Even at eight-o’clock am, all the parking spots in town square were full. Jason drove toward the back alley behind the new coffee shop, found a spot, and got out. The mist of fog coming off the lake dampened the air and his spirits, while the smell coming from the dumpsters inspired him to quicken his pace. A mass of women holding rolled up mats and water bottles raced toward the yoga studio. He silently blamed them for the lack of better parking.

The bodies found in the cove yesterday had him on edge. He wasn’t getting any answers. None of them had been identified and no one had any idea where they came from. He wasn’t any closer to figuring out who was targeting Lotty or why. And to make it worse, she didn’t seem to care at all. She told him she was starting a new project and spent the evening digging holes in the yard.

Jason stepped onto the walkway that ran in front of the businesses on the north side of the square. As he approached his door, Mateo rushed out of Wild Wyatt’s. Jason spun around to check the parking spots in front of Mateo’s place to make sure Gabriella hadn’t taken one, then pointed to the cars occupying the spaces, “She’s not in your spot. None of those cars belong to Gabriella.”

Wrinkles formed across Mateo’s forehead for a moment before realization hit. He shook his head and waved an arm, “No, no. Jason, my man, I’m not here about that.” He stuck a hand out, waiting for Jason to shake it and patted Jason on the back. Jason returned the handshake as Mateo continued, “How are you, neighbor? Uh, I mean work neighbor, you know, not neighbor, neighbor. If I was your actual neighbor, I’d probably be looking for a new place, huh?”

Jason stared at Mateo, searching for hidden meaning in his eyes. Every acquaintance remained a suspect until Jason knew more. “Right, yeah, well I’m doing okay. Thanks.” Jason forced a smile, pushing his door open.

Mateo took that as an invitation to come inside and continue the conversation. “I mean, it’s crazy, right? Bodies dumped there in the middle of the night and no one knows who they are and all the oth—” 

He stopped talking as Ray, who never gave a last name—just Ray, walked in. He owned Mountain Ray’s Rags, a Montana apparel store on the other side of the square. He wore his trademark long-sleeve t-shirt and fleece vest with his store’s logo on the chest. On top of his sandy blonde hair sat a pair of sunglasses, despite the foggy morning. He made himself at home in one of the overstuffed chairs in Jason’s waiting area. He crossed an ankle over a knee and began, “Well you’ve had some excitement this week. Strawberry Lake Estates is all anyone in the entire town is talking about.”

Jason nodded, but his attention was again turned to the door as Susan Becker pushed it open, and she and Gabriella both entered. Gabriella eyed each person before deciding none of them were worth a smile, grabbed her magazine off the table, and disappeared in the back. Mrs. Becker set a plate on the table. “I saw you boys gathered in here and I didn’t want to miss any details. I did bring warm scones for you though. Now, please continue your conversation. Just pretend I’m a fly on the wall.”

“I was saying the whole town is in an uproar over Strawberry Lake Estates,” Ray said, helping himself to a scone of some berry variety. “And I want—”

“Yes, yes it is,” Mrs. Becker interrupted. “As it should be. There are people dying over there. No one even knows who the poor souls are. I did hear though that there is strong evidence to suggest that at least two of the victims were murderers on the run from Canada. What do you know about that, Mr. Brooks? It makes sense, then, that all three were probably Canadian murderers.”

“I haven’t heard anything about them being Canadian murderers,” Jason said, shaking his head. He wondered how many similar stories were circulating around the small town’s rumor mill. “No one has any idea who they are. The police are doing everything they can to identify them, but right n—” 

“Well what about the money buried in the Tuckers’ yard?” Mrs. Becker asked, her lips pursed in concern. “I heard a whole box full of money was dug up and taken. Do you think the Tuckers are involved?”

“No, Mrs. Becker, I don’t. I didn’t hear anything about a box of money. People are trying to make sense of it and I think there’s a lot of speculation and guessing going on. Sadly, right now, there aren’t many details at all.” Jason ran his hand through his hair thinking of all the work waiting for him and wondering how to get these people out of his office.

“I’m only worried it will deter tourists,” Mateo said. “Who wants to visit a town where dead bodies are everywhere?”

“They’re not exactly everywhere,” Jason mumbled.

“Yes, but there were bodies,” Ray said. “I certainly hope we can get this all figured out and taken care of before the Huckleberry Festival or we’ll be out a lot of possible revenue.”

Mrs. Becker gasped. “Oh dear, I hadn’t even considered what this would do to the festival.” She placed her hands over her mouth and fell into the chair across from Ray. “Nearly half of my summer sales come during festival week. Oh, and that’s always the week my Sarah visits. She won’t come at all if everyone’s getting themselves murdered. And what about the cook-off? It’s tradition. I’ve prepared such a delightful recipe for it this year. Now I won’t ev—” 

Jason cut her off. “Everything will be taken care of by then.” He put his hand under her elbow and urged her to stand as he placed an arm around her shoulders. “We have the best police here in Walden. I know they’re doing everything they can.” He carefully nudged her toward the door as he spoke. “I can’t wait to try your new recipe. If it’s even half as delicious as these scones, I’m sure you’ll win the whole cook-off.”

A grin spread across Mrs. Becker’s face and her eyes lit up. She walked out the door Jason was holding open for her. “Have a great day, Mr. Brooks.” She turned back and whispered in his ear, “Let me know if you find out any pertinent details. My stomach will be all a flutter until I find out more.”

He nodded and smiled as he let the door close. The latch hadn’t even caught when Brent grabbed the door and joined the three men inside. Mrs. Becker did an about face and entered three inches behind him. “Officer Grantham,” she cooed. “Did you discover something?”

“Nothing I can discuss here.” He turned to Jason. “Can we talk in the back?”

Jason nodded as Mrs. Becker, Mateo, and Ray exchanged knowing glances.

Brent flashed his most diplomatic smile. “This could be a while. You all better get back to your businesses. I’m sure Jason will catch up with you later.”

Jason almost hugged Brent as the front office cleared out. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with any more questions this morning. He let out a sigh of relief when the door shut. “Thank you,” he said as he grabbed the plate of scones and offered them to Brent. Brent took two and followed Jason past Gabriella into his private office.

Brent plopped down into a chair. “Man, what a month we’ve had, huh?” He shoved half a scone into his mouth.

Jason sighed and sat down at his desk. “It’s definitely been interesting.”

“How can three bodies just show up and no one have any idea who these people were?” Crumbs flew out Brent’s mouth as he spoke. “And why our neighborhood? What’s special about it? If I don’t get some answers soon, Nikki’s ready to move us out by her parents in northern Idaho.”

Jason shook his head and handed Brent a napkin.

Brent wiped his face and continued, “She’s already found a house to rent. And actually, I’m starting to agree with her. The kids are in our room every night complaining about nightmares. The robbery scared them enough, but now this. I’m nervous to see what’s next.”

“Do you guys have any theories about what’s going on?” Jason asked as he helped himself to a warm scone. The flaky dough melted in his mouth. “Or are those details you can’t share with me?”

Brent shook his head. “Yeah, we have some theories, but that’s all they are. We can’t find anything to back them up.” He rubbed his temples. “That’s part of why I’m here.”

Jason stared at him and Brent broke eye contact. “Look, Jason, I’ve known you and Lotty a long time. I’d do anything for you, but none of this looks good for Lotty. Whether she realizes how or not, somehow this involves her.”

The scone in Jason’s mouth tasted like ash. He’d known Lotty was being threatened, but he hadn’t thought the police suspected her of anything. How could all of this be connected to her? 

“So, I guess what I’m really getting at...” Brent trailed off as he pulled at his collar. “I trust you completely, Jason. I’ll believe what you tell me, but I also know the difficulties you’ve had in your marriage the past year or two.” He looked at the floor as if the commercial brown carpet was fascinating. “Do you believe Lotty knows more than she’s saying?”

Jason shook his head before Brent had finished the question. She may have hurt him deeply, but she cared about the safety of her family. “No, absolutely not. I know how things look, but she doesn’t have any clue what’s going on.”

“Okay. You can understand why people might think she’s hiding something. I wanted to rule her out, but I needed to know your thoughts before I did so. If you trust her completely, I’ll fight for her. So, you absolutely trust her, right?”

Jason looked away. Trust. He nodded and hoped Brent couldn’t sense his hesitation. He knew she wasn’t hiding anything from the police, but that was entirely different from trusting her.

“Is that a ‘yes’?” Brent asked. His wrinkled forehead and hesitant demeanor proved Jason had been anything but convincing.

“It’s definitely a ‘yes’. I absolutely trust Lotty. She’s an open book. If she knew anything, she’d have said so.” Jason hoped his lie sounded more convincing than it felt.

“Okay, that’s all I needed to hear.” Brent stood and grabbed another scone before heading toward the door. “I’ll let you know if we figure anything out.” He waited a few seconds while he swallowed a bite and continued, “Are you planning on watching the finals tonight?”

“Mm hmm.”

“Well if I get off at a decent time, why don’t you come over and watch it in our theater? The players look like ants on your forty-inch screen,” Brent said as he walked out. He nodded to Gabriella, who ignored him, and continued to the front door. “Oh, and why don’t you talk Mrs. Becker into making us another plate of scones for the game?”

Jason grinned and nodded, but couldn’t muster much enthusiasm. His mind was still stuck on his lie. She’s an open book.

The last fourteen months had proved Lotty to be anything but an open book. Images of Santa Barbara flooded his mind. When he’d returned home from Phoenix and found Lotty had left, he’d followed her. He’d flown to Santa Barbara and showed up at her parents’ house, ready to figure out what was going on, excited to see her and the boys. His mother-in-law, Darlene, who insisted everyone call her “Doll”, welcomed him inside with smiles and sweetness. She said Lotty was busy, but would be down shortly.

He waited for an hour, all the while listening to Doll subtly berate him. While she wore a pleasant, even jubilant grin, her mouth spewed poison. He wasn’t a good supporter, but bless his heart for trying. He wasn’t refined, though it wasn’t his fault he’d grown up in Montana.

Jason called Lotty, but there was no answer. He texted her. No reply. Doll said she’d go check on her again, but didn’t return. Jason searched the house for his family, but couldn’t find them. He needed to see Ty and Aiden, to hold Lotty. After another two hours, he finally received a text. Please go home.

He texted back. I don’t understand any of this. I’ll be back in the morning to get you and the boys. I love you.

He spent the night trying to figure out why Lotty could be mad at him. When he couldn’t sleep, he wrote her a three-page letter telling her why she was everything to him. In the morning, he went back to the house, only to find Doll waiting for him.

She led him to the living room, where his boys were, and informed him Lotty was eating out at her favorite bistro with some friends. She told him how happy she was that he and Lotty had finally realized they weren’t right for each other. She was sorry, of course, but knew it was best. After all, Lotty had always loved some guy named Rob and was miserable in Montana.

There was no way she was talking about his Lotty. She must have it wrong. Lotty loved Montana and him. He sent several more texts to Lotty begging her to come talk to him while he played with his boys, but heard nothing back. He squeezed Ty and Aiden tight, left Lotty’s letter in her room, and caught his plane back to Montana. 

Three weeks later, Lotty and the boys were waiting at the house when he got home from work. She wouldn’t talk about the past, acted completely indifferent to Jason, and was obviously miserable. The Lotty he’d married faded more and more from his memory until it felt she was a figment of his imagination. An open book she was not.