The Lake House Secret, A Romantic Suspense Novel (A Jenessa Jones Mystery) (14 page)

“Mom will be at the high school this Sunday afternoon setting up for an auction next week. Maybe you should cover that. They’re trying to raise two hundred thousand dollars to renovate the auditorium.”

“I loved that old auditorium—the ornate details and the thick burgundy curtains. It was like an opera house.”

“That’s right. Didn’t we go and see
Music Man
there?”

“We did—and
Mame,
remember?” Jenessa smiled at the memory.

“We had a lot of good times together,” Logan said.

Then her thoughts turned back to his mother again. “Did your mom know Lucy St. John when you were growing up?”

“Boy, that was kind of out of the blue.” Logan frowned. “Why on earth would you ask that?”

“I was thinking about the interview I want to do with her, and I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone—” Jenessa cringed. “Wrong choice of words, I meant I might as well ask questions for the Lucy St. John case while I’m at it. To save time, you know?”

“I have no idea if she knew her. Mom and Dad divorced when I was seven. If she wasn’t part of the well-to-do crowd around here, it’s not likely my mother would have been friends with her.”

“She could have known her other ways. She could have known her from the bank maybe.” Jenessa watched for a flicker of agreement in Logan’s face.

He shrugged. “No idea.” He leaned in again, his brows knitting together in a serious frown. “You can’t think my mother had anything to do with Lucy’s death, can you?”

“I’m just gathering facts at this point.” Jenessa took a sip of ice water, back-peddling while she kept her eyes from meeting Logan’s so he couldn’t see through her to what she was really thinking. “Besides, it’s the cops’ job to solve the murder, not mine.”

Although, if Jenessa could help solve the murder, and be the first to publish the story, it would be a boon for her career. Maybe one day she could leave this quiet small town and go to work for another newspaper in a major city.

“So where did you end up going to college?” Logan asked, an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Jenessa shared that she had gone to Sacramento State and majored in journalism. Logan said he went to San Diego State and played football until he blew out his knee his junior year. He graduated with a degree in business, assuming his father would expect him to come back to Hidden Valley and take over the family empire. He was right.

They chatted about their college experiences and the various jobs they held, both carefully skirting around the subject of the unexpected pregnancy and the baby she had given up for adoption.

That was a discussion for later…much later.

It definitely was not a conversation she wanted to have in a public place. There would certainly be crying, maybe even some shouting and angry words. No, it was better not to bring it up in this burger joint where there was an abundance of prying eyes, and ears. No doubt just her sitting in a booth with Logan would be juicy fodder for town gossip long before morning.

Jenessa and Logan reminisced about the prom and other school activities they remembered. They even laughed a few times over the memories of some crazy antics of their classmates. She caught herself twirling her long dark hair around her finger, a lighthearted giddiness coming over her. It was almost as though she was a teenager again.

By the time the burgers and fries were consumed and conversation was winding down, Jenessa had become surprisingly comfortable with Logan. No bad memories were dug up tonight, no old wounds uncovered. Now she could at least run into him around town and avoid the spine-stiffening awkwardness they’d had up until tonight.

He drove her home and walked her to the door. It was a little after nine. They paused on the porch, under the light, and said their good-byes. Logan leaned down and unexpectedly kissed Jenessa lightly on the lips.

Before she could react, the sound of squealing tires split the air. Both Logan and Jenessa turned their heads toward the street, seeing a police cruiser racing away.

Chapter 19

With her nerves in a tangle over having dinner with Logan, and her phone conversation with Aunt Renee, Jenessa had forgotten Michael was dropping by around nine, after his shift.
Oh, God
. He saw Logan kiss her. Now he had the wrong idea. Jenessa was mortified.

She unlocked the door, and the jingling of the keys drew Logan’s attention from the street back to Jenessa. She offered him a curt smile. “Good night, Logan.”

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Second time that night he’d asked that question.

If Michael’s squealing tires hadn’t broken Logan’s spell over her, she might have actually considered it. They were getting along well. It had been a surprisingly enjoyable evening—then his lips were on hers, even for a brief moment, and they felt so delicious that her defenses began to melt and her body went weak. But, no! She couldn’t let herself be drawn into his web again.

Thank goodness Michael had been there to rescue her from Logan’s charms, but what had that saving moment done to her chances with Michael? She’d have to call him and try to salvage their budding relationship.

Jenessa thanked Logan for suggesting they get together and catch up over dinner. If he was thinking of trying to kiss her again, she wasn’t going to wait around and give him the opportunity.

“Good night, Logan.” Jenessa stepped inside her house and hastily shut the door. She had to call Michael, explain away what he saw, and see if he still wanted to stop by.

It wasn’t like she owed Michael an explanation. They weren’t dating, but there was definitely something sparking between them. Maybe it could lead to something more.

As for Logan, even now, something inside her turned to jelly when she was near him. But as for a future with that man? She couldn’t see it. Not after the past they shared.

She dug her phone out of her purse and dialed Michael’s number.

“Hello.”

She was still surprised to hear his voice had grown so deep over the years, not the silly boy voice she had known when they were schoolmates.

“Michael, this is Jenessa.”

He didn’t reply right away and the air hung uncomfortably chilly between them.

“Michael?”

“Yeah, I’m here. What can I do for you?”

“You promised you’d stop by and pick a lock for me tonight.”

“I did stop by, but you were otherwise occupied. I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”

“Logan wanted to talk to me about something, so I had a quick burger with him. There was nothing to interrupt.”

“It didn’t look that way to me.”

Well, that confirmed it. Obviously Michael had seen Logan kiss her. Was he jealous?

“Really, Michael, that’s all it was. He gave me a quick peck on the lips, which I wasn’t expecting, nor did I want, then I sent him on his way. I’ll be up for a while if you’d still like to come by.”

“I don’t think so. I’m almost at my folks’ house. I need to pick up Jake and get him to bed.”

It couldn’t have been more than three or four minutes between when Michael peeled away and this call. How would he have had time to be close to his parents’ house? He
was
jealous. “I could really use your help tonight. Pretty please.”

Again, silence hung between them. Finally he spoke. “Fine. I’ll call my mom and have her keep Jake overnight. See you in a few.”

~*~

In less than five minutes, Michael was standing on her doorstep, ringing her bell.

She swung the door open wide and greeted him with a friendly smile. He was still wearing his navy blue uniform. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him.

“I got a call there was a woman in distress at this address, ma’am.” He wore a poker face.

“That’s right, Officer.” Jenessa grinned as she played along and stepped to the side to let him in. “Right this way,” she said with a sweeping motion toward the main hall.

He followed her to the study. “What seems to be the problem?”

She pointed to the desk. “This may sound silly, Officer, but I can’t get the stupid lap drawer open.”

“Well, little lady, let’s see what I can do about that.” Michael dragged the chair out and crouched down behind the desk to examine the lock. He whipped a small leather case out of his back pocket and unzipped it, displaying several sharp instruments. He worked a couple of them into the lock, but it wouldn’t budge. He kept after it for quite a while, but no luck.

“I hoped that would be all it needed.” Jenessa pursed her lips. “Just a little love from the handsome policeman.”

Michael burst into a loud, deep laugh. “I’ve never heard picking a lock described like that.”

“Well, for all your effort, how about a piece of fresh peach pie.”

Michael’s eyebrows arched. “Did you make it?”

She laughed as she stood in the doorway. “You really don’t know me, do you?” She turned and headed toward the kitchen.

“Is that a no?” he asked, following close behind her.

“Ramey brought it to Aunt Renee’s for dinner the other night. It’s from The Sweet Spot. My aunt insisted I take the leftovers home.” Jenessa pulled the half-eaten pie from the refrigerator and set it on the counter.

“Got any vanilla ice cream?” Michael asked.

Jenessa rifled through the utensil drawer for a knife and an ice cream scoop. “Let’s look. Mom used to always keep some in the freezer for my dad. Maybe he still did too.”

Michael stood behind her as she poked through the freezer side of the refrigerator. The cold air felt good on her face, which had unexpectedly grown hot at his closeness. She plucked the container of ice cream out of the freezer and spun around.

“Here it is.”

He was only inches away from her. A palpable energy vibrated between them. She sensed he wanted to kiss her, she saw it in his eyes, and she would let him. Their gaze locked for a moment. Instead of a kiss, though, he went to the counter and cut the pie. Had he suddenly remembered seeing Logan kiss her?

“This thing looks delicious,” he muttered.

She set the ice cream container beside the pie, the loud thumping in her chest beginning to subside, thankfully, or she was afraid he was going to hear it. “You want to do the honors?”

When Michael was finished loading the pieces of pie onto the plates, and adding a scoop of ice cream to each, they carried their dishes to the table.

Jenessa took a seat. “I haven’t had a chance to ask how the review board went.”

“Seemed to me like everything went well. I should hear the results in a few days, I’m hoping.” He dug into his dessert.

“Soon, I’ll have to call you Detective Baxter.” She laughed, sticking a forkful of pie in her mouth.

He swallowed and grinned at her. “Hey, how’s your story going? The one on the body that was found up at the lake?”

She explained to him about the locket that had been discovered with the body and how the photo inside looked a lot like Ramey. It was her assumption, she continued, that the body must have been Ramey’s mother.

“How did you get to see the inside of the locket? I thought it was up in Sacramento at the crime lab.”

She gave him a smug feline grin. “I have my ways.”

“Ramey’s mother, huh? Does Provenza know?”

“I called him, but I’m not sure if he believes me. He said he needs to have some way for the lab to prove it—you know, DNA, dental records, or something.” She took another bite.

“Who would want to murder Lucy St. John?”

“I’ve got plenty of people on my list of suspects,” Jenessa said.

He frowned and stopped his fork midair. “Like who?”

Ramey was the first name to pop into Jenessa’s head. Not that
she
would kill her mother and bury her body up at the lake, but someone who wanted to keep Ramey’s parentage a secret would have a strong motive—and there were several of them. Should she tell Michael what she knew about who had likely fathered Ramey?

“No names.” She waved her hand at him. “It’s too early to be putting them out there, Michael, but there is a very scandalous bit of information I discovered.”

“Scandalous?” He cocked his head. “Like what?”

Jenessa shared what Aunt Renee had told her about Lucy’s affair with Grey Alexander and how she was fairly certain he was Ramey’s biological father.

“Grey Alexander is Ramey’s father?”

“Shocker, huh?”

“Are you sure?”

“Not a hundred percent, but pretty sure. There would have to be a paternity test, that is, if Ramey wants to know.”

“Haven’t you told her yet?”

“Not yet, not until we get confirmation from the lab.”

“That would make her Logan’s sister.” He stuck the last forkful of his pie in his mouth. “I never would have guessed.”

“Well, half sister, but that’s not for public consumption, though.” If word leaked out, in this small town, Ramey would be humiliated at being the subject of widespread gossip.

“Oh, no, of course. Mum’s the word.”

When they were finished with their pie, she took their plates and rinsed them in the sink. “By the way, how’s your little guy doing? Looking forward to kindergarten?”

“That’s all he talks about—well, that and you.”

“Me?” Jenessa’s brow wrinkled, as she dried her hands.

“Seems you made quite an impression on him at the bakery the other day, old friend.”

She laughed at the characterization, turning from the sink to face him. “He seems like a great little boy.” Envy wasn’t an emotion she was used to, and she pushed it down. “You’re doing a good job with him, Michael.”

“Thanks, I’d like to think so. It’s been difficult raising him alone, with his mother gone and all. Thank God I have my mom and dad to help. I’d be lost without them.”

They stood by the sink, gazing into each other’s eyes. No words passed between them for a long moment. Jenessa was sure he was going to lean down and kiss her—she sensed it in his eyes and the tilt of his head. She was ready, even anxious for it. As he lowered his face to hers, she put a hand on his chest and pushed up on her toes, her lips within inches of his.

Chapter 20

Michael was so close that Jenessa felt his hot breath on her lips. Then, he stepped back unexpectedly.