Page 1 of The Lake of Lost Girls

CHAPTER1

LINDSEY

Two weeks ago

MY STOMACH DROPPEDto the floor as my eyes took in the image on my phone screen. My mouth went dry and my palms began to sweat as the blurry words came into focus. Mom and Dad noticed the shift in me right away.

“What is it? You look like you’re going to be sick,” Dad asked, glancing up distractedly, his attention mostly on the latest edition of Car and Driver magazine he’d been reading.

“Lindsey-Bug, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me. Are you coming down with something? I can make you a doctor’s appointment.” Mom put the back of her hand against my forehead to check for a temperature.

She peered over my shoulder at my phone, seeing what had caused my reaction. The picture was of woods being cordoned off, the glistening water of a large lake in the background. People in white coveralls all the way up over their heads lugging bags from vans, masks obscuring their faces.

“Is that where I think it is?” she whispered, bracing herself on the back of my chair.

I glanced back at her and nodded.

“What is it, Cara?” my father asked, finally closing his magazine and giving us his full attention for the first time. He took in our horrified faces before taking the phone from my shaking hands. “What is this? Is this right now?” he demanded, his expression morphing from polite disinterest to terrified.

I took a calming breath, feeling my stomach knot up. I gently took my phone back and scrolled down to the text. “It says they found human remains yesterday morning. They appear to have been there awhile, though they won’t know for sure until they’re tested.”

“At Doll’s Eye Lake?” Mom’s voice was tiny.

“At Doll’s Eye Lake,” I confirmed.

“Is it her?” Her words quavered and I knew she was holding in twenty-four years worth of tears.

“I don’t know, Mom.” I sounded hollow.

“What the goddamn hell?” my dad suddenly roared. “Why weren’t we told this was happening? Why didn’t they call us?” His anger was justified and completely understandable. Why hadn’t we been prepared for the news? Had no one thought that the family should have been notified before the press got ahold of it?

“They don’t know who it is.” I continued to read, my eyes skimming the article quickly. “But they do mention Jess. The police haven’t released a statement yet.”

Dad had his phone pressed to his ear and I heard him demanding to speak to someone.

“Put me through to whoever’s in charge of the shit show happening at Doll’s Eye Lake!” My father yelled into the phone.

Mom gripped my shoulder so tightly I winced. “Is it her?” she repeated, sounding like a little girl, lost and terrified. “Is it my baby?” Her eyes brimmed with tears as she stared down at the image on my phone.

I put my hand over hers. “I don’t know, Mom,” I repeated.

I tried to swallow around the lump in my throat.

“I don’t know.”

Present Day

The Bronze Monarch Hotel lobby was busy. It usually was on Monday mornings with guests checking in and out after the weekend, with the constant turnstile of visitors revolving endlessly.

I left Pete and Marnie, my two front desk clerks, to it. They were more than capable of handling the rush. I headed to my office, closing the door behind me.

I felt muted today. Like my head was underwater and the world was muffled. Just the soft echo of voices and my steady heartbeat to fill my head. But I preferred the absence of feeling to the barrage of emotion I had been overwhelmed with sincethat momenttwo weeks ago. I knew I needed to pull myself together; Mom and Dad needed me. But some days were harder than others.

My parents and I had been waiting for twenty-four long years to find out what happened to my sister. After so much time, I was hoping my parents could finally come to terms with the loss. That we could close that ugly chapter instead of constantly waiting for her to walk back through the door as if nothing had happened.

Perhaps now, I would have a chance to relinquish some of the guilt I felt for being the last person to see her.

I leaned against my desk, gripping the edge, as I stared down at the floor. It was hard to concentrate on anything butJess.Or Jessie, as I used to call her. My beautiful, smart, impossible-to-live-up-to sister. A stranger I loved and longed for more than I could sometimes bear.

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