Page 5 of Bobbing for Bodies
I take off for the kitchen, and just as I’m about to steal a fresh chocolate chip cookie off a cooling rack and pop it into my mouth—there is nothing like a warm chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven—that bushy silver tail garners my attention once again.
A horrible feeling of foreboding comes over me as I follow the wily beast as he makes his way out the back door. Carefully, I take a step out into the chilled autumn air. The maples from across the way have blown their golden hand-shaped leaves all over the ground as the tiny squirrel scampers over them and right over a body.
A scream gets locked in my throat.
Flat on his back lies Hunter Fisher with one of my devil’s food cupcakes in his hand and a bullet wound through his chest.
Hunter isn’t ever going to finish that cupcake. In fact, he won’t be eating anything at all ever again.
He’s dead.
Chapter 3
The echo of my own screams riots through the tiny alleyway as a crowd amasses from nowhere, and soon it seems as if the entire bakery has drained of all its patrons to gawk at poor Hunter who lies motionless, his eyes still opened to the sky. Judging by that sizable pool of blood beneath him, Hunter Fisher is most certainly no longer with us.
Noah grabs ahold of me and pulls me back while Everett shouts into his phone for help to arrive.
“Lottie, what happened?” Noah weaves us through the tangle of bodies, and I can finally catch my breath. “What did you see?”
The crowd whispers Hunter Fisher’s name until it sounds like an ominous chant.
“I didn’t see any—” That squirrel! “Well, I guess that mystery is solved,” I say under my breath. It’s clear the adorable creature belonged to Hunter at some point in time.
Noah runs his hands up and down my arms as I startle back to life. “You saw something. What did you see?”
Everett comes up before I can answer. “The sheriffs are on their way. They want you to stick around for questioning.”
“Sadly, I know the routine,” I say as Bear comes running out of the back of the bakery just as a fire truck rolls onto the scene.
“What’s going on?” He pushes his way through the crowd. “Oh God!” He dives onto his knees toward his poor cousin lying helpless on the asphalt, and I barrel through the knot of bodies to be with him.
“Who the hell did this?” The veins in the sides of his neck distend like cords as his face turns an instant shade of red. I’ve never seen him so filled with rage and grief.
I fall next to him, and Bear lets out a mighty roar as if he had some primal capability to morph into the beast from which his nickname was hewn. Bear loses it, cussing and shouting at anyone and everyone before leaning over his lookalike. Poor Bear just sits there stunned, red-faced and angry as if he were ready to kill whoever was responsible for this. And I have no doubt he would. If I never knew it before, Bear loved Hunter like a brother.
Before long, sirens saw through the air, and the dim alleyway is lit up with spasming red and blue lights. Most of the crowd has dissipated, and as soon as Captain Turner gets out of his vehicle, he instructs anybody who didn’t witness the event to please leave their names with the attending officers before they head home. Not long after, an all too familiar coroner’s van pulls up behind the brigade of patrol cars, and my blood runs cold.
It’s happening again. It’s already happened.
Captain Turner helps Bear up and pulls him to the side for questioning, and it’s just me staring at my old friend as tears of my own stream down my cheeks.
“It’s not fair,” I say to no one in particular.
Noah materializes from out of nowhere. “You’re right, Lottie. It’s not fair. Murder never is.” He helps me to my feet and holds me as I do my best to pull it together, but I can’t seem to stop shaking, can’t stop the tears from streaming like a wild river with no end and no beginning.
Keelie and Lainey head this way, shaken and pale themselves.
“Here,” Lainey says while dabbing my cheeks with a wad of tissues. “I’m going to get you home. Captain Turner knows that you’re staying with me. You shouldn’t be here, seeing him like this.”
“No.” It comes from me like an abrupt protest. “I need to be here. I need to be here for Hunter and for Bear. You go ahead.” I spot Tanner Redwood behind her and can’t help but frown. It shouldn’t be Tanner making sure my sister gets home safe. It should be Forest Donovan. Forest and Lainey were high school sweethearts who dated for a small eternity. But then, they hit a bump in the road last summer, a boulder if you will, and, well, Lainey thought it would be cute to make Forest jealous with Tanner. One date led to another, and they’ve been joined at the hip ever since. Not literally. And as far as I know, ever. Just the thought makes me want to gag.
Just as Lainey is about to protest, Forest comes over all decked out in his firemen garb, heavy yellow coat, loose tan pants, and thick black boots. Forest is every bit the hot firefighter with his chestnut waves and those crystal gray eyes.
Tanner looks more like your typical playboy—which everyone knows he is. My sister is so fooling herself if she thinks he’s being loyal to her. I spotted him speaking to three different girls just this week alone. He happens to be the head of Parks and Recs for all of Honey Hollow. He’s got a tanned surfer look about him, hair that’s short in the back and longer in front so he’s forever doing that annoying head flip to get it out of his eyes.
“Lainey”—Forest offers her a partial embrace—“thank God you guys are okay. When I heard it was the new bakery—” His voice breaks, and he ticks his head to the side as if working hard to keep his emotions in check. “Let me take you home.”
Her mouth opens as she looks to Tanner.