Page 54 of Whispers of the Lake

Jayson glanced at the rearview mirror, driving about twenty seconds more before making a U-turn.

“There,” I said.

We entered the neighborhood, but I couldn’t find James’s truck anywhere. There was no outlet on this road, though, so he had to be around. Jayson drove slowly, passing several homes where people did yardwork, and children rode scooters and bikes on the sidewalks. Then I saw the familiar truck. James was parked in front of one of the houses on the cul-de-sac.

Jayson spotted it too and pulled to the curb. We watched as James climbed out of his truck and made his way toward the garage. The garage gate lifted slowly. The sheriff peered over his shoulder.

“Shit,” I whispered, ducking my head. We were a few houses back and I don’t think he saw me, but still . . .

“He’s gonna put our asses in jail,” Jayson hissed, eyes ahead. “You better be glad he looked away.”

I took a peek over the dashboard and James was walking through the garage. Two vehicles were parked inside it. One was a green Ford pickup truck. The other a black Honda Civic with a custom license plate.

“Oh my God, Jayson,” I breathed as the garage gate started to close. I gripped the sleeve of his shirt, hands shaking, body trembling.

“What, Rose? What is it?” he asked, clutching my hand.

“That’s Eve’s car in his garage.”

Eve Castillo journal entry

Forget what I said before.

Alex is sexy, but his brother just came to fix the bathroom faucet, and THAT man is fine. I caught him looking at my butt a few times. And don’t get me started on Alex and his terrible way of flirting. He’s cute though. They both want me, that’s clear.

After Lincoln leaves, I might invite them over for dinner. See which one of them wants me most.

Don’t judge me. I need the escape.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“Nico, I need another favor.”

“Alright. I think it’s about time you start paying me now, Rosette.” Nico’s mouth sounded full as I sat behind the wheel of my car. We’d driven back to the gas station in Green Pines to pick it up and leave. “Besides, I’m still working on your last request.”

“Right. You can keep looking into that, but this one is more urgent. Can you go through the Sage Hill Sheriff’s Department roster and find me a deputy who isn’t up the sheriff’s ass?”

“You really think that’s a possibility?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe. If not, I’ll think of something else.”

“Let me look now.” I heard Nico typing and glanced to my left. Jayson was parking his car next to mine, his head visibly shaking. He’d said it himself that this situation was a mess.

It didn’t make sense to him that Eve’s car was in the sheriff’s garage, and he agreed something twisted was happening. He still thought we needed to get the hell out of Sage Hill and let matters play out themselves . . . but I just couldn’t let this go. Just when I was ready to pull the plug, something else popped up and sucked me right back in.

“Maybe she’s fucking him too,” Jayson suggested when we’d left James’s neighborhood.

“Not her type,” I’d mumbled absently. My mind was too busy reeling, trying to piece it all together. I knew there was a reason I didn’t trust that man. Seeing her car there solidified it for me.

It was Eve’s car. I’d know that license plate anywhere. TRVLGRL. Once she’d asked me if I thought it fit her. I told her ordering custom license plates was a waste of valuable time. She didn’t like that response. In fact, she didn’t talk to me for two days after I said it.

“I think I have something,” Nico said, still typing.

Jayson was getting out of his car.

“There’s a woman who works there, Kennedy Windsor. She’s the only Black female deputy working in Sage Hill.” Nico paused. “There’s an incident report under her dad’s name. Says here he filed an assault charge on Sheriff Reed. It happened a few years ago and doesn’t specify what happened exactly, but the following week, Kennedy is hired to work with Reed and the charge is dropped.”

“Hmm.”

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