Page 6 of Lost Lake
“Detective Lyons, with the Lost Lake Sheriff’s Department.” Taking off her gloves, she squatted by Jinx and ruffled her wet fur. “I know my deputy already took your statement, but can you tell me what happened here tonight?”
He frowned, his whisker-covered chin dropping. “Jinx and I were on our normal nightly walk. As a border collie, she needs a lot of exercise.”
Jinx lifted her head and looked at him as if he’d called her into duty. He gave her a hand signal, and she settled back down.
“We take this path every day at lunch and after dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary this afternoon, but tonight Jinx started barking the minute we hit the trail. I quickly saw something floating in the water. A woman. I charged in to drag her to shore. I can’t even begin to tell you…”
His voice broke, and he clamped the back of his neck. “What it was like to discover she was dead. Took me a minute or two to get my bearings and call 911. Stayed by her side until the deputy arrived. Not like I could do anything for her anymore, but she seemed like she needed me.”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“No, but I couldn’t miss that car seat. Please don’t tell me there’s a child involved in this. That would be so much worse.”
She couldn’t discuss anything with him. “What about any vehicles in the parking lot? Did you hear anything from up top?”
“No. Nothing. Not unusual for this time of year and especially at this time of night.”
“What about a boat or canoe?”
He shook his head. “Nothing there either.”
“No sound of a motor or no lights out in the lake?” she pressed.
“No. No.”
“And you didn’t touch anything besides the woman?”
“Like I said, I could barely keep it together to call 911, much less think to do anything but wait.”
She fished a business card out of her pocket and handed it to him. “If you think of anything else that might help, please call me immediately.”
He studied her card and looked up. “Does this mean I’m free to go?”
“Yes, thank you for your cooperation. I’ll escort you to the stairway.”
“Let me in.” From the parking lot above, a raw, desperate voice broke through the fog. “I might be able to identify the body!”
Gabe!
El’s chest tightened as he took on a linebacker stance, ready to bulldoze through Ewing, who stood his ground.
“El! Tell him to let me through. I know her! I might be able to identify the body.” Gabe’s tone had gone far beyond someone simply looking for a missing person to a personal loss deeper than she expected.
She had no doubt that if she didn’t intervene, he would break through Ewing’s defense.
“Hurry, El! I think I know who drowned.”
El wouldn’t correct him on the cause of death. No reason to traumatize him until she was certain. And she wouldn’t let him get close enough to see the welts on the woman’s neck for himself. Especially not if she wasn’t his friend, Kenna.
El reached the top of the stairway and caught the anguish on Gabe’s face. His strained expression changed things for her. This was no longer strictly professional. It was personal.
Having worked several investigations with the Lost Lake Locator team, she knew all six team members well. But Gabe? She’d had feelings for him for more than a year, and he felt the same. It didn’t matter. They would never act on it, each for their own reasons.
She lifted the crime scene tape and let Williams and Jinx pass under. “Please call me if you think of anything else.”
Williams gave a quick nod, glanced at Gabe with horror, and raced away, Jinx pulling at the leash to stay behind.
She turned to Gabe. “Mina told me about your potential connection. I’ll walk you down.”
