Unlocking Fear

by Kennedy Layne

  It was eerily quiet as she broke through the line of the shrubbery. No birds were chirping, no frogs or crickets were singing their evening songs, and the wind had died down so that the leaves hung from their branches in complete stillness.

  An image of the skull being revealed flashed through her mind. Emma Irwin’s innocent features morphed into the picture Sophia had in her room. Was it really Emma they’d found?

  The implications were profound. Wouldn’t such a discovery mean that someone within the community of Blyth Lake was responsible for her death? Pete Anderson had been doing his own renovations on the farmhouse twelve years ago prior to moving in, just like Noah was doing now. He hadn’t wanted help from Schaeffer’s Contracting & Flooring, or anyone else for that matter.

  Had Pete Anderson been responsible for killing that poor girl and sealing her body inside the wall?

  Reese figured she was halfway to the side of her yard when something or someone moved in her peripheral vision. She stopped and surveyed the area to her right, taking in every tree within her distant field of vision.

  Each stood still until one didn’t.

  Reese covered her mouth with a trembling hand. She didn’t know if it was instinctive to keep her presence hidden, or she was just too scared to do anything else.

  A dark silhouette stood no more than a hundred yards away looking back toward the direction from which she’d come.

  Neither one of them moved.

  It took her a moment to realize that the individual was now actually facing her, having known all along of her presence.

  Was it a man or a woman?

  Reese deduced it was a man from his height and build, but he slowly faded into the shadows before she could make a decision to run back the way she came. She remained still, searching everywhere for which direction he might have taken.

  She hadn’t realized just how fast her heartrate had accelerated until she tried to swallow. Her carotid arteries were pulsing at a heart-racing pace.

  Had the individual simply been someone from the main road searching for a way onto Noah’s property? If so, why hadn’t he just said so? Or had the man been there all along, watching her progress, waiting for her in the dark?

  Reese looked back the way she came, assessing her choices. She slowly turned in a full circle, wanting to check every angle where someone could sneak up upon her. Little by little, she relaxed until she could force her legs to move in the direction of her house once again.

  The clearing finally appeared in front of her, but the sun had set even farther west. She hadn’t planned on being gone all day, so she hadn’t left the porch light on in anticipation of her return. The glare of headlights approaching from the main road gave some illumination, but that quickly faded as the vehicle passed by to reach its intended destination farther down toward the crime scene.

  Reese didn’t waste time and quickly jogged across the side of her yard to reach her porch. She took the steps at a rapid pace, almost missing what was out of place before she lunged over the rotted board.

  Only there wasn’t decayed wood where there had been since she’d arrived over a week ago. At least, she didn’t think there was as she stared down at her feet.

  Reese unhooked the small key ring she’d clipped to her belt loop on her jean shorts, sliding the key inside the deadbolt. She avoided the area as she leaned forward and slipped her arm inside to flip the light switch.

  Instantly, the porch was bathed in a golden hue.

  Sure enough, the old board had been replaced with a brand-new plank. All it needed now was a light coat of finish or stain in order to match the others. Chad must have stopped by earlier today, though she was surprised that he hadn’t driven over to Noah’s when the dirt road had basically turned into a parking lot.

  She was appreciative that Chad had fixed the porch, but her previous anxiety had settled in her shoulders.

  Had he been the one in the woods earlier?

  Her gaze was immediately drawn in that direction, though the light from the porch made it hard for her to see so far out in the darkness. That didn’t stop her from dragging her gaze down the edge of the trees. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled.

  Someone had been watching her.

  Or was it all in her mind?

  She did find a body today, and one that had been hidden for many years without fear of discovery. What if that wasn’t all that had resurfaced? She had come here to town to stir up long forgotten pain, and while in the process, she’d uncovered someone else’s secret.

  Distant sounds from next door carried over in a gentle breeze that had finally resumed. An owl began to call for its mate, and a few of the crickets in her yard started to chatter.

  Everything was returning to normal, yet she couldn’t shake off the impression that it was all a prelude to the coming crash.

  Someone was still there out there. He or she had to be wondering why Reese had come here and unlocked their fear of discovery.

  Had she just made herself a target?

  CHAPTER TEN

  Noah drove down the lane, itching to see if anything had happened at his house overnight. The state police had all but told him that he couldn’t continue renovations for a couple of weeks until they were sure their forensics team didn’t have to revisit the crime scene or resurvey the property.

  He understood, but that didn’t mean he had to like the delay.

  He couldn’t help but glance to his left as he drove past Reese’s cottage. It was only going on zero seven hundred, so he doubted she’d be awake at this hour on her summer vacation. To him, vacation meant sleeping in until mid-morning, at the very least. He doubted the kind of entertainment he’d provided yesterday was the type she was looking for on her break.

  Never had he thought they’d find something so gruesome within the walls of his new home.

  The farmhouse came into view, but not before the yellow crime scene banner that the forensics team had strung across his driveway.

  Noah pulled his F150 as close to the tape as he could before cutting power to his engine. His father’s words came back to him now as scanned the area.

  “I’ll understand if you want to sell the property.”

  His dad had asked last night if he wanted to sell the place, but the thought had never entered his mind. He didn’t believe in ghosts and wasn’t superstitious of this being some kind of bad omen.

  This was his house. It would become his home.

  Noah took his time walking around the property, ensuring that nothing was out of place. He didn’t stop until he was standing before the front door, the crime scene tape blocking his entrance with the addition of a square self-adhesive warning seal proclaiming the property under the control of the state homicide detectives and any violation of or trespass therein would be considered a felony with severe penalties.

  He couldn’t remove the strip, so he just checked the deadbolt.

  He was still unwilling to leave until he was sure the inside remained untouched. He was able to look through the one window that had remained intact, immediately noticing the gaping hole where the drywall and the associated studs had been. It was a complete blank, as if nothing of importance had ever been there.

  Noah found it hard to explain to his dad, but he didn’t look upon the discovery as bad luck or a misfortune that would lead to some type of hardship for him.

  No, he was a firm believer in events happening the way they were supposed to in life.

  The identity of the body found would hopefully give peace to the family that was left behind.

  Everything pointed toward the skeleton belonging to Emma Irwin. Maybe her body being discovered would lead the police to whoever was responsible for her death. He honestly didn’t know if it would, considering that was twelve years ago.

  It didn’t take long for Noah to confirm that no one had broken into the house or even stepped foot on the property, so he finally gave up any thought of gaining entrance and walked back toward his truck. He m
entally made a list of additional items he would need when he came back to the house.

  He settled in behind the steering wheel of his truck.

  He’d place a call into the lead detective this afternoon to see if there were any updates on the case, but he was doubtful they would hear anything on the identity of the body for some time.

  It didn’t take him long to turn his vehicle around and head back the way he came. He’d almost passed Reese’s place when he caught sight of her sitting on the porch with what looked to be a steaming cup of coffee. He turned the wheel and pulled in behind her car before he ever made a conscious decision to do so.

  “Morning,” Noah called out, shutting the driver’s side door behind him. “Is that coffee?”

  “It is.” Reese had stood from her seat on the porch swing when he’d parked his truck. She was leaning casually against the post and watching his progress as he strolled down her walkway. “Can I get you a cup?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Noah searched her pretty features before she turned and walked into the house. Her face was bare of any makeup this early in the morning, and he caught the subtle dusting of freckles on her nose. As beautiful as she was, he didn’t miss the stress lines around the corner of her eyes.

  “Have you heard anything back from the police?”

  “No, other than to stay the hell out of my own house.” Noah quickly realized that Rose hadn’t updated Reese’s rental in years. She and Tiny had sunk a lot of money into the cottages by the lake over the years, and now a good portion of their investment would be renovating and adding onto those properties. This cottage was almost a forethought, even being used for visiting family every now and then. “I wanted to make sure no one was foolish enough to try and break into the house to look for some kind of token.”

  “And?” Reese glanced at him over her shoulder as she reached for a mug out of the cupboard. “Was anything disturbed?”

  “Nothing that I could see from the outside. They’ve got the place sealed up tight as a drum.” Noah took the steaming cup from her hand, waiting for her to signal where she’d like to sit down and talk. The faint lavender scent he’d come to associate with her hung lightly in the air. “How are you holding up? I am truly sorry that I ended up dragging you into that whole mess yesterday.”

  “It wasn’t like you knew there was a body inside one of the walls of your recently purchased home.” Reese didn’t do a good job of suppressing a shiver of revulsion. She gestured toward the small kitchen table. “What are you going to do now? Sell the place?”

  Noah figured he’d get a lot of those types of questions, but he was surprised to hear it coming from her. She came from a small town herself.

  “I’ll wait until I’m given the all clear, and then I’ll start where I left off on the renovation.” Noah waited for Reese to sit first before pulling his own chair out from underneath the table. He sat down and leaned back against the four spindles. It crossed his mind that his ass might end up on the floor from his weight alone. These chairs didn’t look or feel too sturdy. “The house isn’t responsible for her death, nor is a body wrapped in plastic going to curse the place somehow.”

  “So you do think it’s Emma,” Reese whispered, wrapping her fingers tighter around her cup. The warmth of the porcelain didn’t seem to stem her shiver. He resisted the urge to rest his hand over hers. “That poor family.”

  “They’ll have closure, at least,” Noah pointed out, knowing all too well what it was like to return from the battlefield having lost a part of his unit. There were times where there was virtually nothing left of their remains to take home to their families. “I’m hoping that whatever the authorities find can lead them to whoever killed her. Twelve years is a long time for a family to wait for justice, but there is always a chance they might find some type of latent print or DNA evidence on the body or the plastic that could give the homicide detectives a lead of some sort.”

  Noah didn’t even want to contemplate what would happen should the body turn out not to be Emma Irwin. Her disappearance was the only tragedy this town had truly faced in his lifetime. It was incomprehensible that something even more sinister could have happened twelve years ago.

  “So that’s it? You’re going to keep the house?”

  Reese shifted uncomfortably in her chair and tugged the collar of her shirt away from her throat. She was wearing a thin flannel shirt over a white tank top that reminded him of a summer in the ’90s. It also reminded him of why she was here in Blyth Lake. He shouldn’t even be contemplating the idea that was formulating in his mind.

  “Absolutely.” Noah answered her question regarding his house…his home. His previous idea came back with a vengeance. “But since it seems I have some time to kill, why don’t I take you up to the lake? Have you been up there yet?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Reese swirled the contents of her coffee cup as she carefully weighed his offer. It wasn’t until a playful smile crossed her lips and that charming dimple appeared that he realized where she was going with her answer. “The last time I took you up on an offer to relieve some stress, the day ended with the police on your doorstep.”

  “So today can only be an improvement, right?”

  “Oh, my God,” Reese laughed, shaking her head as she pushed back her chair and stood. “You’re going to jinx us before we even get started.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” Reese responded with a smile as she took her coffee over to the sink and poured the remaining dark liquid down the drain. “Let me grab my cell phone. I left it on the charger in the bedroom.”

  “Bring a bathing suit and a towel,” Noah reminded her, having every intention of enjoying the warm weather. Summer passed quickly in these parts. It didn’t pay to stand idle too long. “Oh, and some sunscreen or that sun will burn the hide right off you.”

  Noah sat back and took a drink of his coffee as she left the kitchen. He was unable to keep his gaze from dropping to the seductive sway of her hips. She was graceful in her movements, and he second-guessed his suggestion on how they should spend their day. He’d just returned home after twelve years, and she was only here for her summer break. The way he saw it, they could both use a friend.

  On the other hand, a little downtime wasn’t a bad thing while he was waiting for the house to be released. There was a lot of work ahead of him that could take months, if not longer. He wasn’t normally a dessert before dinner kind of guy, but opportunity waited for no man.

  What could it hurt to have a bit of fun?

  Noah stood and drained the contents of his mug before placing it beside hers in the sink. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to look out the window, but movement near the edge of the tree line was evident.

  “Shit,” Noah muttered, turning on the heel of his work boot and closing the distance to the front door. He was off the porch and halfway across the side yard before he realized he hadn’t told Reese where he was going. He didn’t slow down his pace, though. She’d see his truck still in her driveway and know he hadn’t gone far. “Hey! Stop!”

  He took off at a dead run, entering the thick foliage and heading in the direction of his house. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what this guy wanted on the premises.

  Noah held up an arm as he ran to ward off the thin branches in his way. One minute turned into two. Six minutes was probably the average time it took to walk between their properties, but he’d managed it in less than three. He wasn’t even breathing hard when he came to a stop.

  He scanned the house, looking for any sign that the trespasser had entered through the front door. It still appeared secure, as well as the glass pane on the one window and the board on the other.

  It didn’t take him long to ascertain that the individual must have cut through the shortcut into town. There was no sign of anyone on the grounds, and a quick walk around the edge of the property line confirmed he was now alone.

  Who the hell had been wanting a look a
t the crime scene?

  It had to be a reporter or some type of journalist trying to get the scoop on what the police might have found. The brief glimpse of the individual hadn’t been enough to distinguish any unique features, but the person had definitely been male based on his build.

  Noah pulled out his cell phone and scanned his recent call log, pressing the one he’d dialed earlier this morning. Patty, the sheriff’s dispatcher, picked up on the second ring.

  “Blyth Lake Sheriff’s Office, may I help you?”

  “Patty, it’s Noah Kendall.” He carefully made his way back to Reese’s cottage, purposefully drifting his gaze on the ground in case whoever had trespassed had left something behind. “I thought Sheriff Percy was going to have one of his deputies sit on the house for a few days until interest died down. I just chased some guy off my property.”

  “We’re shorthanded today, Noah,” Patty responded, her stress coming through the line loud and clear. “Byron Warner called in sick this morning, as did Sam. It looks like that stomach bug got them. Deputy Foster is driving out that way as we speak. I’ll let him know what you saw.”

  The low rumble of an engine broke through the tree line. Noah stepped out of the foliage just in time to catch sight of the deputy’s taillights. He wasn’t alone. A media van was following close behind, no doubt to record a segment for the noon broadcast.

  “Foster just pulled in, along with a news crew.” Noah hated the fact that his home had become a fodder for local gossip, but interest would eventually die down. He firmly believed once the identity of the body was revealed, the townsfolk’s attention would turn toward Pete Anderson and his family. “You might want to alert the state detectives to that fact, as well.”