Page 230 of It Happened on the Lake

He wondered if they’d kept in contact over the years and she’d let it slip that she’d made the call, that for some reason she’d decided to tell the police what she’d seen. He wondered what that could have been and only hoped that the equipment they’d retrieved from the Musgrave cabin would tell the story that had now, with her death, been silenced.

As they waited for the ambulance and local police to arrive, Rand did a quick walk-through of the house. He was careful not to disturb anything but searching for any signs of forced entry or a struggle or anything he thought seemed the least bit out of the ordinary.

Nothing appeared out of place aside from the mess that was in her kid’s room, where an explosion of clothes, books, CDs, candy wrappers, and soda cans littered floor, desk, and unmade bed. Posters of Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Michael Jackson along with Joe Montana and Michael Jordan covered the walls. This, he assumed, was probably the bedroom’s normal state.

The other two bedrooms were as neat as the rest of the house.

From what he could glean, it appeared as if Janet had been interrupted the night before. A bottle of wine and box of crackers were open on the kitchen counter and a recording on the television was on pause.

Chelle found damp laundry in the dryer, though the timer had run out.

Rand wondered if Janet had gone into the garage to check on the wash and stumbled in the dark when the lights wouldn’t snap on.

He checked.

And found that the circuit breaker had been tampered with.

All of which he told the local police when they, along with the emergency vehicles, arrived.

Janet Collins lived out of the Almsville Police Department’s jurisdiction, so as a fire truck and ambulance, lights flashing, filled the driveway, Rand filled Officers Fuller and Washington in on what he knew, then repeated everything when the homicide detectives arrived.

By that time a portion of the street had been cordoned off and yellow crime scene tape strung around the house. The medical examiner and crime scene team arrived while neighbors gathered in doorways, driveways, and even inching down the street.

The detective in charge was a heavy-set woman with short graying hair and eyes that didn’t seem to miss much. She introduced herself as Madge Hall and assured Rand and Chelle that she would take the investigation from that point forward but keep the Almsville department in the loop.

“Sad for the kids,” Chelle said once they were inside Rand’s Jeep again and he’d maneuvered through the knotted traffic clogging the neighborhood.

“Sad for everyone,” he agreed.

“We need to nail Vargas.”

“If he did it.”

“Even if he didn’t,” she said from the passenger seat as Rand adjusted his windshield wipers for the mist that was collecting on the glass. “But I’ll bet my next paycheck he’s behind it all.”

“Not gonna take that bet,” Rand said, thinking about Vargas. All the evidence was pointing to his involvement. Rand’s own father had said Vargas had been blackmailing Tom Hunt. And Janet Collins had called in to report what she’d seen with Vargas on the night Chase Hunt disappeared. He’d probably resurfaced because Cynthia Hunt’s death had resurrected interest in Chase’s disappearance.

Right now, Rand wasn’t certain.

But he sure as hell was going to find out.

Chapter 58

“You’re the guy from across the lake!” Dawn guessed, opening the door a bit wider so that Levi could step inside. “I saw you through the telescope!”

Oh dear God. Harper wanted to die a thousand deaths. “My daughter,” she said, barely able to get the words out. “Dawn.”

“Levi Hunt.” His gaze didn’t leave Dawn’s.

Dawn was smiling. “I know. Mom said so.”

Slowly Levi’s gaze moved to Harper, and her heart dropped to the floor. He knew. Damn it, he knew. “What else did she say?”

“She said that you went to school together. Were classmates.”

“That’s right.” His eyes narrowed just a fraction, but Harper knew him well enough to realize he was putting two and two together. No doubt he was coming up with three. “So why was I the topic of conversation?”

“Because we saw you. Across the lake. You were outside, near the water,” Dawn answered. “Mom was showing me around, and up in the tower room there is this awesome telescope. I mean it’s freakin’ awesome. I looked through.”