by Dan Padavona
“Yeah, yeah. Your teeth are chattering so hard, you sound like a long-haired typewriter.”
“You’re too young to know what a typewriter sounds like,” Thomas said.
“I’ve seen YouTube videos, old man.”
The retort brought laughter, though Scout did little more than offer a wan smile. LeVar grimaced. How many times had she lifted her chin and played the role of the good soldier, pretending it didn’t bother her? Of course it bothered her. How could it not? Since the accident, she’d been a bystander while everyone else had fun. Teenagers splashed into the lake and roughhoused with their friends.
Serena wagged a finger at Chelsey. “A little bird told me you sold your house. Is that true?”
“To a father and daughter who needed a change of scenery,” Chelsey said. “I’m very happy for them. And so is my bank account.”
Raven asked, “So Wolf Lake Consulting is solvent again?”
“Firmly in the black.”
“That’s a relief.”
“We’ve had a solid summer,” said Thomas. “Two more cases closed.”
They all glanced at the sheriff, who poked the fire with a branch, shooting sparks into the night sky.
“Kendra Harmon—or Kaylee Holmes, as she continues to call herself—will stand trial for four murders. Virgil and Claire identified Brynn Ortega through her dental records. After Kendra discovered her old classmate had spoken with Chelsey, she targeted Brynn. A security camera at the outlet mall outside Kane Grove caught Kendra trailing Brynn through the parking lot on the afternoon before the fire.”
LeVar rubbed his arms. “So Kendra trapped Brynn inside a burning house to fool the police into believing she was dead.”
“That’s the way it appears. But there was one clue that Kendra had faked her own death.”
Chelsey, wrapped in a towel and shivering beside the fire, pointed at Thomas. “The Alpha Romeo.”
“Bingo. I wondered why Kendra parked her flashy new car in the street, with the driveway unoccupied. She didn’t want to ruin her precious vehicle. No doubt, she planned to return after she murdered Georgia Sims and drive away. Which makes no sense. Kane Grove PD would have taken the car while the investigation remained open. Then again, Kendra wasn’t thinking straight the last two weeks.”
LeVar brushed the water from his hair. “What about that punk, Osmond Bourn?”
“Held without bail. Judges don’t appreciate it when you wave a gun inside a packed club and take hostages.”
“What about the guy he works for?” Darren asked. “This Hunter Dalbec.”
“Dalbec remains on our radar, and the FBI is damn interested in the protection money Bourn funneled from Level 13 to his crime syndicate. Like any smart mob boss, Dalbec keeps his hands clean. It’s always a low-level operator who takes the fall.”
LeVar dropped an arm around his sister’s shoulder. “Anyone who threatens my family pays the price. If Bourn gets out, I’ll give him a Wu Tang beat down.”
He glanced at Scout, hoping the reference to one of her favorite old-school hip hop groups would draw the girl out of her funk. Between the firelight and the shadows thrown down from the trees, Scout’s body appeared split down the middle.
As Thomas discussed the investigations with the others, LeVar pulled Naomi aside. “Scout’s having a hard time tonight.”
Naomi worried at a strand of hair dangling down her cheek. “She gets this way sometimes. More so lately.”
“It has to be hard for her. She wants to join in.”
“There’s nothing you can do except be her friend.” Naomi touched his arm. “And you’re the best friend anyone could ask for, LeVar.”
“There’s more I can do.” When she glanced at him in curiosity, he shifted his body so Scout couldn’t read his lips, a skill the teenage girl had acquired since the crippling accident. “Will you allow me to take Scout into the lake?”
“What? LeVar, she can’t swim.”
“I’ll hold on to her the entire time. Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“I’ll only wade hip-deep. No deeper, I swear.”
Naomi brushed a tear from her eye. “Are you sure about this?”
“Damn straight.”
“All right.” As he turned away, she tugged him back to her. “You will be careful, LeVar. Scout is more than my daughter. She’s my life.”
LeVar held her eyes. “You have my word.”
Naomi smiled, but the way she fretted with her shirt, picking off pieces of invisible lint, belied her confidence. The conversation stopped. They were all staring at LeVar, sensing something important was about to happen.
He strode to Scout and stood over the girl.
“I’ve had enough of this.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Enough of what?”
“Of Scout Mourning watching everybody else laugh and splash into the lake.”
“Yeah, well. It’s not like I have a choice.”
“Really now?”
With a mischievous grin, LeVar scooped Scout into his arms and carried her toward the shoreline.
“What do you think you’re doing? I can’t swim!” When he ignored her, she jabbed a finger against his shoulder. “I swear, if you drop me in the water, I’ll beat your—”
LeVar plunged into the shallows with his arms cupped around Scout, his powerful muscles cradling her shoulders and knees. Somewhere behind them, Serena shouted, wondering what had gotten into her son’s damn fool head.
The water splashed as LeVar waded deeper. The lake was up to his hips now. Scout lay suspended mere inches above the chilling water.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go out so deep,” Thomas said, hurrying down the pier with Darren. “LeVar, are you listening?”
“I got this, Shep Dawg.”
He descended another step into the lake. Water droplets covered his arms and congealed on Scout’s face.
“LeVar,” she said, with a warning in her eyes, “have you lost your mind? I’ll so get you back for this.”
They were both laughing now. Raven, Chelsey, and Serena called from the shoreline, urging LeVar to turn around. He stood fifty feet from the rocky beach, Scout’s lower body limp over one arm, while the other cupped the wiggling girl against his chest.
“Stop fighting, or I’ll dunk you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
“LeVar! Stop! I don’t wanna—”
He bent his knees and took her under. A second later, he burst out of the water with Scout still in his arms. She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. Or perhaps that was just the lake water.
“Ready for another plunge?”
“I’m not forgetting this. When I get you back, you’ll be so sorry—”
He slackened his arms for a split-second, just long enough to fool Scout into believing he’d drop her. Then he caught the girl and hauled her up to his chest.
“Fooled ya.”
“That wasn’t funny!”
“This time for real.”
“Don’t.”
“I’ll count it down. One . . . two . . . three . . .”
Her toes touched the cool water. In reaction, her leg kicked up a fraction of an inch.
The moment it happened, her mouth fell open and her eyes locked on his.
“Scout, did you just . . .”
“LeVar, did I—”
Something clicked in his throat when he swallowed.
Scout’s lips quivered as her eyes glossed over. “You saw that, right? I didn’t imagine it.”
He shook his head. Scout grew blurry as his own tears welled up from the warmest depths of his heart. He could see her straining, trying to move that leg again, biting her lip in a stew of concentration and abject frustration. It had happened. He’d witnessed it, though he wondered if anyone would believe them.
“I think I’d better take you back,” LeVar said.
They were both c
rying as he carried her ashore.
Thank you for reading Never Forget Me.
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Copyright Information
Published by Dan Padavona
Visit my website at www.danpadavona.com
Copyright © 2021 by Dan Padavona
Artwork copyright © 2021 by Dan Padavona
Cover Design by Caroline Teagle Johnson
All Rights Reserved
Although some of the locations in this book are actual places, the characters and setting are wholly of the author's imagination. Any resemblance between the people in this book and people in the real world is purely coincidental and unintended.
Created with Vellum
Acknowledgments
No writer journeys alone. Special thanks are in order to my editor, Kimberly Broderick, for providing invaluable feedback, catching errors, and making my story shine. I also wish to thank my brilliant cover designer, Caroline Teagle Johnson. Your artwork never ceases to amaze me. I owe so much of my success to your hard work. Shout outs to my advance readers: Linda Heller, Donna Puschek, Marcia Campbell, Mary Arnold, and Teresa Padavona, for catching those final pesky typos and plot holes. Most of all, thank you to my readers for your loyalty and support. You changed my life, and I am forever grateful.
About the Author
Dan Padavona is the author of the The Darkwater Cove series, The Scarlett Bell thriller series, Her Shallow Grave, The Dark Vanishings series, Camp Slasher, Quilt, Crawlspace, The Face of Midnight, Storberry, Shadow Witch, and the horror anthology, The Island. He lives in upstate New York with his beautiful wife, Terri, and their children, Joe, and Julia. Dan is a meteorologist with NOAA’s National Weather Service. Besides writing, he enjoys visiting amusement parks, beach vacations, Renaissance fairs, gardening, playing with the family dogs, and eating too much ice cream.
Visit Dan at: www.danpadavona.com
