Page 6 of Lake House Killer

Nikki Knight is a touch older than me if I had to guess, shorter by three inches, with pale skin that burns in the shade and crimson locks that she often wears piled haphazardly on top of her head.

She lives in yoga wear, eats an inhuman amount of pizza and donuts—mostly because Jack keeps plying us with it—and she can hack her way into the Kremlin with nothing more than a flick of her fingers.

Nikki worked in cybersecurity before she made her way to the FBI. And Jack was a detective before he took the federal plunge.

We make our way directly to the situation room, a stark, clinically white space dominated by a long, slender table surrounded by high-backed chairs. At the far end, our SAC, Special Agent in Charge, Grant Hale stands with his back to us, studying the large screens already lit up with a display of various data points and maps.

“You made it.” He turns around with a frown. Hale is tall with a paunch belly and bald with a fair amount of gray stubble on his cheeks. He has a serious demeanor and a dry sense of humor and has been nothing but welcoming to me.

Buddy’s nails click-clack on the tiled floor as he takes a seat along with us and he manages to garner a half-amused smile from Hale.

“Again with the dog, Baxter?” Hale tips his head as he repositions his laptop screen so he can better see it as he stands at the helm of the table. “Do we need to get him a badge at this point?”

“Might as well,” Jack says, giving Buddy a quick pat on the head. “He’s probably sniffed out more leads than half the rookies.”

“Aww,” Nikki coos. “Just make sure his badge is as shiny as his coat.”

“How about a weapon?” Jack teases.

“Please,” I say as I pull out my laptop, as do Nikki and Jack, ready and set to take notes if need be. “I sleep with the guy. Believe me when I say, his body is already weaponized.”

“That’s because of what you’re feeding him.” Jack shakes his head at the thought. “You need to let me buy his food.”

“Says the man who just fed him a slice of pizza,” I counter.

“He likes pizza.” Jack gives a little wink my way as he says it and my stomach cinches.

There go my hormones misfiring again and I do not approve one bit.

I turn to Hale. “How many dead, how many kidnapped?” The message he sent said two dead, one injured, one missing from the scene. “Any updates?”

“All right, let’s get down to business,” Hale begins as he shifts to a more serious demeanor. “We’ve got a complicated situation out at Sugar Pine Lake. Early this morning, local law enforcement received a distress call from a cabin—two dead, one injured, and one missing.” He nods my way. “We’re still keeping tabs, Baxter. Thank you for caring.”

Jack shoots me a half-smile. And seeing that Jack Stone’s smiles are very hard won, I consider it a win indeed.

“The cabin belongs to Damien and Lydia Cole.” Hale points to the screen where a drone image of a secluded cabin surrounded by dense forest is displayed. “He’s a known thriller writer, and his wife is a writer as well. Not sure what genre. No children between them. Word is, they were hosting another couple that was in the area for the Sugar Pine Thriller Fest which starts next week. Damien woke up this morning after sustaining some sort of head trauma. He found his friends dead and his wife missing. He also sustained a gunshot wound to his hand.”

“Brutal,” Nikki growls at the thought.

“Brutal indeed.” Hale sighs. “The deceased are Cornwall and Cynthia Beck. Both are mystery writers as well. Their adult children were notified. All are out of state. As for our victims, I’m guessing all four have significant digital footprints we can delve into.”

Jack grunts, “Any leads on the missing wife or the motive?”

Hale switches to another slide, which shows a photo of the scene and a list of initial findings.

“Not much to go on yet. The scene was chaotic with signs of a struggle but no clear forensic leads. The local sheriff’s department has secured the area, and CSI and forensics are at the scene. The coroner’s office is taking its time with this one, so my guess is the bodies will still be on site if we leave now. We’re coordinating with the sheriff’s department for a deep dive.”

I glance over at Nikki, who’s already busy jotting down notes.

“We need to look into their backgrounds, any recent threats or unusual interactions they’ve had,” I say.

“Agree, and already going there,” she says as her fingers click away at the keyboard.

“Exactly.” Hale taps his keyboard lightly. “Baxter, Stone, I want you to get to Sugar Pine Lake. Start with talking to the neighbors and any family members you can reach. Nikki, dig into their digital footprints, see what the Coles and their guests have been up to these past few months. Whoever did this had a mission. You don’t take a captive on a whim.”

The briefing wraps up and we quickly gather our things.

Jack nods toward Buddy, who’s already up on all fours with his tail wagging. “Think he’s ready for field duty? Maybe he should lead the investigation?” he says as he picks up the leash.

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