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

by Debra Burroughs

  “Fine,” Sara retorted and drove off.

  What is her problem?

  As Jenessa watched her sister speed away, it suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t know what her father drove, except that by the insignia on the key fob it was a Mercedes. Sara had mentioned he had bought a new car a few months after their mom’s death, but Jenessa hadn’t been home since the funeral.

  Standing in the middle of the parking lot, surveying the various vehicles, she noticed there were several different models of Mercedes parked there. She began pointing the key fob at the different cars, pushing the unlock button, hoping for a chirp or flashing lights to tell her which one was his.

  On the third try she found success.

  “Oh my!” A thrill zinged through her body and lit her up with delight when the dark blue SLK 250 Roadster beeped and its lights flashed. Driving this was definitely a step up from her rattle-trap.

  Chapter 7

  Jenessa rushed to the sleek sports car and her gaze glided slowly over it, admiring the beauty for a prolonged moment. Giddy with anticipation, she opened the car door and let the pent-up heat rush out before sliding behind the wheel.

  She stuck the key into the ignition and fired it up. After flipping on the air conditioner full blast, she caressed the luxuriously soft, ivory leather seats as she listened to the finely tuned engine purr.

  She shifted into reverse and carefully backed out of the space. Pulling the car out of the lot and onto the street, Jenessa relished every second she spent behind the wheel. As she headed toward home, she had the wild idea of taking the two-seat Roadster for a spin a few miles out of town, up toward Jonas Lake. She wanted to open it up and see what this baby could do.

  Before she had the chance to play Mario Andretti, her cell phone began jingling in her purse. She pulled the sports car over and dug it out, but she did not recognize the number. “Hello.”

  “Jenessa, this is Charles McAllister.”

  “Hello, Mr. McAllister. What can I do for you?”

  “First, call me Charles, since we’re going to be working together.”

  “Okay, Charles. What can I do for you?”

  “I know you weren’t planning to start work until next Monday, but a pretty big news story just broke and I need someone with experience to dig into it. I was wondering if you’d want to start work early and take it on.”

  A big news story? In sleepy Hidden Valley? “Yeah, sure, I don’t mind. There’s not much to do until the funeral. Aunt Renee is handling most of the details. What’s the story?”

  “A body was found up by Jonas Lake.”

  “A body?”

  “Well, remains actually. My contact in the police department gave me the heads-up and I’d like to send you up there to investigate.”

  “Did your contact say how the remains were discovered?”

  “Seems a new cabin is going up, just at the foundation stage. The owners and their dogs were walking around the place, checking on the work, and the dogs started digging. It appears, from what the police have found so far, when the contractor broke ground for the foundation, he must have partially unearthed the remains.”

  “I’ll head out there right now.” Worked for her. Now she had a legitimate reason to head up to the lake. “What’s the address?”

  She jotted down the information on a small notepad she kept in her purse. She was always prepared—you could take the job away from the reporter, but you couldn’t take the reporter away from the job. “I’ll report back to you this afternoon on what I discover.”

  “Terrific. Thanks for stepping up. I’ll wait to hear back from you.”

  Excited for the thrill of the drive and the breaking news assignment, she was already going more than twenty miles per hour over the speed limit before she hit the city limits. Still a half mile or so from crossing the line, she heard a siren blaring behind her. She glanced up into the rearview mirror and saw the dreaded blue-and-red flashing lights.

  She took her foot off the gas, shifted down, and rolled to a stop at the side of the road. Feeling around inside her purse, she pulled out her wallet, ready to hand over her driver’s license. She had gotten out of a ticket the day before, but it was doubtful she’d be able to wrangle her way out of this one.

  The expected knock on her window came and she pushed the button to lower the glass.

  “Do you know how fast you were going, ma’am?” The officer flipped open his ticket book.

  “Michael?” She looked up at him, pulling her sunglasses off and shading her eyes with her hand.

  “Jenessa?” He sounded as surprised as she felt. Squatting down to the level of her low sports car, he took off his sunglasses too and stuck them in his shirt pocket. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

  He pulled himself up to his feet again, took a step back, and admired her automobile. “New ride?”

  “My dad’s.”

  “I thought I’d seen it around town, only it wasn’t flying down the street. Where were you going in such a hurry?”

  “To the lake. I have to cover a breaking story.”

  “Oh, the bones some dogs dug up? I heard about that. So, you’re a reporter?”

  “Yes, I am.” They hadn’t had an opportunity yet to catch up. Even at that, she was a bit surprised that he really knew nothing about her. She assumed Ramey or Sara would have kept him updated, but apparently that wasn’t the case. “And yes, that’s the story. So, as you can see, I really need to get going.” She hoped he’d let her out of a ticket—again.

  “I thought you were taking a break from work this week because of the funeral.”

  She hadn’t told him she’d been laid off from her previous job and had accepted a position with the local paper. Now didn’t seem the right time to go into it. She offered a shrug. “The news never stops.”

  “You’ll need to slow down, Jen, breaking news or not.”

  “The car got away from me, I guess. There’s something very freeing and exhilarating about driving a fast car.”

  “Something very dangerous, too. I don’t remember you being such a risk taker.”

  “People change.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” he said with a smirk.

  What exactly did he mean by that? Was he thinking back to something, or someone, in his own life?

  “I’ll let you off with a warning again, but this will have to be the last time.”

  “I appreciate that, Officer.” She gave him a mock salute. “It won’t happen again.” She grinned.

  “You have a nice afternoon, ma’am.” He tipped his hat and walked back to his car, tossing a final comment over his shoulder. “And don’t forget about that dinner you promised me.”

  She watched him in the side mirror as he climbed into his cruiser. Dinner would be nice, and catching up with him sounded good, finding out how his life turned out—hopefully better than hers—and why someone hadn’t already snatched up a great guy like him.

  ~*~

  Jenessa pulled back onto the street and continued on the road out of town. She kept the car at the speed limit until she was a couple of miles out into the country, heading for the foothills. As the road began to incline, she opened it up, applying more pressure to the gas pedal, feeling the exhilaration of the speed. The powerful engine gave no resistance to the hill and the car clung to the curves like a race car. Before she knew it, the sparkling water of Jonas Lake was coming into view.

  She slowed and turned right at the road that led to the lake, golden meadows flanking each side. She remembered this place from when she was a teenager, coming up here with friends.

  The road eventually split. She paused, eyeing her choices. She could drive straight ahead to the beach and marina, or she could take the road to the left, leading to the homes and cabins that had been built around the lake.

  Jenessa hesitated, feeling short of breath. She had taken the left road only once before—with Logan. He had taken her to his family’s lake house one summer day—a day
that changed her life forever.

  ~*~

  Sucking in a shuddering gasp of air, Jenessa chose the road that curved off to the left. She could see the rooftops and decks jutting out from several of the lake homes that had been built along the waterfront. She wasn’t sure which rooftop belonged to the Alexanders’ lake house. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had been there with Logan.

  But she was here about a story, not to dwell in the past. Jenessa picked up the notepad to find the house number. It read seven-fifty-five. She continued down the road.

  After passing a few homes, she saw the numbers seven-five-five painted on a two-by-four. Someone had used red spray paint to write the numbers on a scrap piece of wood, and then had driven it into the ground. Although, it seemed rather unnecessary to have the address. The yellow crime scene tape, construction vehicles, and police cars were a clear enough beacon to the scene of the crime.

  A space opened up, beyond the other vehicles, and she pulled her dad’s car into it. She stuck her notepad and camera into her leather handbag, then slung the bag over her shoulder. She climbed out of the flashy Roadster, making her way to the cordoned-off area, hoping to talk to whoever was in charge.

  A burst of exhilaration coursed through her veins. It felt good to be back on the job. She’d missed this.

  Pulling her digital camera out of her purse, she stood surveying the property in question. It was mostly an empty piece of land with a few trees that had been cleared to put in the foundation. Glancing around, she froze when she recognized the lake house to the right—she had been there before. It was Logan’s.

  Her insides twisted. The air suddenly grew heavy around her. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the Alexanders’ home. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and she forced her empty hand to wipe the perspiration away. She ordered herself to look away, but she couldn’t.

  Chapter 8

  Jenessa had been unprepared for such a visceral reaction. It had been so many years ago when she had been there. Why did the memory of that day feel so fresh, like it was only a few days ago?

  In reality, it had been twelve years. When she was a young and naïve seventeen-year-old, Logan had brought her here, just the two of them. They’d spent the afternoon on the lake, and on the beach. It had been a perfect day. As evening came, they’d made dinner together at the lake house, Logan grilling burgers on the deck that faced the lake, as she’d prepared the condiments.

  After dinner they’d had dessert. The freezer had been well stocked with numerous flavors of ice cream and they’d tried a scoop of each one, laughing and sitting on the floor in the living room, feeding each other spoonfuls and kissing between bites.

  He’d told her how excited he was to be going off to college in a couple of months, to finally be out on his own. He was going to miss her, he’d said, miss seeing her beautiful face every day, miss kissing her soft lips.

  When they’d finished with the ice cream, Logan had reclined on the plush area rug, one hand behind his head. He’d patted the floor next to him, and she’d curled up beside him. They’d talked for a while, laughed, looking up at the ceiling, and at each other.

  He had propped himself up on one elbow and leaned over to kiss her. “I love you, Jenessa,” he’d said.

  She had felt the same, but she had wanted him to be the first to say it. Now that he had, she’d gladly returned the sentiment. “I love you too,” she’d whispered.

  Then, he’d kissed her again, more deeply than he ever had before, his hand sliding around her waist, pulling her closer. As he’d climbed on top, something had awakened in her, something she had always fought against.

  Jenessa had wanted to keep her virginity until marriage, but his passionate kisses and his sensual embrace had been so heady, so ardent, that she’d been unable to think straight. Nothing could exist for her outside of the passion he had stirred deep within her.

  She had wanted to push him away, but she’d wanted to keep him close too. She had never felt desire like this before.

  “I love you, Jenessa,” he’d repeated, his body pressed against hers, kissing a sensitive place below her ear, and she’d come undone.

  It was hard for her to believe that had been twelve years ago—from the way her heart was racing right now, she could have sworn it happened just yesterday.

  ~*~

  “Hello. Can I help you?” a male voice said.

  His voice broke her trance, and she pulled her gaze away from the Alexanders’ lake house and turned to face the man in a police uniform standing beside her, remembering why she was there.

  “Hello, Officer. Yes, I’m Jenessa Jones from the Hidden Valley Herald. I’m looking for whoever is in charge here.”

  “That would be Detective George Provenza.” The officer pointed to a man with silver hair, likely early sixties, wearing a button-down shirt and tan slacks, standing and talking with a few other people. “The one in the light blue shirt, gray hair.”

  She started to duck under the yellow tape when the officer grabbed her arm. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t go in there.”

  “I need to speak with the detective and take some photos for the newspaper. Do you mind telling him I’m here?”

  “All right, but you wait here.” He pointed at the ground outside of the cordoned-off area. “I don’t think he’ll let you snap any pictures, but he might be open to speaking with you.”

  Staying where she was ordered, Jenessa watched the officer dip under the tape and go to talk to the detective. Both men turned, glanced her way, then looked away again to continue their conversation.

  The officer returned and told her the detective would give her a statement as soon as he was finished talking to the couple who made the grisly discovery. A few onlookers had approached the tape. The officer, arms straight out to his sides, warned them to back away.

  The sound of a large vehicle approaching caught Jenessa’s attention and she spun around. It was a sizeable black van with the words Crime Scene Investigation Unit painted on it. The officer moved the small crowd to the side and the van parked between them and her.

  When the CSI team disembarked from the van and moved toward the scene, Jenessa ducked under the tape with them and used them to shield her from the detective’s view. As they moved in unison toward the site of the unearthed remains, on the far side of the foundation set-up, Jenessa leaned in and managed to snap a few photos before the detective noticed her.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing, lady?” Provenza hollered.

  Jenessa froze and all eyes were suddenly on her.

  She sucked in a breath and quickly regained her composure. Turning toward him, she gave him her answer. “My job, Detective. Same as you.” She stuck out her hand. “Jenessa Jones, Hidden Valley Herald. My editor sent me here to cover this story. I hear you’re the man in charge.”

  “I am. I thought my officer told you to wait out there,” he growled, motioning beyond the tape.

  “Yes, sorry about that. But when the CSI van drove up, I thought I’d lose my opportunity if I just stood around and waited.”

  “Opportunity for what?”

  “Well, if this is such a big deal that you needed to call in help from the big city, this place is going to be crawling with out-of-town reporters and news crews. I figured I’d give you the chance to fill me in first, so the real story gets out, not some tale that gets blown out of proportion, making Hidden Valley sound like a hotbed of crime. You wouldn’t want that, would you, Detective?”

  “No, of course not, but—”

  “And I’ll make sure everyone knows you’re the man in charge—I’ll even make sure your name gets spelled right. Provenza—that’s with a V and a Z, right?”

  “I can’t have people roaming around the crime scene, no matter how good a reporter you are, Miss…”

  “Jones, Jenessa Jones. I can work with you or I can work without you, but make no mistake, Detective, I will get my story. Your choice.” She shrugged.

/>   “But this is a murder scene, Miss Jones, and you’re a civilian,” he said, poking a finger in her face.

  She stood her ground and refused to back down. “I’m the press. I’m fully aware that this is a murder scene, and I won’t get in your way. I’m after the story, the truth, Detective.”

  “Hmm.” He paused and eyed her. “I see Charles McAllister has hired himself a bull dog.”

  “Excuse me?” she asked, not sure if she should be offended or simply confused by the comment.

  “A bull dog—you know, a firecracker, a pistol, a feisty woman—someone who’ll keep digging, grab hold and won’t let go.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said with a satisfied smile.

  “That’s how I meant it. I can see I’m not getting rid of you, so as soon as I finish interviewing the people who found the bones, I’ll give you a statement. You can look around, but stay out of the CSI unit’s way. Deal?”

  “Deal.” A smile was hinting at her lips but she worked to rein it in, wanting the detective to think it was his idea.

  He turned and went back to the couple who owned the property and resumed the questioning. He hadn’t said she couldn’t take any photos.

  ~*~

  Before long the detective met up with Jenessa and gave her his statement. The couple that called it in owned the property that was under construction. They’d come to check on it early that morning, walking their two Weimaraners. As they’d walked around the framing for the foundation, the dogs began digging furiously at the far back corner and came up with some bones in their mouths.

  From the size and shape of the bones, the people realized they could be human. Once they were able to wrestle the bones away from their dogs, they’d phoned the Hidden Valley police to report what they’d found. When the detective saw what he was dealing with, he called for the state CSI team to examine and retrieve the remains.

  The CSI unit extracted all the bones and any other material on and around them.

  “Do they know if it was a woman or a man?” Jenessa asked.