The Lake House Secret, A Romantic Suspense Novel (A Jenessa Jones Mystery) (8 page)

“I didn’t see any TV news crews there when I left,” she reported, “but it would take them at least a couple of hours to drive there from Sacramento or Fresno.”

“True.”

“They may not even think it’s a big enough story to run with, compared to the expense of sending a crew.”

“I hope you’re right, Jenessa. I’d like the paper to get the scoop on a news story for a change.”

“If the remains turn out to be those of a celebrity or linked to someone important, I’m sure they’ll be all over it. But that doesn’t seem likely.”

“Send me what you have by six,” McAllister said.

“Will do.”

~*~

Jenessa wrote her story, what little she knew, wishing she’d hear back from the detective about the timeline. After reviewing and editing, she still hadn’t heard, so she decided to make a preemptive call.

“Detective, this is Jenessa Jones, from the Hidden Valley Herald.”

“Hello, Ms. Jones. I’m kind of busy right now. Can I call you back?”

“Just one question—have you heard from the CSI team on how long the bones that were discovered this morning had been buried?”

“They’ve barely had time to get back to their lab.”

“I know. I was just hoping.”

“I can tell you this much, at the scene the lead investigator said she suspected between ten and fifteen years. They’ll be running a carbon dating test to try to pinpoint it a little more accurately, but that may be as close as they can get. No promises.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to give us any more details, like age, height, ethnicity? Anything like that?”

“That’s a heck of a lot more than just one question,” he snapped.

“I need it for my story, Detective. If someone could help identify who this woman was, then it’ll help you find out who killed her and buried her. She deserves that much, don’t you think?”

“I’d like to tell you more, but I can’t release those details just yet.”

“Then when?”

“I can’t say. My captain wants to play it close to the vest until we know who she was.”

“He must have some idea, then.”
Who was he trying to protect?

“I really can’t say. I need to go. Good luck.”

Chapter 10

Her conversation with the detective left her unsettled. She knew there were times the police withheld certain facts that only a killer would know. Was that it? Did they already find something that could point to the killer?

Maybe her contacts at the Sacramento paper had an in at the state crime lab. She decided to call her old boss, Jack Linear.

“I have a cousin at the lab,” he told her, after she’d explained the situation.

“Would she be willing to talk to me?”

“Depends. I’m sure she’s not going to break the law or risk losing her job.”

“Hey, I’m only trying to find out who the woman was, and more precisely, when she was killed. If she could get me the approximate age, height, race—you know, that kind of thing.”

“Maybe she’d do it if you could guarantee her anonymity.”

“Absolutely. You know me, I would never divulge my source.”

“If she’s willing, I’ll have her call you. Same number?” Jack asked.

“Yes. Thanks for the help.”

Jenessa downloaded the photos from her camera into her computer and pulled them up on her laptop screen. She scanned through them, looking for the best front-page shot. She had been able to take six, from different angles, before the detective stopped her.

From the photos, she could see that a bit of old fabric still remained on the body, and several brass buttons lay in the pelvic cavity, near the waist, looking like they might have come from blue jeans or cut-offs. There was a narrow silver chain around the neck area with something oval hanging from it, probably a necklace of some kind.

In one photo, she picked up something beside the body—a button maybe? Or was it an earring? She opened the picture in her Photoshop software and enlarged it. Still, she couldn’t tell what it was, it was too blurry. She sharpened the image, added contrast and took the size down a notch. It was square-ish with a design of some sort on it—but what was it?

Jack Linear’s cousin hadn’t called her yet. More details would definitely add to the story, but she had no way of contacting the woman herself. All she could do was wait and hope she called.

As the afternoon wore on into evening, time was beginning to run out and she had to get her story in. The Herald wasn’t a big-city paper. The printing staff didn’t work through the night in Hidden Valley like they did in Sacramento.

Jenessa needed to choose a photo and be done with it for the night. Most of the pictures had an investigator’s hand or shoulder, or some other body part, intruding into the shot, so she chose the cleanest, most eye-catching photo and sent it to her editor, along with her story.

She dialed Charles McAllister’s number and he answered on the first ring.

“Charles, this is Jenessa. My story is on its way to you.”

“Great. I’ll be able to get it into the morning paper. I saved a spot on the front page.”

“I sent a photo along. I hope you can use it.”

“Even better.”

“I’m certain there’s more to this story, though. I just need more time to uncover it. I’ll stay on it.”

“I knew having a big-city reporter working for us would be good for this town.”

“Sacramento is not exactly the big city.”

“Compared to Hidden Valley it is. Not much happens here, so when something like this pops up, our readers will be riveted. When’s the next installment?”

“I can’t say, but I’ll keep you in the loop. This is a homicide investigation and the police are pretty tight-lipped about the details, but I’ll keep digging and follow it wherever it leads.” Jenessa was vibrating with excitement—it felt good to be back in the saddle again.

“Sounds fantastic, Jenessa. But don’t forget—”

“Forget what?”

“I still need you to do the weddings and social events.”

~*~

Jenessa went into her father’s office to tackle the last drawer of his file cabinet.

After an hour of searching, she shut the cabinet. Nothing.

The desk’s lap drawer drew her attention once more. She searched her father’s key ring, but only the keys to the car and the house were on it.

Should she break into it? Then she remembered her aunt’s pointed admonishment not to damage the valuable antique.

Could she pick the lock? How hard could it be?

She tried a metal nail file, an ice pick, a bobby pin, other keys—but nothing worked. It looked so easy in the movies. She wondered if her friend Michael, as a policeman, might know of any small-time criminals she could hire to pick it.

She could call a locksmith, but what if there was something sensitive in the drawer? With the way gossip flew around that town with lightning speed, she couldn’t risk it.

Tomorrow she would call Michael, she decided, but for right now it was time to go to Aunt Renee’s for dinner with the family. She liked the sound of that—
dinner with the family.

She grabbed her purse and hopped into the Roadster. As she drove to her aunt’s home, she wondered if anyone would have any objections to her driving this car regularly, as opposed to her old Toyota. It would certainly be a huge improvement, and she wouldn’t have to worry every time she tried to start it up if it actually would.

~*~

When she arrived at Aunt Renee’s home, Ramey was already there, having left an employee to close up the shop. Jenessa noticed her out on the patio, manning the grill, with the sparkling blue pool in the distance.

After greeting Sara and her aunt, she stepped out through the french doors to say hello to her friend. “What’s cooking?” Jenessa pulled the door shut behind her.

“Hey, Jen.” Ramey threw an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze. “Salmon.”

“Looks good.”

“I heard you snagged that job today at the newspaper,” Ramey said, lifting a Salmon steak with the metal spatula, checking for doneness. “Congratulations. I’m so happy you’re sticking around.”

“For a while, anyway.” Jenessa wondered if she should mention her first assignment, but thought she’d hold off for a bit.

“A long while, I hope.” Ramey flashed her a big smile.

“We’ll see.” Jenessa walked farther out on the patio and looked at the tempting pool. “Want to swim later?”

“Me, in a suit?”

“You’re among friends, Ramey.”

“Maybe.” She flipped the fish on the grill.

Jenessa returned to Ramey’s side. “Hey, I was wondering…what’s with Michael Baxter?”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s his story? What happened to him after high school?”

Ramey grinned. “Interested?”

“No, not really,” Jenessa replied, working to keep her voice even and casual. “I mean, well, we were friends in high school and then we lost touch after I left. I’ve run into him a few times since I got back and I just wondered.”

“Hmm.” Ramey eyed Jenessa like she wasn’t sure that’s all it was. “He went into the army after high school, then he went to college back east. He met a girl there and they got married, had a baby, then she left him.”

“What?” That wasn’t at all what Jenessa had expected to hear.

“Yes, that’s what happened. He moved his little family back here to Hidden Valley and one day she up and left him.”

“What about the baby?”

“Oh, she left him here with Michael. The boy’s about five now.”

“He has a son?” Jenessa’s hand flew to her chest as a tingling sensation spread across it. The baby she had given up for adoption had been a boy.

“Yeah, little Jake, short for Jacob,” Ramey replied.

“I had no idea.” Did he look like his daddy? “Jacob Baxter,” Jenessa muttered.

“Yeah, pretty sad. Michael’s such a nice guy.” Ramey had known Michael all her life. They had both been born and raised in Hidden Valley.

“How did he manage with a job and a baby?”

“Well, you know his folks still live here. His mom watched the baby while Michael was at work—still does. I think Jake’s going into kindergarten in the fall.”

One of the french doors opened and Sara stepped out with a platter. “What are you girls talking about?”

“Nothing special,” Jenessa said. “Just catching up.” She gave Ramey a wink and walked back inside before Sara could stir something up.

Chapter 11

They sat down to dinner. The chatter around the table was background noise to Jenessa, her mind was on Michael and his little boy.

“The salmon is delicious, Ramey,” Aunt Renee praised. “Isn’t it, Jenessa?”

Hearing her name brought her attention back to the table. “What?”

“The salmon.” Aunt Renee lifted her forkful of fish. “Delicious, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yes. Delicious. Great job, Ramey,” Jenessa recovered.

“Special seasoning?” Sara asked.

“Your mom’s recipe,” Ramey replied. “The risotto is hers too.”

“I’m glad you learned to cook from her, because her recipes were wasted on my sister and me,” Sara said.

Jenessa had to agree. Their interests always seemed to lie elsewhere. “Maybe now that we’re grown up you can teach us a few things, Ramey.”

“Men are always impressed by a good meal, girls,” Aunt Renee noted. “I can’t believe I’ve got three lovely single ladies right here and not a man in sight for any of you.” She grimaced and shook her head.

“Okay, moving on to another subject,” Jenessa cut in, glancing around the table. “Would any of you object to my driving Dad’s car for a while? My old Toyota is on its last leg, and I, frankly, don’t have the money to repair it right now.”

“I wonder who he left it to in his Will,” Sara said, taking a bite of risotto.

The last thing Jenessa wanted was to battle her sister over the car. “Until we find that out, do you mind if I drive it? I need a reliable vehicle for my new job.”

“As long as you don’t bang it up,” Sara warned. “Maybe Daddy left it to me.”

“Maybe not,” Jenessa countered.

Sara frowned. “Then we may want to sell it and split the proceeds after we sort out Daddy’s estate. The house too.”

“The house?” Jenessa’s voice rose. “You want to sell our house?” She was finally beginning to feel at home somewhere, feeling part of a family again, and now her sister was talking about getting rid of her home.

“It’s far too big for just one person to live in,” Sara replied, wagging her fork at Jenessa. Sara lived in a cozy two-bedroom cottage a few blocks from her folks’ house, one that her aunt had helped her decorate.

“Not if one of you girls got married and started a family.” Aunt Renee peered at Sara and Jenessa with hopefulness in her eyes. “It would be a perfect house for one of you.”

“I vote we table this discussion until another time,” Jenessa said. “All in favor say aye.”

“Aye,” the three younger women shouted.

Aunt Renee’s expression deflated. “All right, girls. I know when I’m outnumbered.”

Jenessa turned to her aunt. “I brought my laptop to get busy on Dad’s obituary after dinner. Do you have the details of the service yet?”

Aunt Renee told her it would be on Friday at ten am at the Monte Vista Chapel down the road. From their father’s written instructions, that’s where he had wanted it held.

“After we clear the plates, I’ll work on the obit,” Jenessa said. “Then maybe we can go for a swim.”

“Did you bring your suit?” Ramey asked, looking a little squeamish, as if she was hoping for a way not to participate.

“Don’t worry, dear, I’ve got a whole box full upstairs,” Aunt Renee said, “bikinis, one-pieces, all different sizes. Towels too.”

“I figured you would.” Jenessa grinned at Ramey.

~*~

After submitting the obituary to the newspaper by email, the girls spent some time swimming and playing in the pool, while their aunt reclined on a chaise, under a big blue umbrella on the patio, sipping an iced tea. If it hadn’t been for the fact that her father had just died suddenly the day before, Jenessa would have considered this one of the happiest evenings she had spent in a long time. A sad commentary on her life thus far.

Around nine o’clock, as the sun was setting behind the western hills and the landscape lights were beginning to flicker on, Jenessa announced she was calling it a night. She came up the steps of the pool, out of the water, and grabbed her towel, twisting it around her waist like a sarong.