CHAPTER TWO
When May arrived at the lake, she saw bright, flashing lights standing out against the dark, peaceful surroundings, cutting through the darkness in vivid red and blue. Glaring white spotlights illuminated the scene.
An ambulance was parked off to the side, but it looked as if they were just on standby at the moment.
A murder? In Fairshore?
Serious crimes were such a rarity in this quiet backwater area that they were virtually nonexistent.
Scenarios flitted through May's mind as she pulled up behind Sheriff Wright's car, got out, and rushed down to the water's edge. Anxiety flared inside her as she wondered what she would find.
She didn't like the lake. For others, it was a peaceful, beautiful, tree-lined expanse of water where leisure activities and tourism thrived. But for her, it brought back terrible memories of guilt and loss as her mind veered back to that tragedy of ten years ago.
Once, they had been three sisters. Now, they were two.
May never went near the lake if she could help it.
Forcing herself not to think about this, May acknowledged that this scene, already, was creeping her out. She headed to the water's edge. Her colleagues were already there and turned when she approached.
She saw Sheriff Jack looking deeply worried, his graying hair tousled and a frown on his usually calm and good-natured face. Beside him stood Deputy Owen Lovell, May’s investigation partner. He was thirty years old - tall, with a dark buzz-cut. Normally his lean features showed a dash of humor and kindness. This evening, he looked simply stressed.
Owen had joined the police two years ago, leaving the accounting firm he’d worked for to pursue a career that would make more of a difference. May had thought that was a brave decision. He was May’s junior, and in this small department they all had to handle whatever cases came their way, but this was the most serious one either of them had yet taken on. And, as the new county deputy, May knew she’d be shouldering a lot more of the responsibility for it.
The county pathologist Andy Baker, whom she knew quite well, was kneeling at the water’s edge and May guessed he was doing an initial assessment of the body.
"Glad you could get here so quick, May," Sheriff Jack greeted her. "Sorry this emergency had to interrupt your family time. Looks like we could have a crime scene, but it's too early to make a call yet. I’m waiting for Andy to finish his examination."
That was her boss for you, May thought. Even in this crisis, he'd remembered that she was headed to dinner with her parents.
Further back, May noticed a young woman in tears and a shocked-looking man, wrapped in a blanket. They were standing together with one of the other officers from the Fairshore police department.
"That young couple called this in," Jack said, following her gaze. “We’ll need to get a statement from them, as soon as we’ve heard Andy’s findings.”
At that moment, Andy stood up.
“Do you want to take a look, May?” he asked. Jack stepped back and allowed May to view what lay at the water's edge.
May inwardly prepared herself for a brutal sight. As she moved forward, she wished that her work in this peaceful town had allowed her to prepare better for what she knew lay ahead.
It was a young, blonde woman. Her blue eyes were wide and sightless. Her drenched hair fanned out into the mud. She was wearing a gold chain with a pearl pendant. Otherwise, she was naked.
The cause of death was obvious.
May's eyes widened as she saw the gaping wound in the woman's chest. It looked as if someone had stabbed her repeatedly with a big, sharp knife in her heart.
But immediately, even as she stared at the shocking sight, May's mind was thinking of possible scenarios and causes.
Could the death have been accidental, could a propeller have somehow done this damage, could this woman have dived, and been unlucky to be speared on a piece of metal or rebar?
Who knew what lurked under the surface of the lake? But even though it was important to consider every possibility, May thought these scenarios were unlikely.
It was far more probable this young woman had been murdered.
Again, the thoughts of her younger sister loomed in her mind. She knew she had to put them aside, but the memory of that terrible loss rose to the surface, demanding to be dealt with.
Lauren had disappeared on the shores of this lake ten years ago, when she was seventeen. There was no evidence pointing to what had happened, apart from a few bloody scraps of fabric that looked to have come from the top she'd worn.
They had been discovered by one of the police, snagged on a wooden pole near the jetty.
Lauren's body had never been found, but May couldn’t help thinking that her younger sister could easily have suffered a similar fate.
But murder? Nothing like this had happened since Lauren’s disappearance. Not until now.
Forcing her thoughts away from the past, May returned them to the present.
"Any ID, any leads as to who she is?" she asked.
There were many small towns surrounding the lake, and May guessed one of the police would probably recognize her if she was from Fairshore, but they probably wouldn’t if she was from elsewhere.
"Not so far," Jack replied. “She’s unidentified as yet.”
May turned to the pathologist
"What are your findings so far, Andy?" she asked. "Any idea what weapon or type of blade could have caused this?"
"It's hard to say, but it was a wound that caused massive trauma. It's likely it was a serrated blade. These marks are consistent with that," he said, pointing to the jagged edges.
"Murder, then?" May asked, thinking of her earlier theorizing.
"It looks that way to me, yes."
"What about the time of death?"
"She's been in the water for at least a few hours, possibly even a full day. I can't be one-hundred percent sure how long until I complete the autopsy."
May nodded.
"Can I speak to the witnesses now?" she asked Jack, glancing again at the huddled couple.
"Yes. Go right ahead, May."
May walked over to speak to the couple.
""I'm so sorry about this. It must have been such a shock. Can you talk me through what happened?"
The pretty young brunette was clearly in a state, but she nodded. “Sure. I’ll try.”
"What's your name?"