What Lies in the Darkness (Shadow Cove Book 1) Read Free

Our son is dead and these”—he waved his hand at the detective sitting on the other side of the desk—“yahoos are saying he killed himself without looking into all the facts. How would his body fall into the lake? Better yet, why would he choose to overdose near a lake when he hated water? And where did he even get the morphine? Plus, he had those scratches on his arms.” He shot the detective a look. “Was that even looked into?”
    I wasn’t too surprised by my dad’s questions. He always had a knack for questioning everything. It’s what made him great at his job, but kind of ruined his people skills.
    “I can assure you, Mr. Evingston, that the case was looked into thoroughly, and there is no evidence of foul play,” the detective said. “This isn’t one of your stories. We don’t stretch the truth here in order to please people. We stick to the facts, and we’re very good at what we do.”
    “Good at what you do, huh?” My dad leaned forward in the chair. “Tell me this, then. If you guys are so great at what you do, why does half the damn town practically get away with murder?”
    “That’s enough!” My mom’s outburst startled everyone. She slung her purse over her shoulder, rose to her feet, and stuck her hand out to the detective. “We appreciate everything you and everyone else has done. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get home and finalize the funeral arrangements.”
    My dad looked like a kicked puppy as she stormed out of the room without so much as a backward glance.
    He cleared his throat several times before turning back to the detective. “Close the case if you want. I’ll just start my own investigation”—he pushed to his feet and headed for the door—“because I know there’s more to this, whether you know it or not.” He signaled for me to follow him. “Come on, Mak; let’s get out of here.”
    I wiped a few tears from my eyes and followed him out, his words and threats echoing in my mind. Was there really more to my brother’s death? Did he really not commit suicide like the police said?
    Later, my mom took me aside and explained my dad’s irrational behavior was due to stress from my brother’s death. Maybe she was right, but that didn’t stop my dad from going into full-on detective mode for the next six months, trying to solve the mystery around my brother’s death all the way up until he vanished off the face of the earth. And now my brother’s death remains a mystery, along with my dad’s disappearance.
    That’s all my life is anymore: unanswered questions, confusion, and a desperation to find out what happened.
    “Mak, did you hear me?” Ev asks, yanking me out of my thoughts.
    I blink dazedly at her. “What?”
    “I said I just texted Embry, and she’s at Kennedy’s, so we don’t have to go this way.” Concern masks her expression. “Are you okay? It felt like you just spaced out for, like, five minutes straight.”
    I probably did space out for five minutes, but I’m not about to tell her that. Ev is already afraid enough of my driving.
    “I’m cool,” I lie breezily as I pull the car to the side of the road to flip a bitch. “I’m just tired. I’ve been sleeping super shitty lately.”
    “You’re not having nightmares again, are you?” Her attention drifts to the screen of her phone as it buzzes.
    “No. I just have a lot on my mind with midterms and this skating competition coming up,” I lie for the tenth time today.
    Sure, the skating competition hangs over my head like a dark, grey, “ha, ha, you’re never going to come up with the money” cloud, but that’s not what’s been hindering my Zs. Ever since my brother passed away, a very vivid reoccurring nightmare of him drowning in the lake haunts me. Instead of jumping into the water and helping him, I just stand on the shore and watch him die. The odd part of the dream is when Sawyer’s ghost appears beside me. Sometimes, he asks me why I didn’t help him, to which I