River of Bones by Dan Padavona (books you need to read TXT) 📕

into the entryway and hung her sweatshirt on the coat rack. The afternoons remained warm in Wolf Lake, but the morning chill took longer to burn off, a sign autumn colors would return before long.

Hoping to catch up on her caseload, she strode down the halls of Wolf Lake Consulting. After turning the corner, she pulled up and touched her heart. Chelsey was already here, on a weekend no less. Her boss leaned back in a rolling chair with her feet propped on the desk.

“Chelsey, I didn’t think you’d be here on a Saturday.”

“When were you planning to tell me about the state park research?”

Raven swallowed and sat at her desk, Chelsey’s stare shooting daggers across the room.

“That’s off the books. I’m just—”

“Playing amateur detective with your friends.” Chelsey swept her hair off her forehead. Her eyes sank into her skull, her face pallid and drawn. Was she eating? “We’re swamped with cases, and you’re adding to the workload.”

“I can research the case on my own time. It’s not an issue. Besides, it’s not my fault we’re so far behind.”

“So it’s my fault? I’m here on my day off.”

Raven took a calming breath.

“Chelsey, you call in sick two, three times a week, and you never say no to a prospective client.”

“We need to keep the momentum going. If we fall off, we’ll lose business.”

“Then hire a third investigator. I’ve told you this for months. Bring another investigator on board, or cut down on the caseload.”

Chelsey tapped a pen against her palm and tossed it across the desk.

“It’s difficult finding qualified applicants in a sleepy resort village. And either way, if you stopped playing around with your friends and focused on your work once in a while, we wouldn’t be in this position.”

Raven’s fingers clawed at the chair. Incensed, she wanted to tear the upholstery. It took her several breaths before she readied herself to reply.

“I’m here a lot more than you, Chelsey. If anyone isn’t pulling her weight, it’s the sick chick who never sleeps.”

Chelsey tugged at her necklace. Raven searched for the lacerations, but Chelsey’s T-shirt concealed the cuts.

“I haven’t felt well lately.”

“Lately is going on a month. Are you okay? I mean, really okay? If you want to talk, I’m here for you.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I’ll be fine once the hot days end. I’m sure it’s one of those summer flus.”

Raven rubbed her eyes. Holding a logical conversation with Chelsey was impossible.

“Fine. No sense in me being here and catching your cold. I’ll grab my case files and work from home.”

Chelsey held up a hand when Raven stood.

“I’m trying to find another investigator.”

“So why haven’t you?”

“No luck yet.”

Raven sat down and rolled her chair to Chelsey’s.

“Hire LeVar.”

Chelsey stared at Raven as if she’d grown a second head.

“Your brother?”

“Why not? He’s majoring in criminal justice and taking classes.”

“He’s enrolled. Classes don’t begin until the end of the month. We’re talking about the enforcer for the Harmon Kings, right? The teenager I chased into an abandoned warehouse?”

“Give him a chance. If you’d seen him working with Darren and Scout—”

“How many people did you rope into your investigative team?”

“Just the four of us.”

Chelsey dropped her head back and blinked at the ceiling.

“All right, go on.”

“LeVar has a knack for investigative work. And you know he’s fast enough to run anyone down. Who would mess with him? Just give him a chance.” When Chelsey didn’t reply, Raven touched her arm. Chelsey flinched as though shocked. “Come on, one interview. Do it for me.”

Chelsey removed her feet from the desk and exhaled through her hands.

“One interview. That’s all he gets.” Raven reached out to hug her friend. Chelsey backed away. “But it has to be this afternoon. My schedule is booked solid next week.”

“I’ll tell him. How does two o’clock sound?”

“Deal. Raven, if he isn’t here by two, I’m leaving. No second chances.”

* * *

Thomas watched the guest house through the bedroom window, worried he’d made the wrong choice. Naomi was unhappy with her daughter. But she allowed Scout to work on the investigation, provided Darren, Raven, and LeVar monitored her activities.

LeVar’s shadow passed over the window. Scout was in the guest house, no doubt working on the case and drawing one step closer to an unknown murderer. Which made Thomas’s spine stiffen.

And that name. Dawn. It lay inside a forgotten memory.

Picking up his phone, he dialed Gray and nestled into his chair, letting the idyllic lake view relax his nerves.

“Pretty soon, I’ll have to take my old job back,” Gray laughed. “What is it this time?”

“You probably heard Justine Adkins is missing.”

“I have. Nasty business, Thomas. Those girls held a secret, and it’s coming back on them.”

“I have a lead. It’s a weak one, but it’s all I have. Are you aware there’s an unofficial forum for Wolf Lake High alumni?”

“Sure, everyone knows about it.”

Not everyone, Thomas thought. He told Gray about Webb-WLHS.

“I’m not surprised someone had it in for Paige and Justine. Those girls are trouble. Well, Paige Sutton is. I got the impression Justine was along for the ride, a bystander. But neither girl told me anything that would have helped us locate Skye Feron, so they’re both guilty, as far as I’m concerned.”

“There wasn’t anyone with the last name Webb in their graduating class.”

“Hmm.” Thomas pictured Gray tugging his mustache in thought. “Did you check the sophomore and junior classes? Maybe this person was younger.”

“No one named Webb in those classes, either. The poster kept bringing up someone named Dawn. That name seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it.”

Gray sucked in a breath.

“Dawn Samson.”

“You remember her?”

“That was a terrible summer, Thomas. Dawn Samson hung herself. The suicide destroyed the community. Before we came to grips with the loss, Skye Feron disappeared a few weeks later.”

Thomas remembered now. He read about the suicide while working in Los Angeles, shocked a Wolf Lake student took her life.

“And nobody connected the cases?”

“There wasn’t a connection. Dawn had a rough home life. Both parents were alcoholics, and child services