Chapter Nine

Lennon

Authors Note: Happy Sunday! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy reading it :). Fun fact: the photo used for this chapter is one I took this summer at the lake that this story is inspired by! Enjoy the story!

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The colour washed from Brooks’ face and I could feel the panic rising in him from where I stood. I pulled my eyes from his storm blue ones, and surveyed the room again.

Something about the layout of Hailey’s apartment had stuck out to me the first time we’d come through here, but seeing it again was bringing up that feeling again. There was more to this than we were seeing, and the mess of her space confirmed that for me.

Her bathroom, at first glance, had appeared to be a mess, but upon looking at it again, I felt like she’d just been in a hurry to grab essentials and get out of her apartment. 

Brooks had mentioned a shoe box of personal memorabilia that was kept in the now empty hutch.

The sheets had been pulled from the corner of the mattress when she placed this note for someone to find. Part of me wondered if she hadn’t righted them, hopeful it would draw someone’s gaze and lead them to find her note.

My eyes flicked to the clothes all over the place, and I noticed an overturned laundry basket thrown off to the side. Had she just dumped the entire thing out to find whatever she was looking for faster?

All of these pieces coming together hinted that Hailey had left in a hurry, and taken the most important things with her. The broken plant was probably just a casualty to her rush.

Brooks stood frozen in place, and I could feel his eyes on my face, watching me put everything together. His desperation for me to come up with a reasonable explanation coated my skin. I leaned into him, close enough to where I could smell his cologne, and read the note again.

If I end up dead, Matt did it.

Something about her wording stuck with me. If I end up dead.

A cold feeling spread through my gut. What the hell had Hailey gotten herself into? Who was Matt? Was this related to her addiction? Did this have something to do with Alicia? What were the chances that she left in a hurry, hadn’t been seen or heard from in days, and one of her best friends was dead.

On the other side of that, something about Cadence’s hesitancy to talk to me was rubbing me the wrong way. Did she know something?

A bigger picture was forming in my head, but I didn’t have all of the pieces just yet. It was almost as if she’d eaten a normal breakfast, set her dishes in the sink, and then received a call that sent her into a frenzied panic to leave her apartment. Her keys, phone, wallet and personal items were missing, and from the way her clothes were thrown around the room, I’d bet she was packing a bag and searching for specific items. The neighbour had even said she’d heard the door slam, as if Hailey was in so much of a hurry, her panic hadn’t allowed her to slow down.

Hailey had left this apartment with a mission, but whether it was to get away from someone, or to go to someone's aid, I wasn’t entirely sure.

“Brooks, I don’t think there was a struggle,” I said, my mind still working through it. He listened silently as I explained my thoughts. “Obviously I don’t know for sure, but all of the signs are pointing to her having left in a hurry. I think we need to talk to Cadence. If anyone knows who this Matt guy is, it would be her.”

He nodded in agreement, “I’ll call her.”

Brooks pulled out his phone, and I stepped from the room, backtracking to the living room. I scanned the room again, and my eyes caught on a photo on the mantle that I hadn’t noticed before. Heart beating in my chest, I crept over to it and stared in confusion.

It was the Lake Lunelle Summer Camp photo from 2002. I’d seen this exact photo in Mrs. Shaw’s cabin days ago. I easily picked myself out, along with Travis and Nelly Shaw. With the context of being in Hailey’s apartment, I examined the photo with a sharper eye.

Tucked in to Nelly’s embrace, was that same dark haired girl that I’d forgotten the name of. Now, it came to me easily. Her eyes had shadows under them, even though she couldn’t have been older than eight years old. As a child, I remembered some of the older children her age teasing her about her dirty clothes, but looking at her now as an adult, my heart hurt for her. Alicia’s hair hung limply around her face, and the solemn look I’d noticed earlier spoke to me now. Her cheeks were gaunt, her limbs thinner than they should’ve been. The girl looked like she’d been neglected. 

The coldness I’d felt earlier spread into my ribcage. I’d been at the same summer camp as a girl who was now dead. My investigation had helped her be identified.

But why would Hailey have an old summer camp photo of Alicia?

Brooks came up beside me and glanced at the photo. “What are you looking at?”

I cleared the lump from my throat and pointed at the small blonde five year old, “That’s me.”

He looked at me in surprise. “No way, really?”

“And that’s Alicia,” I added, pointing to her. “Why does your sister have this photo?”

He lifted his hand and pointed to another girl, one I had next to no memory of, laying on her side with her head resting on her fist, as she posed on the grass in front of the gathered children. “That’s Hailey. I was supposed to be there too that summer, but I got sick and didn’t go. Hailey caught it a week later and she didn’t finish at camp.”

That explained why I didn’t remember her. She would’ve been three years older than me, and had only attended a week of camp. My mouth went dry as my eyes flicked from face to face, wondering who else was going to jump out at me. These girls had been a part of my community.

The realization hit a little too close to home. We grew up in the same place, went to summer camp at the lake I now lived at, and frequented the same towns.

I wondered if they also went to get ice cream with their families at the diner. Did I swim with them at the dock when I was a child, my mind having now forgotten their faces?

I’d somehow never run into them in my adult life, that I remembered, anyway, but Travis had known them as a child, too. They’d been honorary members of Lake Lunelle that summer. Did he not recognize Hailey when her brother had come in to report her missing? Had nobody reported Alicia missing? Sure, she’d likely died in Fort Havre, but I had no clue where she’d actually been living when she’d passed. What the hell was going on in my community? Two girls were missing, and at least one of them was dead.

I’d always prided myself in being an active member of the community, but did I even know this place as well as I thought I did?

A warm, large hand spread over my upper back and pulled me out of the trance I’d been in. “Are you okay?”

I turned my face towards him, realizing with a jolt that he was comforting me, and it should be the other way around. He’d pulled me into a hug shortly after we arrived, and once I’d gotten past my momentary panic that we were crossing a line, I’d relaxed into him. The sound of his heartbeat in my ear had been grounding, and I longed to be pulled back against his chest again.

Instead, I nodded. “Yes. Are you?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It might be that this is the third upsetting thing we’ve found and I’m past the point of being shocked, or maybe I just can’t possibly hold more worry in my body right now, but I don’t feel as shaken up as I expected to. Your observations made me feel better. I think Hailey fled something, but at least now we have a name.”

The drive back to Lake Lunelle felt different this time. I was in Brooks’ car again, and his phone was plugged into the aux cord, playing music that I was surprised I knew. I liked his music taste—and most things about him, I was coming to realize. His playlist matched what I’d imagined the city boy living in the prairies to like––predominantly country, with classic rock and pop sprinkled in.

Chris Stapleton’s voice filled the car, and I found myself watching the landscape change as we approached the lake. Soon enough, the wheat fields were behind us, and the grassy hills straddled the highway. Pieces of the asphalt were broken off in some spots, and Brooks drove around potholes that had been in the road as long as I’d been alive.

We’d left Hailey’s apartment shortly after I saw the photo and realized I’d known Alicia and Hailey, even if it was only for a very small amount of time. I couldn’t exactly blame my kindergarten brain for not remembering them, but it still felt like a betrayal. 

It felt like I’d been another person to fail them by forgetting their faces.

I was usually pretty good about remaining logical and separate from my cases, but I could feel this one sinking its claws into me slowly. 

Brooks told me that Cadence had been hesitant, but she’d agreed to meet us in Fort Havre tomorrow, before our appointment at the treatment centre. Her only request had been that she come to Brooks’ apartment, which had seemed odd to me, but he didn’t seem to think anything of it. I couldn’t help but wonder if she didn’t want to be seen with us in public. Did that have anything to do with the death and disappearance of her closest friends?

Did Cadence know what made Hailey flee her home? Was I reaching for a puzzle piece that wasn’t there?

It was just the theory I was running with, and I knew I couldn’t stick to it forever without more evidence, but something in my gut told me I was on the right track. Having been in this field for the last few years, I’d learned to trust that. I owed it to them to get to the bottom of this. The girls might’ve been lost, but they wouldn’t stay that way.

We’d given Alicia her identity back and helped her be laid to rest, and I wasn’t sure if Brooks’ desperate optimism was rubbing off on me, but part of me truly believed we would find Hailey alive. I wouldn’t leave him alone in that hope. I couldn’t.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my pocket to find a text from Nora.

Nora: So what the hell did you mean when you said “other conversation”??? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Tell me, or I’ll show up at your place later and grill you.

I groaned, earning a sideways look from Brooks. “Are you okay? I can change the music if you want.”

Shania Twain was playing––a song that was coincidentally Nora’s karaoke favourite. It’s like she was haunting me through Brooks’ playlist now, demanding steamy answers that I didn’t have.

My cheeks grew hot. “No, I’m enjoying the music, actually. It’s just a text I got from Nora.”

“Ah, I understand.” He chuckled, and I felt my face go even redder. 

I was fairly confident he knew exactly what Nora was asking me, based on the conversation in the diner, but when I glanced at him there was a smug, pleased look on his face. Was he enjoying the fact that my friend was making her wishes clear? I felt hot all over at the thought of him being into that. I’d just assumed it wasn’t something he’d even thought about, but something about the way he was trying not to grin told a different story.

Attempting to hide a small smile of my own, I texted Nora back.

Me: You’re impossible.

Nora: True, but you love me. Dish!

Me: Fine. There was a hand holding moment in an elevator, and it was a really tense moment so it wasn’t weird or anything, but he apologized after.

Nora: WHAT

I snorted, imagining her face.

Me: It wasn’t anything racy Nor. I told him not to apologize and that if he ever did anything to make me uncomfortable, I’d let him know. He said the same because I was trying to be supportive and apparently I can’t keep my hands to myself.

Nora: CAN’T KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF????????

Me: Omg Nora, not like that. I just touched his back when he was on the verge of breaking down

Nora: This is so steamy. I can’t wait until you guys fall in love.

I blinked in surprise at my phone. She knew me, so my attraction to him wouldn’t come as a shock to her, considering he was my type, but that was entirely one-sided. He was worried over Hailey, and I’m sure there was no room in his concern for any feelings about me of all people. I’d bet there was a tall, gorgeous journalist at work or something that he had a thing for. 

Shaking off the thought, I wrote back.

Me: You’re getting ahead of yourself. I’m doing a job, that’s it.

Nora: But you like him, right?

Did I? Generally speaking, yes. He was kind and caring and seemed like he was good to the people around him. He also was easy on the eyes, that's for sure. My traitorous mind wandered back to that hug we’d shared, and I felt hot all over again, remembering how the warmth of his hands sank into my back. 

Nora: I’m taking the delay as a yes, and that you’re just now catching up to where I’ve been. Your babies will be so beautiful. I’m going to spoil them rotten. I hope Brooks has dental benefits with his job. I’m talking LOTS of cavities.

I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop from barking out a laugh, and furiously typed with my other hand, hoping Brooks hadn’t noticed.

Me: Stop. I’m going to cackle and he’s going to know you’re being weird about it.

Nora: Oh, I’m about to get SO WEIRD about it!!!

Me: Nora. A one sided… awareness of the attractiveness of my client is a) inappropriate and b) not going to result in babies for you to spoil.

Nora: Being inappropriate is so fun though. I bet it would be even more fun with him.

A GIF of someone wiggling their eyebrows popped up in the chat, and I rolled my eyes. No way was I letting my brain go there. 

It would never leave.

Before I could send one back, she sent another text.

Nora: I saw his face Len. It’s not a one sided thing.

My heart beat faster in my chest, and if I wasn’t already red enough, I felt fresh blood rush over my shoulders and chest. What the hell was she talking about?

“Lennon?”

“What!” I gasped, staring at him with wide eyes and pressing my phone to my chest, praying he hadn’t seen my texts.

He gave me a funny look, and after a moment, his smile from earlier returned. The dimple appeared, and I contemplated opening the car door and throwing myself out of it.

“I just asked if this is the turn I need up here,” he explained.

Forcing my brain to get back on track, I nodded. “Yes, sorry, I’m not being the best co-pilot.”

“Don’t be silly. You like my music––you’re the best co-pilot I’ve had in a while,” Brooks said with a heart stopping grin.

I directed him the rest of the way, enjoying his comments on how beautiful it was in this area of the regional park. As we turned off the main road, and drove the last few kilometres towards my lakeside community, I couldn’t help but think about how long it’d been since someone else I knew was staying at the lake.

My dad had come by yesterday, tinkered with the sink––that definitely didn’t have the leak that he said it did––before he left an hour later.

Obviously I knew the neighbours, but that felt different than what I had with Brooks. He wasn’t quite a friend, but he was more than just a client or an acquaintance, too.

Nora came to visit occasionally, and had surprisingly not come to force me into making a dating app profile like she’d threatened the night I finished my surveillance with Ben Bradford. I was fairly confident it had everything to do with her investment in this non-relationship with Brooks.

If it meant I didn’t have to make a Tinder profile, I’d happily allow her to continue on with her delusions.

“This is the campsite up here, if you want to pull in. I booked cabin three for you,” I said.

He frowned, “I can drive you to your place first.” 

“Oh, that’s okay. It’s a close walk, and I have to check in on a residence before I go home anyway.”

I hoped it didn’t come off like I wanted to get away from him, but I was suddenly more aware of his presence, and being in a confined space with him was making me feel hot all over. All I could smell was him, and it was taking everything in me not to lean into it.

He must have one of those colognes with the pheromones in it or something because he smelled divine.

The car rolled to the stop beside cabin three, and we hopped out. It was an A-frame cabin with a blue roof, and had been built by the same contractor who’d built mine. They looked almost identical, if not for the metal house number nailed into the wood next to the front door.

Following my lead, Brooks grabbed his overnight bag from the backseat, and we climbed the front steps. I reached for the lock box, bending to enter the passcode I’d been sent to retrieve the key, when the front door opened.

“Oh!” a voice exclaimed, startling me so badly I nearly jumped out of my skin as I backpedaled into Brooks.

I stared at the woman exiting the cabin in confusion, noting the red bikini poking out of her white t-shirt. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and a Marc Jacobs tote bag was slung over one freckled arm. She looked to be in her mid forties, but her fake tan and lip filler indicated she didn’t want people to perceive her that way.

Good for her.

Brooks seemed to recover before I did, and he placed a gentle hand at the small of my back. 

“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, using that polite tone of voice he reserved for strangers. Part of my brain got caught in the realization that he spoke to me differently now.

I watched as she looked him up and down, her body language shifting from surprised to interested. Something inside me shrivelled at the way she eyed him, and without thinking about it, I leaned into him slightly. Immediately, his fingers curled in the fabric of my shirt, as if to hold me there.

I loved it.

What the hell was wrong with me.

“It’s alright, sugar,” she crooned, batting her eyelashes at him. “Can I help you?”

He leaned back to check the number of the cabin again, his fingers drawing me with him. “I believe that I’m booked in for this cabin tonight.”

She frowned and pulled her phone out of her bag. Momentarily, she had her email reservation pulled up, and turned her phone so we could see it. She was definitely booked for the same cabin I’d reserved for Brooks. Wondering if I’d somehow booked the wrong day or gotten the cabins mixed up, I pulled my own phone out and found the same email the woman was showing me.

“Is it both of you?” the woman asked, her eyes raking up and down his body again, as if I wasn’t standing right there.

I felt him shake his head from behind me, “No, just me.”

She perked up instantly at that. 

“Well, that’s alright! There are two beds, I’m sure you can use one of them. People around here are known for their hospitality aren’t they? I don’t mind one bit.” She paused, bringing a manicured nail to her plump bottom lip. “So long as you don’t care that I sleep naked.”

An awful noise left me––half-snort and half-laugh––that quickly turned into a cough as I tried to conceal it.

I couldn’t see Brooks, so I didn’t know if he gaped at her the way I wanted to. She’d just invited a stranger to sleep in a cabin with her. Had she never listened to a single true crime podcast in her life? Sure, Brooks was hot and didn’t give off serial killer vibes, but that seemed straight up reckless.

Sensing that the towering shadow behind me did not want to take her up on her offer, I cut in. 

“No, that’s alright. Thank you though! I’ll head to the office and see if they can give me some insight as to what went wrong with the booking system.”

“You sure?” Her voice had turned into a purr now, and I was fairly sure I felt Brooks cringing beside me.

“Positive,” I said. “I’m a resident here. He can just stay with me if there are no vacancies.”

We somehow managed to excuse ourselves from the woman, and beelined it back to Brooks’ car. The second we were inside, we burst into horrified laughter—the kind that left tears in your eyes and had your ribs aching.

“Oh my god,” I said breathlessly, “that woman wanted to eat you alive!”

He looked equal parts terrified and amused as he backed his car up and drove to the office I’d pointed out on the way in. “Thank god you were there, I had no clue what I was supposed to say!”

It took all of two minutes with Eddie––the teenager working inside the office––to realize that their system was making all sorts of errors this week. This wasn’t the first time the cabins had been double booked, but he refunded me easily enough and offered me a free stay at another time. I didn’t have much need for it, but I took him up on it anyway. With no other choice, aside from driving all the way back to either Elmwood or Fort Havre, Brooks agreed that sleeping on my couch was the best option.

And just like that, I’d gone from trying to get away from a man who made me feel things I shouldn’t, to inviting him to stay in my very small cabin for the night.