The Lady of Dark Lake Read online

  Lady wasn’t so sure about that, but seeing Andrea pay it no mind made things easier. She stuck close to Andrea as they pressed through the crowd at the bar. A single bartender was exchanging cash for booze with impressive efficiency.

  Lady shoved her hand into her tote bag and groped for her wallet. Like the Mary Janes on her feet, it didn’t exactly match the dress, but it was all she had. “First round is on me,” Andrea insisted, shaking her head when she realized Lady was getting out cash. “What’s your poison?”

  Lady shrugged. “I don’t know. Beer is fine or whiskey?”

  Andrea ended up handing her a drink identical to her own. It came in a large glass with a little umbrella and tasted fruity. “Thanks,” said Lady, even though it wasn’t what she had asked for.

  “Come on.” Andrea slipped her hand into Lady’s and led her away from the bar. It was something of a relief to see that the rest of the building was less crowded. There were tables and booths. Some folks were dancing, others were playing darts. There were two pool tables where people were making bets.

  Andrea slipped into a booth. “So?” she prompted, giving Lady an expectant smile.

  Lady cast another look around The Albright. Was she meant to be appraising the place? “Seems like a good spot,” she offered, rather lamely.

  “I guess it’s not like the places you had in…”

  “Atlanta.”

  “Atlanta.” Andrea took a long sip of her drink. “Man, I’m jealous. I want to get out of here. I really do.”

  “What’s keeping you here?”

  “Family, money…” Her expression turned sad suddenly, like maybe she was about to mention Riley as well and decided against it. She took a big gulp of her drink and rallied with a smile. “Maybe I should say, screw it! Hop on the next bus and see where it takes me.”

  “That’s pretty much what I did.”

  “See?” Andrea raised her glass in a mock toast before taking another gulp. “It’s decided then. The two of us will get on the next bus out of here and ride off into the sunset together.”

  It sounded like Andrea was only half-joking. Lady smiled, but she didn’t really want to encourage her. Leaving home had been a rash decision. She wasn’t sure she could recommend it. She just sipped her drink, trying her best to keep up.

  “Why did you leave home anyway?” Andrea leaned forward like Lady might not want to speak too loud when she told her. “What happened?”

  “It’s stupid.”

  “Tell me.” Andrea’s face was sincere, her mouth a line, her shoulders squared. “We’re friends now, right? You can tell me.”

  Lady wondered if the drink was already hitting her. Maybe she was a lightweight. Either that or the drink was more alcoholic than it looked. “I’m serious. It’s stupid. It’s… I’m adopted. I was still living with my foster parents and— Well, I had a cat and… they wouldn’t let me keep it.”

  Andrea stared for several seconds after Lady had finished speaking. The straight line of her mouth split. She snorted, then she outright laughed. “You’re kidding.”

  Lady pushed her fingers through her hair and hid her face by angling it down at her drink. She forced a laugh back. “Yeah, I told you it was stupid.”

  “Do you want to dance?”

  “Huh?” Lady looked up to find Andrea twirling her little umbrella. Some of her pink lip gloss had transferred to the rim of her glass and there was a tipsy rosiness to her cheeks.

  “Do you. Want. To dance?” Andrea asked again, speaking slower.

  Lady glanced in the direction of the people dancing. Men and women were gyrating next to an empty stage. It looked like The Albright hosted live bands sometimes. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case tonight. There were just a couple dozen people letting loose to tunes from a juke box. “I don’t dance.”

  “Nonsense! Everyone dances. You just need a little more liquid courage.” Andrea stood and held out a hand. It took Lady a moment to realize she wanted money. It was her turn to pay for drinks, after all. Lady had no idea how much drinks cost. Too much, probably. She didn’t ask. She just handed over her wallet. “I’ll be right back,” Andrea promised.

  Lady looked down at the drink in front of her. She took a large swig, trying to finish before Andrea got back. A buzz hadn’t hit her yet. She would just have two or three drinks, she resolved. There was no point in risking a hangover in the morning. She pushed down the voice that told her it had been stupid to come out at all. No, she told herself. She deserved some fun and excitement that didn’t involve nearly being drowned. Happiness was meant to be had where you could find it. Maybe this was what life on the road would be like. She’d travel from town to town and city to city. She’d make friends and do new things she hadn’t back in Atlanta.

  A more sensible voice in Lady’s head reminded her that she was going to run out of money sooner rather than later. You couldn’t have a girls night out without cash and most places didn’t trade chores for a room at an inn to sleep. “Stupid,” Lady whispered to herself before gulping down the rest of her fruity drink. She dug her nails into her palm and propped her head up in one hand again. She wasn’t a kid anymore. Her foster parents had been kind just to let her stay after she had turned eighteen. They had no reason to keep her around now that she was in her twenties. Sure she’d worked, given them most of her paycheck every week, but even so. They were probably glad she was gone.

  Something caught Lady’s eye while she was busy feeling sorry for herself. She reached out and moved the napkin dispenser away from the wall. The wood was old and full of splinters. Lady felt them rake against her knuckles when she reached out. There were some initials carved into the wood, four letters in a heart that had been scratched out. That wasn’t what interested Lady the most, though. No, what interested her was the eye carved just below those initials. The lights in the bar were low, but she could still see the stylized eyelashes and the same fluid, curving lines she had seen several times before now. “You have to be kidding me.”

  Lady reached into her tote bag and took out her phone. She wasn’t sure who she was taking the picture for; she only knew that she wanted pictorial evidence of this weirdness. She imagined showing her foster brothers and telling them about the bizarre couple of days she had spent in a town called Dark Lake.

  The flash went off, attracting some looks in Lady’s direction. She fumbled her phone and quickly slid the napkin dispenser back into place. No one’s eyes seemed to linger on her. They probably thought she was taking a quick selfie. No biggie. Lady felt her heart race anyway. What if the symbol was related to drugs or something? Like a drop off point or where you met a dealer to buy? She had talked to the police earlier, and now she was in public taking photos of possible gang activity.

  Lady downed her drink and told herself to chill. She was being paranoid. Her nerves were just on edge because she was in a busy bar. She panicked in crowds sometimes. Who didn’t? Deep breaths were what she needed. She took a few and then choked on them. Lady hadn’t noticed the fog of cigarette smoke curling in the rafters until then.

  “I’m baaack,” sang Andrea. She slid back into the booth with another two identical fruity drinks in one arm and two shot glasses full of something green in the hand she was holding Lady’s wallet in. “I took the liberty of getting a couple of gelatin shots as well. Don’t worry. Those were on me.” She passed Lady her half of the liquor as well as her wallet.

  “Careful, you still have to drive after this.” Lady spoke with a smile, trying to act like she wasn’t mildly concerned.

  Andrea waved a hand and lifted her shot. “I’m fine. Live a little, girl.”

  Lady raised her shot and clinked it to Andrea’s. This would count as her second drink she decided when she choked down the shot awkwardly. The other fruity drink would be their third. It would be fine. They would drive home tipsy at worst.

  “Guess who I saw in the booth just behind me?” Andrea asked in a voice loud enough that whoever was in the booth behind her migh
t actually hear.

  “Who?”

  “Destiny and her boooyfriend.”

  “What?” Lady stared at the cushion behind Andrea, like if she stared long enough she would see through it into the next booth over.

  Andrea nodded. “Yep. She gave me a real nasty look when she saw me too. Like I’m not allowed to be here with everything that’s going on.” She paused briefly to start in on her other drink. “I hate that. I hate everyone acting like I should be sitting at home pacing, all worried and depressed.”

  “Try not to worry about it,” Lady offered, rather lamely. It wasn’t like she was taking her own advice. Her brain was coming up with all sorts of unlikely ideas. Dom was spying on her. He had seen her take the picture. She took a drink herself.

  “Come on.” Andrea stood. “Let’s dance.” The way she said it made it sound like Lady no longer had a choice.

  Lady took a long drink then took the hand Andrea had extended. The dance floor wasn’t any less crowded. The music playing over the jukebox was twangy country rock that Lady didn’t even like. Andrea held her hands for the whole song. It was more fun than Lady would have expected. She swayed on her feet in time to Andrea’s movements. It would be generous to call what they were doing dancing, but at least they were doing it together. That made the whole thing way less embarrassing.

  It was during the second song that Lady lost track of her partner. A man had come dancing up behind Andrea, and she had turned to dance with him. Lady found herself swaying alone on the dance floor after that. She tried to stick it out, but some guy sidled up behind her and put his hands on her hips. After shoving him away, she stalked back to her booth.

  The bar was swimming a little. Lady was finally feeling tipsy. She tried to hide it as she walked. Destiny and Dom were indeed sitting at the booth behind her own. They were even looking her way. She pretended not to notice them.

  Sitting back down was a huge relief. It felt safer back in her little booth, like she’d reached some sort of home base. She took a deep breath and looked down at her drink. The ice had melted into it some, but she drank anyway.

  “You’re not supposed to do that.”

  Lady nearly choked on her drink as Destiny slid into the booth across from her. Dom was right there with her, taking a seat across from Lady as well. “Do what?” Lady stammered when she had finally caught her breath.

  “Leave your drink unattended then come back and—” Destiny motioned to Lady’s empty glass. “It’s dangerous. Someone could slip you something.”

  Lady’s heart was pounding. Her head had passed tipsy. It would be fair to call her a little drunk. Was Destiny giving her friendly advice or was that a threat? “I don’t go out like this much. I wasn’t really thinking.”

  “Clearly,” Destiny said softly, judgmentally. She was still dressed for work. Like Dom, she looked exactly how Lady had seen her earlier that same day. “So, I hear you’re moving on tomorrow.”

  “Moving on?”

  “Leaving Dark Lake.”

  “That’s the plan,” Lady said, slowly. She wasn’t sure why Destiny was asking. “I guess I’ll stick around in case the cops need me, but—”

  “The cops won’t need you,” Destiny said with a certainty she couldn’t possibly possess. “You don’t know how we handle things around here. You wouldn’t get it. You don’t live here. It’s better if you just leave it to the locals.”

  Lady was getting sick of Destiny’s tone. Dom made her nervous, but she doubted he would do anything in such a public place. She sat up straight and squared her shoulders. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is. I don’t know why you changed your story, because I know for a fact that you heard something out there on the water too. You’re lying to me, and you’re lying to the cops and—I don’t get it. I don’t get any of this. This whole town is weird and, believe you me, I want to leave! I do! But I’ve gotta do what I think is right. I’m not going to let this stuff haunt me, so get off my back, okay?”

  Destiny opened her mouth to say something, half rising from her seat like she was ready to jump across the table. Lady kind of wanted her to. Maybe it was the booze talking, but she really felt like throwing a punch at that smug face of hers.

  “Calm down.” Dom put a hand on Destiny’s shoulder and pushed her down into her seat. He looked across the table and locked eyes with Lady. His eyes were a disarming steel gray. She hadn’t noticed until now. “Why don’t the two of us take a walk?”

  Lady looked out to the dance floor. She still didn’t see Andrea. Being alone with Dom sounded like a mistake and a half.

  Dom must have sensed her concern. “We’ll stay in the bar. I just want a word.” He gave Destiny a pointed look when she opened her mouth.

  “Fine.” Lady pushed her concern down and slid out of the booth. She put on a brave face, trying her best to exude more confidence than she actually felt.

  Dom slid out of the booth as well. “Come on.” He led the way through the throngs of people and past the billiard tables. There was an old sofa next to a hallway that led to the bathrooms. Dom sat down on it and patted the cushion beside him. “Sit down. I don’t bite.”

  Lady moved her eyes over Dom, taking in his scuffed black boots and the way his clothes stretched over bulges of muscle. “I’m not afraid you’ll bite me.” Shoot or overpower her, maybe.

  “Come on.” Dom patted the sofa cushion again.

  Lady sat. The bar was crowded. It was doubtful she was in any real danger. “What?” She tried to put some impatience in her voice, tried to make up for admitting that he made her nervous.

  Dom leaned forward a bit, forearms on his thighs and hands clasped between his knees. “I saw something in the water too.”

  “What?”

  “Before I helped Destiny drag you back to shore, I saw something in the water.”

  “Wait.” Lady’s thinking was fuzzy. She had to give her brain a moment to catch up with everything Dom was saying. “You saw something too? Why didn’t you tell the cops?!”

  “I didn’t want the cops involved.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You would have told the cops.”

  “I told the cops anyway.”

  “You did.”

  “So, let’s call them now. You can make a statement too.” Lady reached for her phone only to realize she had left it in her tote bag back at the booth.

  “I’m not going to make a statement.”

  “But…” Lady trailed off. Her brain wasn’t catching up this time. None of this made sense. “Why lie? Some poor guy drowned in the lake and everyone pretends he’s not there? People should know. He should be, like… like buried and stuff.” Lady wished she’d turned down that third drink. Apparently, there had been more alcohol in it than she had expected.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “It’s only complicated because you’re making it complicated. What if it’s that Riley guy? What if—”

  “He’s already dead.” Dom spoke plainly, like everything had already been decided. It was like the body had already been found and Lady just hadn’t heard the news yet. “It’s not going to do anyone any good to find the body. It’s just going to raise more questions.”

  “But—”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Dom cut her off. “What’s done is done. Destiny thinks you should leave town, and I agree with her. You’ll just complicate things.”

  “By telling the truth? I tried to save him. Destiny and I both tried to save him.”

  “Did you, though?” Dom looked at Lady with those cold eyes of his. It took a concentrated effort not to look away. “Were you trying to help him or were you trying to save yourself at the end there?”

  How did he know about that? Lady couldn’t help but look away. “I—” she began, looking at the floor. “I tried to help him, but he was struggling too much. If I didn’t get away from him, we would have both drowned. That’s not a crime.”

  “I can drive you out of town tonigh
t, give you some spending money,” Dom offered. “Destiny is right. You’re not from here, and you’re just going to complicate things. I want this all settled quick, for her sake.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “And you’re not going to. You saw some weird things when you almost drowned, didn’t you?”

  Lady didn’t want to ask how he knew that. She didn’t want to ask him anything at all. The offer of a ride out of town and cash to spend was tempting. Dark Lake was just too weird for her. “What about the police? Detective Conners said—”

  “Don’t worry about him. The police are used to things getting weird. If you leave, it’ll be easier to—”

  “Sweep everything under the rug?” Lady suggested. It certainly sounded like that was what Dom was getting at. She didn’t get a chance to hear him out, though. Their attention was drawn suddenly by some sort of commotion going on across the bar. Dancers stopped dancing. Heads turned. The music kept playing loud, though. It was impossible to pick out individual words above all the noise. Dom stood as if to try and get a better look at what was going on. He swore.

  Lady stood as well, standing up on tip-toe to try and see what the commotion was all about. She couldn’t see much except that folks were backing up, like they were clearing room for a fight or making way for someone. Maybe a fight had started and a bouncer was already sorting things out.

  Dom moved forward without a word to Lady. Curious and without anything better to do, she followed. He was a big guy. It was easy for him to shoulder people out of his path, even if they were reluctant about it. Lady stayed at his heels. He was going outside, she realized suddenly. For all her reluctance to be alone with the guy, was it really a good idea to follow him outside?