Page 47 of Darkwater Lane (Stillhouse Lake #7)

GWEN

The next morning, Sam’s in the shower and I’m at work in my office when there’s a brisk knock on the door. I grab my phone to pull up the security feed and notice I have a missed call from Kez. I make a note to call her back and check the doorbell camera.

It’s two Norton police officers—one uniformed and one wearing khakis and a blazer.

I recognize the latter: Detective Andreas Diakos.

He replaced Prester after he passed away, and Kez has always had good things to say about him.

Apparently, he’s eager and smart but also has integrity and a sense of fairness.

Because Kez recused herself, Diakos was the one to take the lead and interrogate Sam after they discovered all the blood in our house several months ago.

I’d met him a couple of times during the investigation.

He’d always been perfectly pleasant, but it’s hard not to be wary of a man who was on the verge of accusing your partner of murder.

I hesitate, wondering if maybe they’re here about the swatting incident the other night.

The uniformed officer knocks again, a little louder.

I glance at the closed doors to Lanny’s and Connor’s rooms. The last thing I want is for the police to wake them up.

Especially Connor—I’m still not sure if he’s fully recovered from the swatting.

I move to quickly disarm the alarm, throw the locks, and open the door.

Diakos’s smile is instantaneous. “Ms. Proctor, lovely to see you again.” He’s young, his hair thick and dark, and he has a dimple that pops when he grins. He’s so disarming that I have to remind myself to keep my guard up.

“Detective Diakos, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced. Do you have a moment to talk?”

It’s cold outside, and the neighborly thing to do would be to invite them in for coffee. I’m not feeling particularly neighborly this morning, though. So, I grab my coat from the hook on the wall and slip outside. “What’s this about?”

The young officer looks toward the lake, and I follow his gaze.

I’m struck with such an overwhelming sense of déjà vu that I nearly lose my balance.

An ambulance is parked in the gravel lot off the road near the end of our driveway, its lights flashing.

The back bay doors are open, but the paramedics are sitting on the bumper, chatting with another officer, who looks to be guarding access to the dock.

Beyond them, out on the lake, a couple of police boats are anchored, red and blue lights strobing. A couple of men in scuba suits stand in one of them, and I watch as a third tips over the side, disappearing into the dark water.

The scene is devastatingly familiar. So much so that I half-expect to find Lancel Graham and Detective Prester waiting for me when I turn back to the cops.

After all, they were the ones who came to talk to me after the first woman’s body was found in the lake after we moved here four years ago—the young woman that Graham himself had tortured and killed at my ex-husband’s request .

All of it in an attempt to flush me out.

“What’s going on?” The words come out dry and broken. I lick my chapped lips and clear my throat.

“They found a body in the lake,” Diakos says.

This can’t be happening. This isn’t real. It has to be a joke, somehow. An elaborate prank of some kind.

Both Diakos and the officer are young. I wonder if either of them was around four years ago when Graham went on his murderous rampage. Do they have any idea that this has all happened before? Just like this? Do they understand that this is history repeating itself?

I remember the first time, how I initially thought it was just a boater who’d suffered an accident. But if that was the case now, there wouldn’t be two police officers standing at my door, asking me questions.

“Who?”

He shakes his head. “We haven’t identified her yet.”

Her. So, they know it’s a woman.

“What happened?” I’m fairly certain I don’t want to know the answer, but I have to. I need to know if this is related to Melvin again. If we’re starting all over from the beginning.

Diakos hesitates. “We’re still trying to piece that together.”

Of course, he’s not going to share details, especially with me.

Still, I have to know. “Was it an accident?”

He looks at me for a long moment before saying, “No.”

My knees go weak. I press a hand against the door at my back to steady myself. Diakos watches my reaction with a keen eye. I’m sure he’s trying to gauge if my surprise is genuine or if this is all an act.

Another murder. Another woman found in the lake. Melvin’s ghost reaching out from the grave.

Diakos continues. “We’re going around to all the houses on this side of the lake, asking folks if they heard anything out of the ordinary last night. ”

Just like last time . I close my eyes, thinking back through the evening.

It’s winter, which means there aren’t a ton of boats out on the lake these days.

I would think the sound of a boat might stand out, but only if it had an engine.

I shake my head. “I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary. ”

Diakos nods, trying to hide his disappointment. “Who else was here who might have heard something?”

“My kids, but they’re asleep right now.” I’d rather not wake them, but I know that’s not an option. Last time, Lanny was a witness of sorts—she saw the boat and heard the splash. I hope to God that’s not the case again.

“And Sam?” Diakos presses.

“He was here too.” It’s only once the words are out of my mouth that I remember that’s not entirely true. I flash back to him coming home late, the mud on his clothes, his wet pants. A cold feeling tunnels through me.

“I’ll get them,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.

“Do you mind if we continue the conversation inside?” Diakos asks. I wonder if he’s asking out of his own personal comfort or because he wants to make sure I don’t have a chance to prep Sam and the kids. I want to keep him outside. I want to keep all of this away from my house, our refuge.

I know how suspicious that would look, though. How ridiculous it would be to have Connor, still in his PJs, huddling on the frozen front step. “Of course,” I say.

I show them in and offer coffee. Diakos takes a seat at the table, but the other officer stands off to the side, trying to fade into the background. Sam hears the commotion and comes down the hallway. The minute he spots Diakos, his eyes swivel to meet mine. I can see the question in them.

“A body was found in the lake,” I tell him. I have my back to the two police officers, so I let the naked fear and confusion show on my face. “They want to ask us if we heard anything. ”

His steps falter, and his face drains of color. “A body?” Sam was in Stillhouse Lake four years ago when the first woman’s body was discovered. The police knocked on his door, just like mine. He must feel the same sense of déjà vu that I do.

“An accident?” he asks, though he knows from my expression it wasn’t. “Do we know who it is yet?”

“We still haven’t identified her.”

He notes the same thing I did: that it’s a female victim. Just like Melvin liked.

“I’ll wake the kids,” I tell him. His hand reaches out and brushes mine as I pass. It’s a touch of comfort and solidarity. A reminder that we’re in this together.

Or a reminder to present a united front, regardless.

Once I’m out of sight, I hesitate outside Connor’s door and listen as Sam pulls down a mug and pours himself a cup of coffee. “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but I can try,” he says.

“Did you hear anything suspicious last night?” Diakos asks.

“Around what time?”

“That’s what we’re hoping to figure out. Right now, our window is frustratingly vague, but we’re assuming after dark.”

Sam hesitates a moment, and I can picture him staring off into space, a little crinkle in his forehead as he thinks. “I can’t say that I heard anything at all. I wish I could be more help.”

He doesn’t tell them he wasn’t home for much of the night.

A queasy feeling starts rumbling in my stomach.

I hope that’s not a mistake that comes back to bite him down the road.

What if there are witnesses who saw him out?

What if they get a warrant for our security cameras that show him arriving home late?

I make a mental note to delete the footage. Does that mean I suspect he was behind this ?

I don’t have time to answer that question. Especially when I’m not sure I’ll like the answer.

I knock softly on Connor’s door and then move on to Lanny’s. Florida’s already awake, sitting in the middle of the blow-up mattress on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest and her eyes wide and frightened. Lanny perches next to her, a hand on her back.

“Are they here for me? ’Cause of my family?” Florida’s voice is small and a tear trails down her cheek.

I kick myself for not thinking about how having cops arrive at the house unannounced might affect Florida after everything that happened yesterday. “No, sweetie,” I tell her. “They want to know if anyone heard anything out on the lake last night.”

Connor hovers behind me in the doorway and I feel him stiffen. Lanny and he exchange a glance. Of course reliving this part of their past would be traumatizing.

“It’s going to be okay,” I reassure them.

They know by now that I can’t promise that.

In the kitchen, Diakos’s eyes go wide when he recognizes Florida.

I step between them. “My understanding is that you’re here to ask about last night,” I tell him.

“If you feel the urge to ask about anything else, like, say…her family, then I’m going to have to call my lawyer and get her involved which will take some time, given that her office is in Knoxville, and she’d have to drive all the way out here—if and when her schedule allows. ”

He holds up his hands. “The feds took over the Belldene case. I don’t have anything to do with that. I’m only interested in what happened on the lake last night.”