hug and let her in. “Come back to the study and we’ll talk.”

Ramey followed her down the hallway and took a seat across from the old desk. “Why are you being so mysterious?” Before Jenessa could answer, Ramey noticed the photo of the locket sitting on the corner of the desk. “What’s this?”

She picked it up and gazed at it. “This is me.” She raised her eyes to Jenessa. “Why do you have a picture of my mother’s locket?”

Aunt Renee was right. Ramey just confirmed it.

“Ramey, I have something to tell you. Something bad.”

“What is it?” Ramey’s bright blue eyes darkened as a suspicious frown swept across her face.

Jenessa drew a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. “If the little girl in this photo is you, I have reason to believe that the remains that were found at the lake belonged to—”

“My mother?” Ramey blinked a few times, then her eyes grew round and wet. “Are you saying my mother is dead?”

Jenessa rose from her seat and came around the desk. “I’m so sorry.” She bent down and laced her arms around Ramey. “It certainly appears that way.”

“How do you know that? Did the police tell you? Did they do some sort of DNA testing on the bones? What?”

Jenessa straightened. “This locket was found with the bones, Ramey. What else could it mean?”

Ramey studied the photo again. “How did you get this picture?”

“I can’t say, but trust me when I tell you that this locket was found with the buried remains.”

Ramey nodded sadly. “Here, all this time I thought my mom ran off and didn’t care about me anymore—but that’s not what happened at all. She didn’t run off…she died.” Her voice cracked on the last painful word.

“So now the question is, who killed her?” Jenessa said. “And why.”

Ramey handed the picture back. “Promise me you’ll find out, Jenessa. Please, promise me that.”

“I’m not a detective, Ramey. I’ll do all I can, but I can’t make any promises.”

As an investigative reporter, Jenessa would pursue every avenue available to her to find the truth. If she could continue to apply pressure on Detective Provenza, she might learn more about the case, and perhaps she could also enlist Michael’s help to feed her some clues to Lucy’s murder.

Jenessa took her seat behind the desk again. “Do you remember the name of your mom’s last boyfriend? The one she said she was going to LA with?”