Page 53 of The Lake of Lost Girls

“The people in Mt. Randall weren’t too happy. One of their local girls was gone and the police couldn’t find her. They needed someone to blame.” Ryan drove past the turnoff to Doll’s Eye Lake. The police tape was still there. I wondered if they’d find anything else.

“And if the town turns against you, there’s no coming back from that,” I filled in.

“I know how it goes. I’m from a small town. too. Actually, I grew up in Leonard’s Creek, which is only thirty milesfrom here and not much bigger than Mt. Randall. I came here a bunch of times as a kid. My grandmother lived right outside of town. She even took me to Doll’s Eye Lake once.”

“Oh really? Have you been there since then?” I raised my eyebrows. I already knew the answer. I had seen the picture of him and Jess there myself.

Just tell me!

“No, only the one time when I was younger,” he answered tersely. I watched the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.

“You’ve never said much about your life. So, you grew up not far from here?” I pushed. The fact that I knew so little about Ryan—that he had given away nothing about himself when he knew so much about me—should’ve been a huge red flag.

Ryan tensed up. “Yeah, I did, but there’s not much to tell, really.”

“Small towns can be hard, right?”

He side-eyed me warily at my probing “Sure are.”

“Everyone always knows everyone else’s business,” I added.

“And they never let you forget a damn thing.”

On some level, I understood. Growing up in Mt. Randall had been hard. I didn’t really remember life before Jess vanished, only life after, and there was no escaping it. I would forever be known as the little sister of Jessica Fadley—the woman who vanished in ten seconds.

I wondered what Ryan was remembered for.

For the first time since meeting Ryan, I was a little afraid. What did I really know about this man?

“I drove out to Doll’s Eye Lake a few weeks ago. It’s been a long time since I’d been there,” I found myself saying, more to fill the uncomfortable silence than anything else.

Talking was easier than thinking about the fact that I was in a car—alone—with him. With this man who I knew was holding things back from me. A man who had lied to me since the day we met.

His brow furrowed and his jaw stiffened. “You shouldn’t have gone there.”

I felt my hands tingle and my heart flutter.

I glanced at his handsome profile cautiously.

I had to believe he was only a liar and nothing more sinister.

But his next comment had me questioning my judgment once again.

“It’s a pretty isolated spot. I’m not surprised Tammy was found there.” He let out a heavy breath which was somewhere between a huff of annoyance and a humorless laugh. “To be honest, I’m surprised she was even found at all.”

It was a strange thing to say. An awful thing, really. Ryan, realizing how it sounded, laughed again, this time with discomfort. “I mean, if you’re going to dump a body, it’s a good place to do it. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I … I guess.” I looked out of the window, my pulse racing.

We lapsed into silence after that. Ryan lost in his thoughts and I lost in mine.

As we drove into Grantville, the town where Sergeant O’Neil lived, I broke the quiet.

“I can’t be out too long or my dad will worry.”

It was meant to be a warning, even if the words themselves weren’t true. Dad wouldn’t worry, but Ryan didn’t know that. It was supposed to be a threat to not try anything because I was a woman that would be missed. I was taken aback by Ryan’s sneer.

“Oh, I’m sure he will.” The words dripped with a sarcasm I didn’t understand.

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