Read Online The Lost Women of Lost Lake by Ellen Hart - Free Book Online

forgotten our history. We do that at our peril.”
    He didn’t seem the least bit interested in a history lesson. Removing a photo from his shirt pocket, he handed it to her. “Do you recognize the woman in that snapshot?”
    Helen adjusted her bifocals. “Should I?”
    â€œHer name is Judy Clark.”
    â€œDoesn’t ring a bell.”
    â€œYou’ve lived here all your life?”
    â€œWhat are you after, Mr. Baumgartner?”
    â€œ Feigenbaumer ,” he said, clearly annoyed that she’d mispronounced his name.
    Jane sensed that Helen had done it on purpose. Glancing over the old woman’s shoulder, she took a look at the photo.
    â€œI’m afraid I can’t help you.”
    â€œCan’t or won’t? The woman in that picture may not look like it, but she’s a cold-blooded killer. If you know anything about—”
    â€œI’ve already told you that I don’t. Now if you’ll excuse me—”
    Helen handed back the snapshot and was about to head up the stairway when a voice shouted, “There you are. You had me worried sick.” A pudgy-faced blond man in a short-sleeved dress shirt and a brown tie stared down at her. “I thought we were having breakfast together.”
    Helen whispered to Jane, “The Amazing Mr. Hammond. My house guest.” She winked. “Hold your horses,” she called back. “I’ll be right up.”
    â€œI’m not leaving,” said Feigenbaumer, his voice carrying a distinct threat.
    Helen responded with a smile. “I hope you don’t. Lost Lake is a lovely place to spend a few idyllic summer days.”
    A sudden gust of wind off the lake revealed a bulge near Feigenbaumer’s ankle. An ankle holster, thought Jane. If she hadn’t been convinced of the seriousness of this man’s appearance by Tessa’s reaction last night, the sight of the holster surely flipped an alarm switch this morning. Whatever Tessa was mixed up in, it was dangerous.
    With a kind of thuggish swagger, Feigenbaumer headed back down the beach.
    Returning her attention to Helen, Jane found the elderly woman halfway up the steps.
    â€œWill you be in Lost Lake long?” Helen called down.
    â€œI’m here for the week.”
    â€œMy keepers don’t allow me to drive anymore. Do you have a car?”
    â€œI have access to one.”
    â€œWonderful. I’ll take you to breakfast in town tomorrow. Mr. Hammond,” she added, and here she winked, “will have to get along without me for a few hours.”

8
    Jonah tiptoed down the stairs from the loft to the living room, tucking his tie-dyed T-shirt into his bell bottoms as he went. He’d washed and dried his clothes last night before going to bed. The book he’d taken with him on the road, Kingsley Amis’s The Green Man , was a little worse for wear because of the storm, but still readable. He always read until the wee hours. This particular story was hilarious. He loved the ghost scenes and the cynical narrator’s voice and laughed to himself when he thought about the sex-phobic freak in the Toyota. Maybe he should have left the book as a parting gift. The guy could have gnashed his teeth over the sex scenes.
    If it hadn’t been for the growling in his stomach, which woke him from a vivid dream, Jonah would’ve still been asleep. He’d been dreaming about his girlfriend, Emily. While he’d been gone they’d texted each other a few times a day, though for Jonah, it was never enough. He’d made a snap decision to leave St. Louis, but hadn’t called to tell her because he couldn’t wait for the moment when she first saw him standing right in front of her. It was all he’d thought about on the road.
    Jane had promised last night to come by and make everyone breakfast. Probably some form of eggs. Jonah didn’t eat anything in the morning that wasn’t submerged in milk, so