Page 21 of Vanished in the Mist (A Mystic Lake Mystery #2)
“Well,” Shanna said. “I can see why Peyton hasn’t moved out of her parents’ house yet. If I lived in something this sweet, I’d never want to leave.”
“It’s stunning, for sure. But I’d rather struggle not to capsize in hurricane swells than have to tackle that steep, narrow road up the mountain every day. Can you imagine making that drive in ice and snow?”
“Actually, yes. I do live in West Virginia.”
“Touché. Your house is at the top of a mountain, too?”
“It would be, if I had the type of money to afford it. But looking up from the foothills isn’t exactly a hardship. And I can drive up the mountains anytime I want for that top-of-the-world feeling. Let me guess, you live right on the water in Charleston?”
“When your bread and butter involves boating, it’s the sensible thing to do.”
“Tell you what. If you ever visit me in the winter, you can close your eyes while I drive us to the best sightseeing elevations.”
“And if you visit me in Charleston, I’ll…” He hesitated, remembering her most deep-seated fear. “I promise not to take you anywhere near the water.”
She rolled her eyes. “You live on the water. What are you going to do, waste money on a hotel just because of my ridiculous phobia?”
He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss against her knuckles.
“It’s not ridiculous. Even if you never tell me the cause, or don’t even know why you’re afraid, the fear is real and nothing to be ashamed of.
I would be more than happy to wine and dine you at the most expensive accommodations Charleston has to offer, miles from the coast. You’re worth it. ”
She stared at her hand in his, her eyes suspiciously misty.
He grinned. “Did that sound as sappy to you as it did to me?”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “A little. But it’s still the best pickup line anyone’s ever tried on me.” Her smile faded. “If only you lived in West Virginia.”
He squeezed her hand and let go, not voicing what they both were thinking.
If only he didn’t live near the one thing that terrified her, the one thing he relied on day in and day out to earn a living.
Hoping to get them back on track, he motioned toward the house. “I don’t see any cars. But I doubt they park on the street or even in the driveway with that four-car garage off to the right.”
“There’s only one way to know for sure.” She jogged across the road and started up the walkway toward the house.
Kaden swore and hurried to catch up. In spite of her earlier speech about being glad her ex wasn’t in Mystic Lake, he’d heard the wobble in her voice.
She wasn’t convinced that the police were right, that Troy hadn’t been outside of their cabin.
Until Kaden knew for certain, he’d play it safe and assume the creep was in town.
Which meant sticking close to Shanna so her ex wouldn’t get a chance to hurt her.
He scanned the bushes along the home’s foundation as they climbed the porch steps.
The bushes made great hiding places for someone up to no good.
But in an exclusive area like this, odds were that a cowardly stalker ex wouldn’t risk being seen.
There were security cameras on every porch, every garage.
No one was coming up this mountain road without being caught on several security videos.
Hopefully Peyton wasn’t one of the ones keeping an eye on those videos and wouldn’t know they were there.
When Shanna rang the doorbell and the musical chimes played a tune, she burst out laughing. “AC/DC? ‘Highway to Hell’? Do you think the parents know?”
“If they do, they’ve got a great sense of humor.”
“If they don’t, I’ll bet their daughter secretly laughs every time someone comes to visit.”
After a few more rings and several knocks went unanswered, Shanna’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Our plan to try to catch Peyton off guard is a bust. No one’s home, not even her parents. Or the maid. Or the butler.”
“My, aren’t you the snob,” Kaden said. “I doubt they have a butler.”
She laughed. “Maybe not.”
The sound of a car engine coming up the gravel road had both of them turning.
“Blue Mazda,” Shanna announced.
“Peyton. If she sees us, she’ll probably turn around and take off.” He motioned toward the bushes beside the porch steps.
“Oh, heck no.” She held up her hands as if to ward him off. “I’m not hiding down there with all the creepy-crawlies.”
“Then we’d better run.” He grabbed her hand and they took off across the wrap-around porch, not slowing until they rounded the corner at the back right side of the house.
Shanna lightly punched his arm and then bent over, struggling to catch her breath. “How are you not breathing hard?”
“You need to work on your cardio exercise.”
“Whatever.” She peeked around the corner, then hurriedly ducked back. “She’s coming up the driveway.”
Moments later, a low hum sounded as one of the garage doors raised.
She looked around the corner again. “The car’s parked. There, she’s coming out, heading toward the house.” She jerked back, both of them being quiet as the sound of shoes crunching on gravel announced Peyton’s location.
This time, Kaden leaned around the corner to take a look. “Clear,” he whispered. “Go.”
As quietly as they could, they raced across the side porch, rounding the corner to the front as Peyton pushed open the door. She blinked at them, her eyes widening in dismay, before she rushed inside.
Kaden reached the door just as it was about to close. He shoved both hands against it and angled his shoe in the opening to keep her from closing it.
Red spots of anger dotted her cheeks. “Let go of the door. Back off or I’ll call the police.”
Beside Kaden, Shanna held up her phone screen showing the copy of the bonfire picture that he’d found hidden in Tanya’s bookshelf. When Peyton saw it, all the color seemed to drain out of her face.
Peyton’s throat worked. “Where—where did you get that?”
“Kaden found it in one of Tanya Jericho’s books.” She lowered the phone. “Would you like to explain the picture to us or the police? Choose.”
Peyton slowly opened the door.
S HANNA SET HER phone on the coffee table, turning it around so that Peyton could see the damning picture.
Peyton stared at it, twisting her hands together on the couch across from the one where Shanna and Kaden were sitting.
“You lied to us,” Shanna said. “At my sister’s cabin, you swore you’d never even met Tanya, that you and your friends never hung out with her. And yet, here’s a selfie she took with you and your friends in the background, out in the woods having a bonfire. Explain that.”
Peyton’s chin lifted defiantly. “You just explained it yourself. It’s a selfie. She must have been in the woods, snooping on us, and took that. We didn’t even know she was there. She’s hiding in the bushes. Can’t you tell?”
“Oh, I can tell. And I agree that she probably followed your group. Maybe she heard about the bonfire and wanted to join you, make friends with the popular kids. Is that what happened?”
“What? No. We didn’t know she even took that picture. I mean, we never saw her. We didn’t know she was spying on us.”
Shanna zoomed the photo. “That story doesn’t fit what I see in this picture. You, Tristan Cargill and Jack Neal are all looking directly at the camera. You saw her.”
“No. No, we didn’t. We were just looking in that direction. It’s a coincidence.” Her knuckles were turning red and raw from rubbing and squeezing her hands together.
“Peyton,” Kaden said. “What did you do when you and the others saw her taking your picture? Did you yell at her? Run after her?”
Peyton shook her head, looking down at her hands. “No. We didn’t know she was there.”
“This picture tells me otherwise.”
Peyton looked away.
Kaden gave Peyton a hard look. “Did you chase her? Knock her down? Warn her that you’d hurt her if she ever followed you again?”
“No. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not like that.”
“What about one of the guys?” Shanna asked. “Sam Morton was a football player, big, intimidating. Maybe he got rough trying to scare her and knocked her around. I can see that. I’ll tell Chief Dawson to bring Sam in for an interview and—”
“No. Don’t. Sam’s a good person. He’d never hit a woman. He’s not the one… He didn’t…” She squeezed her hands harder.
“Ah, I see,” Shanna said. “Tristan. Spoiled little rich kid beats up the annoying girl who dared to intrude on your little party in the woods. I can see him doing that and—”
“That’s not what happened. Tristan didn’t… I mean…” She swore beneath her breath.
Shanna exchanged a knowing look with Kaden. They were close to a break. She could feel it. “Peyton,” she asked, “If it wasn’t Sam, or Tristan, was it Jessica?”
“It was Jack, okay? There. I said it. He’s the one who did it.” She pressed a hand to her mouth, a horrified expression on her face as she dropped her face into her hands.
“What did he do?” Shanna went for the jugular, not giving Peyton a chance to regroup. “Did Jack beat her? Do something worse?”
When Peyton remained silent, Shanna nodded at Kaden, trying to let him know that she wanted them both to jump in and fire questions, increase the tension.
They both did exactly that, taking turns, barely giving Peyton enough time to answer before asking another one.
Kaden had a real knack for knowing where Shanna was heading and playing right along. He was the perfect Dr. Watson.
He tapped the bonfire photo again on Shanna’s phone.
“The date stamp on this tells us this was a week before your graduation. A few weeks before Tanya went missing. She didn’t say anything to her parents about it.
And they certainly didn’t mention anything about bruises or cuts, no black eyes, so no one hit hurt.
Not that anyone could see anyway. Peyton, what did he do that’s so bad that you’re afraid to tell us? Did he rape her?”