Shadow Lake. B.J. Daniels
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divorced. When he’d talked to her she’d been more than a little despondent. Had she purposely driven off here? Panicked once the car hit the water and changed her mind?
Or had she picked this spot, knowing that the hospital was close by, as some ill-conceived plot to get her ex’s attention. That’s something Walker’s ex would have done. If she’d wanted him back, that is.
He hated the bitter taste in his mouth. But he’d noticed some things about Anna Drake Collins that were just like his ex. Anna clearly came from money, lived in Seattle in a posh neighborhood, had that air of privilege about her and was model attractive—just like his ex.
What worried Walker was how far a woman like that would go. And if she really wanted to get back at her ex, Walker feared the kid had been in that car.
“We’re ready to bring her up,” Mac called from the tow truck. “Did you hear me?”
Walker looked up, startled to find the wrecker operator standing in front of him frowning.
“We’re ready.”
“So bring her up.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t stand there. If that cable should—”
“Just pull her up,” Walker snapped, anxious to see what was inside that car.
Below him, the emerald lake lay in the tree-lined basin, the surface dimpled by the drizzling rain. There was no warmth, only wet and cold as the motor on the tow truck revved. He stood next to the wrecker, wanting a clear view when the car broke the surface.
He’d found a business number for Marc Collins and left a message to call the Shadow Lake Police Department. That the man’s ex-wife had been in an automobile accident but was fine.
Walker hoped the boy was with his father, but from the way the mother was acting, he had a bad feeling that wasn’t the case, and his cop instincts were seldom wrong.
His cell phone rang. He stepped away from the whine of the wrecker to take the call.
“Walker?”
He almost didn’t recognize the voice. “Chief?”
“Just wanted to let you know I won’t be back for a few days.”
“Is everything all right in Pilot’s Cove?”
“Yeah, I just need to take care of some things over here.”
Before Walker could tell him what was going on in Shadow Lake, the police chief hung up.
Walker snapped his cell phone shut, telling himself he had to be wrong. The chief had sounded drunk.
As Walker started back toward the tow truck, his phone rang again. This time it was the dispatcher. She had Marc Collins on the line.
“Put him through,” Walker said.
“What’s this about my wife being in another accident?” the man demanded the moment Walker answered.
“Don’t you mean ex-wife?” Walker asked, instantly irritated with the man’s tone.
“Is that what she told you? We’re still married.”
“Why would she lie?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Collins said.
Walker explained about Anna’s so-called accident. “She was lucky.”
“Anna wrecked another car? But she’s fine. Another hit-and-run or can’t she remember?” Marc Collins asked with sarcasm. “Isn’t it just Anna’s luck.”
Walker bristled. “She almost drowned,” he snapped, beyond irritated with the man. Surely Anna Drake hadn’t wanted to get back with this man. “Look, I just need to be sure that your son Tyler wasn’t with her.”
Marc Collins let out a brittle laugh. “Didn’t she tell you? She killed Tyler eight months ago.”
THE MEMORY CAME IN A RUSH. Rain, the narrow dark highway, in a hurry for some reason, then a sudden movement as something sprang out onto the pavement. A deer? It had been a deer, hadn’t it?
Anna saw it happening in her mind’s eye. Her losing control of the car. Skidding along the highway through the deep puddles, blinded by the spray until…
She felt the start of a panic attack as she remembered crashing down the mountain and into the water. The car had sunk so quickly. She was breathing hard now, remembering the freezing cold water rising around her and the seat belt… There was something…
Her heart pounded harder and harder. She tried to push away the memory that seemed to crush her chest, as she tried to catch her breath.
In a panic, she reached for the nurse’s call button, but her fingers were slick and she was shaking so hard it slipped from her fingers. My God, she was dying.
Deep breaths. Think about anything else. Anything but last night.
She flopped back, gasping, tears running down her face. The panic subsided slowly, her rapid pulse roared in her ears.
She’d tried to convince herself that it didn’t matter how she’d ended up in a hospital room in Shadow Lake.
But her mind wouldn’t let it rest. She hated driving at night, especially in the rain. What had forced her to do it?
Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. The movement sent a wave of nausea through her, forcing her to grip the bed until the wooziness passed.
As she stood, she was half surprised to realize she’d completely forgotten about the IV in her arm. She rolled the stand along with her as she shuffled to the closet, practically leaning on the flimsy thing, shocked by how weak she felt.
At the closet, she gripped the door frame, fearing she was going to pass out. She slid open the closet door and drew back in surprise. This was what she’d been wearing last night?
Dread filled her as she touched the slinky black dress and lacy black undergarments draped over the hangers, her fingers brushing her good gray wool coat. Where had she been going dressed like this?
There was a small puddle of water beneath the still sopping-wet coat. Next to the puddle on the floor was a single strappy black high-heeled sandal. What struck her was that the black dress was Marc’s favorite.
Like a splinter under her skin, the thought of why she would have worn it worried at her.
To make matters worse, she could think of no reason she would have driven to Shadow Lake dressed for an evening out. And driving in those shoes? What had she been thinking? No wonder she’d ended up crashing into the lake.
Leaning against the closet door frame for support, she searched a pocket of her coat, hoping for some clue.
Given where the doctor said her car had gone into the lake, how had she been able to get out, let alone swim in what she’d been wearing? Especially in apparently only one high-heeled sandal. Had she literally stumbled out of the lake and into the hospital?
What kind of luck was that?
Unbelievable luck.
A memory tugged at her. She felt another panic attack coming on and quickly shielded herself from the memory.
She stuck her hand in the other pocket. Her hand froze as her fingers found something soggy and hard. She pulled out the contents and frowned down at four balled-up twenty-dollar bills and a credit card with what appeared to be a wet receipt stuck to it and…
Her frown deepened. A folded scrap of paper. It appeared to have some writing on the inside but the ink had run some and the paper was still wet and fragile. She gave up trying to unfold it while it was still wet.
She tried to peel the receipt from the credit card. The thin paper started to tear. It was impossible to read what had been printed on it anyway.
Why had