Page 13 of Vanished in the Mist
“Second only to Lake Lanier, which is allegedly haunted.”
O’Brien nodded, her expression solemn. “You’ve done your homework. Despite our regrettable statistics overall, we’ve had a pretty good run this past year. The last known person to go missing was Tanya Jericho, last spring. So unless someone else went missing and no one reported them, those remains are hers.”
“There was still some tissue on the bones that I saw. If it is her, wouldn’t the remains be completely skeletonized by now?”
O’Brien narrowed her eyes, as if taking her first close look at Shanna and trying to figure something out. “You seem awfully nervous about the recovery of that body. I thought as a private investigator that you’d have seen dead bodies before. But the questions you’re asking make it seem otherwise. Which is it?”
“I’ve seen a few bodies in my line of work, more than I’d like. That’s not why I’m nervous.”
The officer waited, but Shanna wasn’t about to discuss her embarrassing fear of water with a woman she’d just met. Or her ridiculous concern for Kaden, a man she’d also only just met, even though it already seemed as if she’d known him for years. Or maybe it was that after being so worried about him yesterday when he’d been underwater so long she felt vested in his safety and far more concerned than made sense, given their short acquaintance.
“I’ll take your silence as a reminder to mind my own business.” O’Brien smiled. “Not the first time I’ve been told that. Instead, I’ll answer your earlier question. With my background from having been an FBI special agent, I can tell you that while bodies in the water do usually decompose quickly, that’s not always the case. In special circumstances, it can take much longer, from a few weeks up to a year or even longer. There are a variety of factors, like temperatures, whether they were clothed when they went into the water, marine-life activity. Around here, I’m learning there’s also the Mystic Lake factor to consider. Thewater is…different than most lakes. It’s almost like it’s…thicker. We’ve had champion swimmers tell us that swimming out here is really challenging, that the water seems to weigh you down. Whatever it is that makes it unique could potentially impact the decomposition, likely due to the currents and different chemicals and other elements that make the water the way it is.”
“Thicker?”
O’Brien nodded. “That’s the word we hear the most. It’s a better explanation than to say there are unknown forces at play, like the lake itself is sinister in some way. So we lump all of that together and call it the Mystic Lake factor.”
“Doesn’t sound very scientific for someone who used to work for the FBI.”
“Yes, well, things change once you’ve been here for a while. Or, I should say, this place changes you.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Well, Alannah, my daughter, is five months old. Aidan and I were married a year before I got pregnant and I was here several months prior to that. I guess it’s getting close to three years. Longer than I’d realized. But even though I’m a transplant, I became indoctrinated pretty quickly from the day I arrived, working on a case for the FBI. I’ve learned quite a bit about the myths, rumors and downright lies made up about this place to know what’s what.”
“So you don’t give credence to the legends?”
O’Brien gave her a sharp look, then looked out at the water. “I didn’t say that.”
Kaden popped up on the surface close to the police boat and handed another black bag to police chief, Beau Dawson.
“How long will it take your coroner—or medical examiner, I guess, in the state of Tennessee—to conduct the autopsy and confirm the victim’s identity?”
The policewoman sighed. “Unfortunately, Mystic Lake doesn’t have a medical examiner. We’ll have to transport the remains to Chattanooga for an autopsy. A drowning victim who’s been under water for a year or more isn’t likely to come up high on their priority list. If they’ve got a caseload queued up, it might be several days.”
“What about the Jerichos? If they hear about a body being found—”
“Already taken care of. Officer Fletcher—Liza—is over there now, letting them know what’s going on. Since you and Mr. Rafferty located the remains while searching for Tanya, Liza is telling them that you’re here looking into the case. I hope that’s okay.”
“Yes, of course. I should have spoken to them already. But I didn’t expect…” She motioned toward the water. “This. Not so quickly, anyway. I was going to call and arrange a meeting later today, introduce myself. But this happened yesterday late in the day and…” She shook her head.
As they both watched, Kaden disappeared back underwater. Shanna looked away, too unsettled by what was happening out on the lake to keep watching. O’Brien glanced at her curiously, but didn’t pry.
About twenty minutes later, the whine of boat engines had Shanna looking up again. “Looks like they’re done. Kaden’s boat is heading down river. But he’s on the police boat, in his regular clothes again, coming here.”
O’Brien nodded “Officer Ortiz is likely piloting Mr. Rafferty’s boat to the marina, or wherever Rafferty wants it docked. The chief will need formal statements from you and Rafferty, which is probably why he’s on the boat with Dawson and Collier heading to shore. Are you going to give him a ride to the station, or should I?”
“I’ve got my car. He can ride with me.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll ask Liza to pick up Ortiz and Collier once they have both of the boats docked and bring them to the station. I’ll meet you there.” O’Brien headed toward the lake.
As the boat got closer, Shanna noticed the piles of dark bags at one end. How tragic that a person’s entire life was now condensed down to those sad little bags.
A minute later, the boat idled up near the water’s edge. Dawson and Kaden took turns hopping over the side of the idling boat onto the grass.
With them off the boat, the last officer, Collier, turned it and took off in the direction that Ortiz had gone with Kaden’s boat.
Chief Dawson stopped to talk to O’Brien a short distance away. Kaden, his hair wet and disheveled, headed toward Shanna. His face was grim as he looked down at her, as if trying to figure out the best way to tell her what he’d found.
