Chapter Seventeen
It was freezing inside the boathouse, but Kit had been interested in seeing what all was in there.
There were the kayaks, rowboats, and canoes she’d expected to find.
On the walls life vests hung alongside rows of oars and paddles.
For a moment she was seeing herself out on the lake on a summer morning before the fog burned off—she assumed there were still foggy mornings in the warm weather—maybe seeing a moose on the shore.
She still hadn’t completely gotten over seeing the moose and its young one.
She wished she could be here in the summer to fish from a rowboat, and to kayak in the early-morning mist. It must have been so peaceful and quiet here in the early hours.
It raised her spirits a little to recall kayaking with Beth at the lake house their parents owned when they were younger, and she thought it might be like riding a bike.
Then bike reminded her of Russ, and she remembered it was Thursday, and his retirement party was that evening.
The party she was going to miss because of the sad findings in Maxine’s bedroom.
She couldn’t imagine how Russ was going to make her pay for not being there, for surely there would be a price.
Kit sighed. It couldn’t be helped. Would there be a shouting match this time, or would Russ go silent on her for days as he’d done in the past? She couldn’t waste today dwelling on what was going to happen tomorrow.
It was warmer outside the boathouse, but she was standing in the shade. It was still cool enough that icicles remained on the roofline, though they had begun to drip water onto the ground below. She moved into a spot of sun closer to the lake and waited for the chief.
A few minutes later, the trooper left, waving to Kit and calling a goodbye and a thanks. The chief locked up the boathouse, then joined her and handed her the key. Staying in the sunlight, they stepped down to the water and watched the ducks swim in and out among the reeds for a moment.
“I saw a moose the other day,” she told him. “Two moose. Mama and baby.”
“They’re something to see, aren’t they? Ugly buggers but there’s something so regal about them.” He added, “I hope you didn’t try to get too close.”
“No, I was on the back steps of the house and they were—” She pointed off to the right in the direction of the trees.
“They’re interesting to look at, but they can be dangerous. The best advice is to not get in their way. They are way faster than you think they’d be. Same as bears.”
“I knew there’d be bears up here.”
“To be avoided at all costs. Pick up some bear spray at the general store, and don’t leave the house without it.
If you encounter one in the woods, back up very slowly and get back to the house.
If it follows you, keep moving slowly, but if it’s gaining on you, start waving your arms and yelling and try to make yourself look as large as possible. ”
“Have there been any bear attacks here?” She looked around somewhat anxiously.
“Not to my memory. I never heard of an attack out here at camp.” He nodded thoughtfully.
“But there was an incident years ago. A camper left a hibachi on the front porch of his cabin, and a bear followed the scent of the now-eaten burgers. It tossed the hibachi into the lake and trudged off in a huff.”
Kit laughed. “Hopefully the camper learned a lesson.”
“Yeah, I think Maxine added some language to the brochure about not leaving grills outside.”
“So, Chief,” she started.
“I’m starting to wonder if you think Chief is my first name.
Think we know each other well enough now for you to call me Hal?
Short for Henry.” He stood on the bank of the lake, backlit by the afternoon sun.
The ice had melted and last year’s dried cattails swayed slightly as the ducks moved through them.
“After all, we’ve spent an entire day together.
You’re on good terms with my son, and you’ve met my ex-wife and my former father-in-law, who were your family’s lawyers. Might be time to cut the formalities.”
“Fine, but only if you call me Kit. And I think you named everyone but your former mother-in-law.”
“Oh, Lizzie. I adored her. She was the best. No bad, sad mother-in-law jokes from me. We lost her about six years ago. I miss her. She was a damned good egg. Caroline used to say I only married her to be close to her mother. Might have been some truth to that.” He grinned. “She sure kept old Banks in line.”
“There was an Alma Banks—a teacher—in my mother’s yearbook. I thought possibly a member of the family?”
Hal nodded. “Banks’s mother. Now there was a piece of work. That woman took no prisoners.”
“I did not hear you say you adored her,” Kit pointed out.
“Let’s just say Alma and I got along better when I was still a lawyer.” He picked up a stone and sent it skipping perfectly over the water.
Kit’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You’re a lawyer?”
“Haven’t practiced in a while, but yes. I am. Was. I was the Anderson in the Banks, Anderson, and Banks logo. And before you ask, I’d rather be a cop.” Another stone tossed, another perfect skip. “And before I was a cop, I was in the FBI.”
“I heard that somewhere. Greta, maybe.”
“Great job, but Liam was a baby and it took me away from home too much. The chief here in town retired so I figured why not? Maybe it would make things better between me and Caroline, but it was already too late.”
“I wasn’t going to ask. I try not to ask personal questions of people I don’t know all that well.”
“I think you’re too polite to ask even when you know someone.”
“That’s true most of the time. Not always, but yeah, I hate feeling like I’m putting someone on the spot.”
The conversation felt too much like getting-to-know-you talk, and for some reason, that made Kit uncomfortable. Time to change the subject. “It is so pretty here. The lake is so serene. I bet it’s something to see in the summer, and in the fall.”
If he noticed the shift, he didn’t mention it. “Maybe you should consider sticking around to find out.” He eyed the stones on the shore, selected one, and handed it to Kit.
“That’s probably not going to happen.” She tossed the stone at the surface of the water, but her concentration was off, and it flopped.
“Big life down in Pennsylvania?”
She felt the muscles in her face tighten. “My kids would love it, but my husband is retired as of today, and he has his own plans.” She stopped herself from saying more.
“Get him to join you up here. He might love it.” Another toss. The stone skipped almost to the other side of the lake. He handed another stone to Kit.
“Let’s just say Maine is not on his agenda and we’ll leave it at that.” She focused on her toss and managed to get the stone to skip three times before it sank.
“Good one.”
“I’m out of practice.”
“You fish?” Hal asked, and she was grateful that he let the subject of her future plans drop.
They both turned toward the path in the woods that led back to the house.
“I did when I was younger. My parents had a house on a lake in the Pocono Mountains, and my sister and I used to go out in a rowboat with our dad. He loved to fish and he was hoping one of us would love it, too. My sister developed a real affinity for the whole bait the hook and toss the line thing, but me, not so much.” Kit gazed out at the water, recalling those fun times with their father.
Fishing—or pretending to—was the only real time they got to spend just with him, and she and Beth had cherished those days. “My sister, Beth, would love it here.”
“Why didn’t she come with you?”
“There’s so much going on in her life right now.
The short version is she has cancer and is trying a new drug that seems to be helping her a lot, so we’re hopeful.
And she owns a coffee shop, and recently discovered one of her most trusted employees was stealing from the register when she wasn’t there. ”
“She reported the theft to the police, didn’t she?”
“She was reluctant to, so my son, who’s been working there in the mornings, reported it.
He was the one who discovered the shortages, so he thought he should be the one to contact the police.
” The snow had continued to melt while they were at the cabins, resulting in pockets of water every few steps.
Kit slipped but righted herself even as Hal reached for her.
“Good save,” he told her.
“Thanks.”
“Was the thief arrested?”
“This is the complicated part. She didn’t want the woman to go to jail.
She wanted her to admit that she stole the money, and how much, so Beth could make an insurance claim, but she didn’t want the employee to serve jail time.
The police officer who investigated the case told her she couldn’t dictate to the court what the punishment should be.
She could suggest it, but it was up to the judge. ”
“So what’s she going to do?”
“I’m not sure at this point. Ned—my son—is afraid she’ll drop the charges. I guess I’ll know more once I get home and have some time to sit down with Beth and find out what she’s thinking.”
“When are you planning on leaving?”
She had avoided thinking too much about leaving. Every day it seemed harder for her to imagine locking the door behind her and taking off for good.
“To be decided.”
She focused her attention on navigating the end of the snowy path.
“You okay? Need some help?” Hal asked as she slipped on the snow.
She caught herself, then laughed out loud. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Kit was still laughing as she climbed the front steps to the porch. “I guess I should go see what Greta’s up to.”
“You never know with Greta. You did leave her alone for a long time.” Hal opened the front door for Kit, then stood aside for her to enter before him.
“So what else do you suppose needs to be investigated? Detective Stevens told me to stick around, but I don’t know what else I can tell her. She can’t possibly think I have anything to do with that baby.”