Diamond Lake Series: Complete Series (Bks 1-7) Boxset

by T. K. Chapin

  “Who was the guy who got hit with the crutch?”

  Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. He’s a guy who comes in here once in a while. He has a Harley and is always wearing black leather. Oh, he has a shaved head also.”

  The description matched a local I had seen in the diner a few times in the past, but I didn’t know his name. “Okay, thanks.”

  A knock came from the back door, and Jack said, “That’s my beer guy. Let me know if you need any other information. I’m glad to help. Hunter fought for this country, and I don’t really see him going that far.” He took off and went to the side door to let the guy in. Sipping on my soda, I thought about the Harley guy. Could he be mad enough to frame Hunter? Shaking away the thought, I continued to drink my soda for a little while longer. My phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Miley Lancaster?” a woman’s flat voice asked.

  Ugh, I thought, hanging up. I knew the voice. It was the doctor’s office billing department, calling about the bill I hadn’t paid. Usually, I’m not so rude to hang up, but I just couldn’t deal with it right now. Thinking of the management job, I felt an overwhelming desire to agree to it. I didn’t want to, but I felt like the walls were closing in and my oxygen levels were depleting. Without a single phone call from any of the applications I turned in, I was leaning toward taking the manager job. Taking another drink of my soda, I walked out of Jack’s tavern and called on a few of the applications I had submitted. Nobody was available to chat, and when the doctor’s office called a second time, I ignored it. Dangling my own future and Hunter’s in my mind, I knew what I had to do.

  Arriving at the Inn at the Lake, I hurried my steps up to the door before I could change my mind. Snow crunched beneath my feet as I arrived at the door. My insides felt tight, unwilling to loosen. If agreeing to the management job was the right thing to do, why’d it feel so wrong? Doubt started to edge in. I knocked and took a step back. Everything will be fine. You’ll enjoy the job and you can go to school later. I shrugged. Yeah, later. Trying to convince myself school was still a possibility down the line was the only way I could do it. I have to pay bills today, be an adult today. School can be done at any time, Miley. Anytime. Serenah answered the door.

  “Miley,” she said, smiling. We hugged. Her warm embrace brought me comfort, settling my nerves that were rattling inside me like a back and forth game of tennis.

  “Someone broke into my apartment this morning . . .” I pushed out, neglecting the actual reason I came out.

  Gently pushing me back, her eyes widened. “What on earth? Did you go to the police?”

  “I did,” I replied, quieting my voice. I knew Serenah wouldn’t approve of me helping Hunter the way I had today, so I kept that piece quiet. We went inside, and before we could make it into the living room, I grabbed her arm. “I want the job.”

  “Really?” she said, turning around to me and smiling. Her eyes caught my straight-faced expression. “You don’t seem very happy about it.” We continued into the living room and sat down.

  “I’m drowning in debt and need it.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “I don’t want you to get your head above water and just quit on me, Miley. I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in that.”

  “I won’t.” It’d be tempting to do that, but I wouldn’t do that to her. Serenah was my friend. I couldn’t. “I really want the job. I won’t let you down, and I won’t quit.”

  “And what about your dreams?” she asked, crossing a leg.

  “I’ll put them on hold . . .” My voice softened as reality mingled with my words. “Or not do it at all. I don’t know what the future holds.”

  “Dreams are there for a reason. Don’t give them up yet. You’re still young.”

  “Twenty-eight?” I laughed. “I guess I didn’t get that memo that almost thirty is young.”

  “God has a plan for your life, Miley. Twenty-eight is young.”

  A knock came from the front door, and Serenah got up. Straightening her shirt out, she continued into the foyer. Listening in, I heard Brody’s voice as the door opened. “Can I speak with Miley?”

  Ugh. What’s he doing here? I wondered. My throat tightened and worry soared. Someone told him I was down at the police station. Ugh, Newport is too small. Getting up, I hurried into the kitchen and got a drink of water. Serenah and Brody walked in as I finished drinking it and placed the cup into the sink.

  “Hey, Miley.”

  “Hello, Brody.” Resting my hands on the counter behind my back, I raised my eyebrows as my muscles tensed. “What’s going on?”

  “Can I talk to you out front?” he asked.

  Almost saying no, I decided it was best to agree. I didn’t want him saying anything about my helping Hunter in front of Serenah. “Sure.”

  Outside, after he closed the door behind us, he looked directly at me. “You can’t be seeing Hunter.”

  “Excuse me?” I replied. “We broke up. I haven’t seen you in . . . what, three months? And that was because you didn’t know I was going to be in the diner that day? You don’t—”

  “He’s a bad guy, Miley.” He stepped closer, his eyebrows furrowing. “Have you seen his rap sheet? It’s a mile long, and assault and batteries run all the way down it.” Becoming conscious of my wrist, I went to hide it, but it was too late. Brody’s eyes caught a glimpse. “He’s already hurt you?” Brody shook his head and looked down at the thin sheet of ice that had pellets of salt melted into it. His voice quieted as he continued, “Looks like you’re already in deep with this guy.”

  “It’s not like that. He’s innocent, Brody.”

  He shook his head and looked at me. “No, he’s not. Kent Hammer and Hunter got in a fight down at Tom’s Hardware just the other week. Please, just stay away from him, Miley.” Brody’s eyes pleaded along with his lips. He wouldn’t have come and found me out at Serenah’s if he didn’t think it was true. He wasn’t the type of guy who would go out of his way if he didn’t find an issue serious, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe him.

  Glancing over at the police cruiser in the driveway, I felt that gnawing feeling in my stomach. The gut instinct told me Hunter still didn’t do it. I looked at Brody. “Thanks for the heads up, Brody. Can I go back to spending time with my friend now, officer?”

  His eyes bounced over to the door behind me and then to me again. His hand touched the side of my arm and he looked me in the eyes. “Take care of yourself, Miley.”

  Turning, he walked down the driveway. I went inside.

  “What was that about?” Serenah asked as I got back into the living room.

  “He just wanted to warn me about Hunter.” Walking over to the couch, I sat down beside Serenah. “He has a rap sheet, I guess.”

  “How did he even know about Hunter and you?” Serenah asked. “Oh, the break-in. Wait, why would that matter? It’s not about Hunter.”

  Confusion littered her face as she looked to be lost at sea. She thought, assumed, I wouldn’t have anything to do with Hunter after he hurt me and we had our little talk.

  “I went and saw him again when he got released for that brief moment. He thinks he is being set up, and I’m trying to . . .” My words fell flat as I saw her eyes turn away and look into a blank stare. She was upset, I could tell. Probably worried too. I didn’t know what to do or what to say. Standing up, I was about to leave when Serenah cleared her throat and stood up with me.

  Walking over to me, she put her hands on my shoulders, and her eyes were glistening now. Her voice was raspy and carried an obligatory tone to it, lacking the usual energy and joy. “Please stay here. I don’t have any guests here tonight, and I know you can’t be excited to rush home to that apartment. I know what living alone is like, and I couldn’t imagine someone breaking in. You have to be scared.”

  “Yes. Thank you.” Giving her a hug, and she wrapped her arms around me and began to cry.

  “I’m so worried about you, Miley. This guy isn’t
good. I fear what will happen.”

  “You tell me all the time not to worry. Turn it over to God. He’s innocent, Serenah. Innocent. I have to do right by him and help.”

  She pulled away and wiped her eyes. “You’re right about not worrying, but sometimes, I can’t help it.” She forced a smile and said, “You’re right to do good by Hunter if he’s innocent. I was in the wrong.”

  Serenah had a moment of weakness, something I wasn’t accustomed to seeing in her, but I feel it deepened my relationship with her. I knew she wasn’t perfect now, and I hate to admit it, but it made me feel better about my own shortcomings. Seeing her broken up a little wasn’t just seeing a woman in tears. It was seeing her humanity, seeing that she was just like the rest of us—a little broken, but mended together by God’s bandages of love.

  After we had talked a while more, she led me to a room downstairs and told me she’d call her lawyer in the morning to make sure everything was good to go on the legal side. As she quietly shut the door to my room, I almost immediately let all my strength go out from me as I fell onto the bed, king-size and more comfortable than the broken box spring and twenty-year-old mattress I had at home. I was in heaven. For a moment, I couldn’t stop smiling as I felt safe and out of the watchful eye of whoever broke into my apartment. Hunter’s freedom would have to wait as exhaustion had its way with me. My eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 9

  Blinking my eyes open the next day, I forgot for a moment where I was. My body was relaxed, my back not hurting from misaligned springs in my mattress, and I thought for a second that maybe I had passed away and this was Heaven. It could have fooled me. Reality crashed into the room as I heard a notification beep on my phone on the nightstand nearby. Reaching over, I let out a sigh and pulled my phone over to me. I turned on the screen to see a text message from Serenah.

  Serenah: I went to town to give a signature to the lawyer. I’ll be back later. Help yourself to the fruit in the bowl on the island countertop or anything else you can find. Feel free to stay another night, as you know it is our slow season and the room would be empty anyways. Love you. ~ S

  Smiling, I replied and said I’d not be staying another night. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. After a hot shower and a few pieces of fruit, I headed back to Newport to visit Hunter in jail before I headed over to Tom’s Hardware. I wanted to ask him why he never mentioned the argument with the man who had been murdered. Had he figured it wasn’t important? A confrontation between him and the now dead guy? I had connected the dots yesterday evening when Brody said it, but between the bloodied knife and the argument with Kent the week prior, things weren’t looking good for Hunter at all. Praying on my way into Newport, I felt a knot twisting in my chest as I felt Hunter was working against himself more than he was working for himself and his freedom. If he wasn’t going to care about it, I wasn’t going to either.

  When I arrived at the jail and signed in, I waited for over an hour. Then Henry Forbes, whom I had spoken to at the precinct, came walking through the jail’s front doors. Covering my brow with a hand, I tried to shield myself from his eyes, but he looked to have come for me. He walked directly over to me once he saw me.

  “Why did you come here?” he asked.

  Looking up into his eyes, I raised my eyebrows. “Isn’t that obvious?”

  “I’m going to need you to come with me. The detectives on this case have some questions for you.”

  “You their lackey or something?” Glancing at the door I had gone through yesterday to see Hunter, I shook my head. “I don’t want to go. I just want to see Hunter.”

  “Don’t make this more complicated than it has to be. They’re already annoyed you didn’t answer last night when they came by your place to question you.”

  A tremble began to shake my core. They were at my apartment last night? I didn’t like that, not one bit. My privacy had already been invaded to the max with the break-in. “I wasn’t home. After the break-in, a friend offered to let me stay with her.”

  “Okay. Well, just come answer their questions and they’ll release you and you can come back if you feel so inclined. Otherwise, they’ll force it and it won’t be pretty for you.” He motioned with a hand and turned as if I should get up and go with him.

  Resisting questioning could only hurt Hunter. I didn’t want that. Standing, I went with him and we left the jail, heading down the block toward the precinct. He walked with his hands in his pockets, his eyes tracing the snow bank along the edge. He didn’t look comfortable.

  “You tell Cynthia what happened with me?” I asked, glancing over at him.

  He shook his head. “It’s work. I attempt to keep them separate as much as possible. Why?”

  “Just wondering.” Relief washed over me at his words. I had been confident he’d divulge to his wife that I had stayed the night at Hunter’s house, but he didn’t. Those preconceived notions about church-goers weren’t nice of me, but they were built upon the experiences growing up, partially ingrained into my existence like at the jail yesterday. Church growing up was drama in every family, and Sunday and Wednesday nights were more likened to gossip fests than church service. Everybody knew everybody’s business. It was sickening, disgusting, and probably why I spent a great spell away from church until I met Serenah. “Thank you for not sharing that.”

  He didn’t say anything and just looked further down the sidewalk. He seemed to be in his thoughts, somewhere else altogether. Maybe a different case, perhaps something else. There was no way of knowing. Henry and I walked the last block in silence and right up to the steps of the police station. He opened the door and held it open for me, then led me down the hallway to a door. Opening it, he let me go inside first.

  “Detective Brown will be in shortly. Have a seat.” Flashing me a curt nod, he shut the door.

  A metal table and a couple of chairs sat in the middle of the room. The one-way glass was on the far side. It looked just like it did in the movies. Taking a deep breath, I expelled the air in my lungs and sat down. Questions circled my mind about Hunter. The dispute in the hardware store, the guy he upset at the bar, and that’s not even considering the neighbor who hated him. Toss in the long rap sheet that tainted his history, and it wasn’t looking good. Not at all. But I was there. He couldn’t have done it, I reminded myself. I was there the night of the murder—or the morning of it. My mind jumped to his knife being the one they found at the lake. It was the icing on the calorie-packed cake. He was going to be convicted if my testimony didn’t hold up.

  The door opened, and in walked a man in a suit and behind him, a woman. The man was middle-aged and the woman a bit younger. They both carried expressions devoid of any sort of emotion. The man sat down across from me with a file folder of papers. He opened it up, exposing a glimpse of the body, and I squirmed, looking away.

  “Sorry,” he said, looking up for a moment. “I’m Detective Brown. This is my colleague, Detective Barnes. So, you know why you’re here, right, Miley?”

  “It’s about Hunter.”

  He shrugged. “It’s about Kent Hammer being murdered. You informed Officer Forbes that you were with Mr. Bowman on the night of the incident. Can you tell me exactly what that night entailed?”

  “Sure.” I adjusted in my seat and began recounting the events. When I said he picked out a chick flick, I made eye contact with Detective Barnes and I smiled, but she had zero expression on her face. It was cold, like the walk down from the jail to talk to them. “Then he fell asleep, and I did also.”

  “How were you positioned on the couch?” Brown asked.

  I laughed and shook my head.

  “Is something funny to you?” Detective Barnes asked, leaning across the table as she steadied her hands on top of it.

  Shaking my head, I took a gulp. “Lying on his chest. Like a lean . . .”

  Brown nodded. “Do you know why Mr. Bowman would fail to provide us with this information?”

  “Yes. It’s be
cause he feared me getting involved.”

  He again nodded, and zero emotions leaked from his expression. “When confronted about your presence there and the statement you provided, he relayed the same story you have. I only have a few more questions for you. When you were at Mr. Bowman’s residence on the night of January the ninth, morning of the tenth, did he give you anything to eat or drink?”

  “I believe we had a cup of tea. Why?”

  He didn’t reply, just jotted something down on the notepad. “Was Mr. Bowman’s blade on the mantle that night?”

  Closing my eyes, I tried to conjure the mantle in my mind, but I couldn’t. Hunter told me it was there in the morning, but I couldn’t see it in my memory. “I don’t know. I honestly had no reason to look at the mantle that night or the morning. We just watched a movie—”

  He wrote another note down and said, “It’s okay.”

  Annoyed, I stood up and rested my hands on the table. “He’s innocent.”

  Detective Brown’s eyes fell on my wrist. “What happened there?”

  “Nothing. It was just an accident.” I pulled it away to hide it.

  Standing up, he nodded and said, “It was nice meeting you, Miley. I think we have everything we need from you.” We shook hands, then I shook hands with Detective Barnes, and they showed me out of the precinct.

  Hurrying back down the blocks to the jail, I ran up to the counter and asked if I could still see Hunter and they agreed. It was only a few minutes until an officer came out and led me into the room. Sitting down across from Hunter, I could see a heaviness in his eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, leaning in.