CHAPTER Two
Ross Paine was an ordinary guy with a great life until he became the chief suspect in the Kelcee Meyer murder case. Ross didn’t understand how one day he was working at his road construction job, and the next he was in jail.
Paine always maintained his innocence, but somehow, some way, they had evidence that linked him to the case. It took all of a few hours for the entire town of Eldon to vilify him and maybe forty-eight hours for the greater Lake Ozark area to sentence him to life without parole in their minds.
After being in jail for two weeks, Paine’s lawyer showed up with what seemed to be good news at the time.
Nolan Mosser, his lackluster attorney, stated that the only evidence the prosecution had was obtained under false pretenses and was being thrown out.
The murder weapon, a large crescent wrench, was found in Paine’s garage, but it was discovered before obtaining a warrant; therefore, Paine was free to go.
The damage, however, had been done, and there was no way Ross Paine could live peacefully among the masses.
In the short time he was out of jail and trying to live at home, his house and truck were vandalized, he received death threats, and he was even run off the road once.
To make matters worse, when Ross first returned home, his wife, Janelle, was gone—no note, nothing—only to return once to grab a few items. Ross and Janelle had been married for twelve years.
They had certainly had their ups and downs, but that is to be expected for married couples.
They moved to the lake and started their own version of life shortly after they were married twelve years ago, and until Ross was accused of the Meyer crimes, he thought his marriage was solid.
Janelle never told him exactly why she was leaving, but Ross assumed she couldn’t take the rumors and pressure of the whole lake area thinking her husband was a rapist and murderer.
In truth, Janelle had been seeing someone on the side, and Ross’s predicament gave her an excuse to leave.
She left for good after her brief return that one night, when Ross watched helplessly as she gathered a few random items, while a truck in their driveway revved its engine, signaling for Janelle to hurry up.
With Janelle gone and knowing he would never clear his name in the public eye, Ross had no reason to stick around.
At first, people thought he was long gone, but then little sightings here and there made it clear that Ross Paine had removed himself from society, but he had not gone far.
Honestly, people were fine with his location as long as he kept to himself, and Ross liked it that way, too.
He settled into a remote area on Lochlan’s Point, didn’t bother a soul, and he loved the fact that no one bothered him either.
Ross spent the summer months unburdened by his rustic lifestyle, but winter was coming, and even though the winters in that area were never very harsh, Ross needed to stock up on some supplies.
With just one decent snow, he would be stuck, unable to ascend his steep lake road.
Ross had all the firewood he would need, but he was running low on gasoline and other fuels, bottled water, and staples such as sugar and flour, as well as canned goods and other non-perishable items. Although he dreaded the trip, Ross prepared himself to go into town.
He never went to Eldon or any of the other towns around the lake.
He always headed somewhere he would not be recognized. This time, he decided to go to Lebanon.
Ross was loading a few fuel cans and a couple of coolers into the back of his truck when he heard the rare sound of gravel crunching, which meant a car was making its way down the lake road.
Sure enough, a few moments later, an SUV rounded the last curve and entered the clearing where Ross had set up camp for the past several months.
Ross was annoyed as he watched the vehicle come to a stop.
When he saw a pretty, young woman with a long, brown ponytail and a strikingly curvy figure exit, Ross’s agitation eased a bit.
It had been a long time since he had interacted with another human being, and now to have such a stunning one appear out of nowhere was a pleasant surprise.
“Mr. Paine?” Camille began. “Are you Ross Paine?”
If this woman didn’t look so utterly cute in her pursuit, Ross would have gotten in his truck and been on his merry way, but he was actually quite intrigued by her seriousness.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Mr. Paine, I’m Camille Hargrove. I’m an investigator, and I’m looking into the Kelcee Meyer case.”
Ross’s intrigue now switched to full-blown anger.
“Get out!” he yelled, startling Camille, who had begun to walk in his direction.
“But I don’t think you understand,” she tried to convey.
“I said, get out!” he yelled again, now pointing to the way she came. Camille reversed her direction but was adamant about making her point.
“Mr. Paine, I’m here to help you uncover the truth. I have new evidence in your favor. I wanted to discuss it with you,” she said hastily, trying to get it all out before he yelled again.
Ross was skeptical but interested. This was not at all what he suspected. Now, he looked at this woman, wondering how in the world she had evidence relevant to his case. But more so, he was impressed by the fact that she seemed to believe he was innocent.
“You believe I’m innocent?”
“Yes, I do! Especially knowing this new evidence.”
Ross thought for a minute. There was no denying his curiosity.
“I’m going to Lebanon for supplies. If you really think I’m innocent, you should have no problem coming with me. It’s about an hour drive. We can talk on the way,” Ross proposed.
Without hesitation, Camille headed toward his truck and staked her claim in the passenger seat.
Out of her view, Ross looked down and smiled.
This was one gutsy woman, and he liked that.
But this exchange between the two did something more for Ross than make him smile.
It let him know she trusted him, and that meant he could trust her.
In this whole ordeal, he hadn’t had a single soul who believed he was innocent.
Hell, he didn’t even think his lawyer or his wife believed him.
And here comes this woman, out of the blue, with new details, and she’s sure as shit he was wrongfully accused.
And Ross couldn’t help but notice that she was also quite beautiful.
With his charming passenger now riding shotgun, Ross was suddenly looking forward to his day out.
They were up the lake path, on the main road, and about ready to turn onto the highway before either one spoke.
Camille was all business when she arrived at Ross’s place, that’s for sure, but now she had a sexy distraction that she could not ignore.
Without seeming too obvious, Camille was taking in everything about Ross Paine.
He was certainly not what she expected, though she couldn’t quite define it.
But the actual Ross Paine was tall and tanned from working outside.
His flannel fit snugly around his arms and chest, making her wonder what those cut muscles would look like shirtless.
His beard was just a few days old, but she liked it, and his glasses seemed to make this rugged outdoorsman look vaguely intellectual.
Camille’s evaluation was interrupted when he spoke for the first time.
“So? Let me have it. What do you know?” he asked boldly.
“I have a witness who says he saw a red, four-door pickup out on Snakepit Road the night Kelcee went missing. And not only that, he saw the man hitting something on the ground repeatedly with a heavy object. The next thing he knew, the man was coming back from the field. I don’t think I have to tell you that Kelcee Meyer was found in the same field. ”
Ross was both elated to have such a specific witness account and pissed that whoever this was didn’t come forward sooner.
“That’s great and shit, but where was this witness when the whole damn town was crucifying me?”
Camille heard the pain in Ross’s voice, and she really couldn’t blame him for being upset. “That’s disturbing, I know,” she replied. “But the important part is, this person redeemed himself by doing the right thing now—better late than never.”
Ross was quiet, running one detail over and over in his mind. “Red truck, you say? King cab?” Ross asked.
“Yes,” Camille replied, noticing the wheels turning in his head. “Do you know somebody who has one?”
“Naw, I thought so, but no,” Ross answered. “So why didn’t your informant take this information to the cops instead of you?”
“He told me he wanted to stay anonymous, but the big reason was that he didn’t trust the cops to do the right thing. He feels a massive amount of guilt for keeping this information to himself. He didn’t want to make another mistake.”
“What does he want out of all this?”
“Basically, he wants justice for Kelcee and to warn the public that there’s a killer still at large,” Camille answered sincerely. “The cherry on top is that your name is cleared and your reputation is restored.”
Ross was quiet for several miles. He hoped this was not just a dead end that would get his hopes up only to have them come crashing down.
But he had to admit that this new information seemed promising and worth exploring.
More so, there was a fired-up investigator sitting next to him who was bound and determined to do just that.
Ross decided to shake the gloom and doom and see how all of this panned out. It couldn’t hurt.
Once Ross had a change of attitude, his eyes opened to the best luck he’d had in a long time.
Not only was this woman in his corner, vowing to help prove his innocence, but she was cute as hell.
Ross was no idiot. It was time to initiate some conversation beyond his predicament.
He just hoped he remembered how to talk to a woman so smart and so beautiful.