Page 30 of Lake Hollow Curses

Lala? Carlotta Marlow?

Her high school boyfriend drowned in the lake right where the other drownings happened, she knew the locals, she may have had contact with Ross or Hersch, but…

“I don’t think so. I really wish people would stop trying to pin it on this person and then that person. It’s like a fucking witch hunt. Why is everyone hellbent on finding a connection?” After all this time, if the Sheriff’s office had anything, there would’vebeen an arrest. They are grasping at straws because the Ross family put pressure on them. It’s pointless.

Kami narrows her eyes further at me, pursing her lips. “Like I said, you’re an ass. I just think that maybe Carlotta was responsible, someone found out and then…” She draws a finger across her throat. Has she always been this fucking dramatic?

“If you’re done, can I pass, please? Some of us have work to do.” Grumbling under her breath, she moves.

Pulling my phone out, it takes a few tries to find anything about the medical term she threw out there. I find out that it means a potassium deficiency, a blood level that is below normal in potassium, an important body chemical. The problem can result in fatigue, muscle cramps, and abnormal heart rhythms. Was she thinking he cramped up and drowned?

Whether she was trying to find reasons for the drownings or she had heard something, causing her to ask we’ll never know. I’m tired of the suspicious conjecture. Just fed the fuck up.

Leaving work for the night, I decide to look for Remi downtown. She’s been hard at work on the mural, but I just need to see her, talk to her about whatever has caused her to back off. If I said or did something, I need to know. If I’m this tied in knots over missing her after a few days, how am I going to handle weeks at a time?

I park by the town square, jogging across the street to the side of main street where Hidden Treasures is located. Early evening on this side of town is quiet. There are only a handful of people walking on the sidewalk on both sides of the street. I know even before I reach the alley beside Ceily’s building that Remi isn’tthere. I’m starting back to my truck when I see Keenan leaving Talley’s with a milkshake.

He spots me, stopping abruptly and putting a hand up in the air. “Have mercy. What brings this southside dweller to this part of town? Trying to hunt down a certain bombshell?” In spite of myself I laugh at him.

“I was hoping she’d be around.” I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “It’s been hard to get together.”

Keenan stops near me. “Sooo… heard you were talking to your ex today. Sounded like it was an intense conversation.”

That fucking fast? Christ, Natalie should look into broadcast journalism. “Seriously? She cornered me.” Running my hand through my hair, I feel like unleashing a big roar of frustration. It’s all building up. Remi leaving, the chatter in town, the past peeking over my shoulder, and now rumors about me talking to Kami.

“Her meds definitely are not at the appropriate therapeutic levels,” Keenan jokes leaning against the side of a decorative flowerpot filled with azalea and coppertips. “If it makes you feel any better, Remi didn’t seem to care.”

No. That doesn’t feel better.

I would never play the jealousy game, but she’s not communicating and now she didn’t react to that? I need to see her.

“She left about five minutes ago, her usual route back to The Bends.”

I catch sight of her when I’m walking back to my truck, she’s only a couple blocks away. “Rem?!” I call her name as I run in her direction. She bends down to pick up litter, as I come up behind her. “Remi, hey.” The look of terror on her face when she turns to see me doesn’t fade away as I step closer.

“Honey?”

She ducks her head before looking back up, uncertainty etched across her face. “Remi, what’s wrong?”

Chapter Twenty-one

Remington James

We’re on the edge of downtown, where there may be witnesses, he’s not going to hurt me here. I squeak out, “Oh, hey.”

He steps up to me folding me into his arms pressing me close, but I stay rigid, keeping a loose grip to his T-shirt hem. I fight the tears welling up.

When he steps back, he looks stricken. “If I didn’t know before, I do now. There’s something wrong. What is it?”

Standing here in front of me, it’s even harder to believe he did it. Wearing his Flicks n’ Fun polo, a pair of jeans, the crinkles next to his eyes, the dimples in his cheeks, those light green eyes.MyCal. But that’s just it… the person that did this has gotten away with it, because they’ve covered their tracks. They would be unthreatening, charming.

My smile is weak, when I do my best to sound fine. “I haven’t been sleeping much, worrying about all the things I need to do before I leave.”

His disappointment in my answer only tells me how bad I am at trying to cover up my emotions. “I thought we were past this… you keeping things from me.”

Huh. Me, too.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I try to keep it together, but it’s difficult as hell when he’s right here. “Cal, I’m tired. In a week, I’ll be in Florida… it’s been a lot.” The setting sun feels like a sand timer. I don’t want to be in the dark, with Cal, alone.

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