Read Online The Lake House Secret, A Romantic Suspense Novel (A Jenessa Jones Mystery) by Debra Burroughs - Free Book Online
Authors: Debra Burroughs
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scene, no matter how good a reporter you are, Miss…”
“Jones, Jenessa Jones. I can work with you or I can work without you, but make no mistake, Detective, I will get my story. Your choice.” She shrugged.
“But this is a murder scene, Miss Jones, and you’re a civilian,” he said, poking a finger in her face.
She stood her ground and refused to back down. “I’m the press. I’m fully aware that this is a murder scene, and I won’t get in your way. I’m after the story, the truth, Detective.”
“Hmm.” He paused and eyed her. “I see Charles McAllister has hired himself a bull dog.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, not sure if she should be offended or simply confused by the comment.
“A bull dog—you know, a firecracker, a pistol, a feisty woman—someone who’ll keep digging, grab hold and won’t let go.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said with a satisfied smile.
“That’s how I meant it. I can see I’m not getting rid of you, so as soon as I finish interviewing the people who found the bones, I’ll give you a statement. You can look around, but stay out of the CSI unit’s way. Deal?”
“Deal.” A smile was hinting at her lips but she worked to rein it in, wanting the detective to think it was his idea.
He turned and went back to the couple who owned the property and resumed the questioning. He hadn’t said she couldn’t take any photos.
~*~
Before long the detective met up with Jenessa and gave her his statement. The couple that called it in owned the property that was under construction. They’d come to check on it early that morning, walking their two Weimaraners. As they’d walked around the framing for the foundation, the dogs began digging furiously at the far back corner and came up with some bones in their mouths.
From the size and shape of the bones, the people realized they could be human. Once they were able to wrestle the bones away from their dogs, they’d phoned the Hidden Valley police to report what they’d found. When the detective saw what he was dealing with, he called for the state CSI team to examine and retrieve the remains.
The CSI unit extracted all the bones and any other material on and around them.
“Do they know if it was a woman or a man?” Jenessa asked.
“They have a guess, but I don’t think I should say until they release their findings,” Provenza said.
Jenessa leaned in and kept her voice low. “I heard one of the CSIs refer to the remains as her . That leads me to believe they think it was a woman.”
“Well, there you have it,” he said softly. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
She hadn’t actually heard anyone say the remains were a her , but the bluff worked.
“Any idea how long she’s been buried?” she asked.
“They won’t know ‘til they get her back to their lab.”
“If you could let me know as soon as you do, then I can add that fact into my story. Maybe someone will remember something out of the ordinary around that time.”
“I can’t be giving out that kind of information.”
“The townspeople will want to know, Detective.”
He glared at her. “I’ll think on it.”
“Seems like it must have been a shallow grave. Am I right?”
“A few feet down, I’m guessing. Ten or twenty years ago there weren’t as many homes here as there are now. That house would have been here,” he pointed to the Alexanders’ house, “but this house under construction and the next one over would have just been treed woodlands back then. Maybe even the next house after that.”
“I know it’s early, but any gut feelings about who may have done this?” she asked.
“Not yet. It’s way too early. Could have been some random partiers from town who got out of hand and someone ended up dead. Maybe they buried her quick because they were afraid of someone finding out.”
Jenessa knew what he meant. Going to the lake often meant beer parties, and sometimes smoking pot, for some of the teens and
“Jones, Jenessa Jones. I can work with you or I can work without you, but make no mistake, Detective, I will get my story. Your choice.” She shrugged.
“But this is a murder scene, Miss Jones, and you’re a civilian,” he said, poking a finger in her face.
She stood her ground and refused to back down. “I’m the press. I’m fully aware that this is a murder scene, and I won’t get in your way. I’m after the story, the truth, Detective.”
“Hmm.” He paused and eyed her. “I see Charles McAllister has hired himself a bull dog.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, not sure if she should be offended or simply confused by the comment.
“A bull dog—you know, a firecracker, a pistol, a feisty woman—someone who’ll keep digging, grab hold and won’t let go.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said with a satisfied smile.
“That’s how I meant it. I can see I’m not getting rid of you, so as soon as I finish interviewing the people who found the bones, I’ll give you a statement. You can look around, but stay out of the CSI unit’s way. Deal?”
“Deal.” A smile was hinting at her lips but she worked to rein it in, wanting the detective to think it was his idea.
He turned and went back to the couple who owned the property and resumed the questioning. He hadn’t said she couldn’t take any photos.
~*~
Before long the detective met up with Jenessa and gave her his statement. The couple that called it in owned the property that was under construction. They’d come to check on it early that morning, walking their two Weimaraners. As they’d walked around the framing for the foundation, the dogs began digging furiously at the far back corner and came up with some bones in their mouths.
From the size and shape of the bones, the people realized they could be human. Once they were able to wrestle the bones away from their dogs, they’d phoned the Hidden Valley police to report what they’d found. When the detective saw what he was dealing with, he called for the state CSI team to examine and retrieve the remains.
The CSI unit extracted all the bones and any other material on and around them.
“Do they know if it was a woman or a man?” Jenessa asked.
“They have a guess, but I don’t think I should say until they release their findings,” Provenza said.
Jenessa leaned in and kept her voice low. “I heard one of the CSIs refer to the remains as her . That leads me to believe they think it was a woman.”
“Well, there you have it,” he said softly. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
She hadn’t actually heard anyone say the remains were a her , but the bluff worked.
“Any idea how long she’s been buried?” she asked.
“They won’t know ‘til they get her back to their lab.”
“If you could let me know as soon as you do, then I can add that fact into my story. Maybe someone will remember something out of the ordinary around that time.”
“I can’t be giving out that kind of information.”
“The townspeople will want to know, Detective.”
He glared at her. “I’ll think on it.”
“Seems like it must have been a shallow grave. Am I right?”
“A few feet down, I’m guessing. Ten or twenty years ago there weren’t as many homes here as there are now. That house would have been here,” he pointed to the Alexanders’ house, “but this house under construction and the next one over would have just been treed woodlands back then. Maybe even the next house after that.”
“I know it’s early, but any gut feelings about who may have done this?” she asked.
“Not yet. It’s way too early. Could have been some random partiers from town who got out of hand and someone ended up dead. Maybe they buried her quick because they were afraid of someone finding out.”
Jenessa knew what he meant. Going to the lake often meant beer parties, and sometimes smoking pot, for some of the teens and
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