Death By Chocolate 6 (Mystery and Women Sleuths) (Josiah Reynolds Mysteries) Read Free Page A

always goes to the Falls for a fishing trip right before his birthday. This year it was going to be special as the moonbow at Cumberland Falls was going to be visible while he was staying at Dupont Lodge,” I related.
    “Ever since Dwight was in high school, he always went trout fishing around his birthday. He used to go with his dad, but since his dad’s passing, Dwight went by himself,” related Kelly.
    “The funny thing is that I ran into Dwight at a filling station several weeks before he disappeared. He told me that everything was great. His business was doing fine,” Kelly continued.
    “Did he mention the fishing trip?” asked Asa.
    “Yep. Said he was going around the first and would be back before the third. Said fishing trips were his time to reflect. You know, get his head straight.”
    “Did you notice anything odd about Dwight?” I inquired.
    “No. Dwight was Dwight. Happy. Bright. I never saw that guy down. The whole thing’s a mess,” remarked Kelly. “Asa, remember how much fun Dwight was in school?”
    “Yes, he was a very pleasant boy.”
    “So he wasn’t in debt. He had no vices that you know of?” I questioned.
    Kelly took another bite of his cheesecake before confiding, “His wife, Selena, said he left early on the morning of the first to go fishing. He was to be back on the night of the third. She was planning a birthday party for him.”
    I nodded in agreement. “Yes, I was invited. We waited hours, but Dwight never showed. Finally Ginny called the police to file a missing person’s report.”
    “She called the Kentucky State Police and they called the local authorities. They found Dwight’s truck at the Grove Marina on Laurel River Lake. No signs of foul play. The car was locked and his wallet was in the car’s glove compartment with his ID, credit cards and two hundred dollars,” related Kelly.
    “And he had already checked out of the Dupont Lodge?” asked Asa while cutting another piece of cheesecake for Kelly.
    “Yeah. To me it looked like he checked out but wanted to get in a few more hours of fishing before heading home.”
    “I always thought he fished on the Cumberland River. I’m confused,” I stated.
    “The Cumberland River and Laurel River Lake are really a stone’s throw from each other, but I can see where Dwight might fish on the Cumberland one day and then try his luck on the lake the next,” answered Kelly, tracing a map on the table with his knife.
    “Were fingerprints taken?” asked Asa while folding her napkin.
    “The truck was processed but only fingerprints of Dwight and Selena were found.”
    Asa interrupted, “I take it the lake was dragged.”
    “Don’t know. The lake’s awfully deep. I know they had scuba divers.”
    I thought for a moment. “Was the Falls’ pool checked? I was thinking that perhaps he changed his mind and fished on the Cumberland River . . . fell and then was swept away by the current going over the Falls.”
    “An entire stretch of the Cumberland River down to the Cumberland Falls was searched including the Falls’ pool in case he had changed his location, but we are talking about two separate water systems. They found no sign of him at all in either the Cumberland River, the Laurel River or the Laurel Lake,” related Kelly.
    “But his cap was found six weeks ago in the lake,” I interjected.”
    “But that is the weird part, Josiah. The cap was his to be sure, but it didn’t look like it had been in the water for months. There was no discoloration. No mold. It looked almost new, just wet. Some fisherman found it in the water where the lake had been searched weeks earlier.”
    “Do you think it was a plant?”
    “Could be.”
    “So you privately think it was foul play?”
    “I knew Dwight. You knew Dwight. Did he seem like the kind of person to leave his widowed mother, his wife and baby girl? Not this guy.”
    “Yes, I’ve known Dwight since he was very little. I don’t think he left of his own accord,”