Jason sat up with a start and smacked into Lotty’s shoulder. Before he could make sense of where he was or what was happening, she pulled him out of bed and onto his feet. “Jason, you have to see this. Please,” Lotty whispered. Her voice was desperate. He staggered along behind her until they reached the doorway. When he touched the light switch, she pushed him away. “No. Don’t draw attention to us,” she begged.

He grabbed Lotty’s hand. She jumped at the gesture, but didn’t pull away. “What’s going on?” he asked.

She turned and started down the stairs, mumbling an explanation. “You need to see it. I took some pictures and a video. I called the cops. Maybe they can make sense of it. He was at the Tucker’s house, but also parked near the Grantham’s.”

Jason allowed himself to be dragged down the stairs behind her, until they reached the bottom. “Lotty, stop.” He pulled her arm until she was facing him. “Why did you call the cops?”

“The black truck and the man outside and the...he was dragging it somewhere, but I lost him.” Her eyes were closed and she shook her head as she spoke.

Jason’s pulse quickened. “Okay, there was a man here?”

Lotty nodded. “Well, not here, here,” she said, pointing to where they stood. “But out there.”

“And what was he dragging?”

Lotty opened her eyes and stared at him, her eyes widening. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

“Lotty?”

She looked away and wrapped her arms around her body as if she were cold. “The body,” she mouthed.

Chills ran up Jason’s spine. “What body?”

“I-I don’t know, but I saw it. He was dragging it in the Tuckers’ yard, but then he threw the rock and I couldn’t see.”

“And you called the cops and told them this?”

She nodded.

“Where are they? Shouldn’t they be here by now?” Jason paced back and forth. Was this related to the robbery and arson? Did it have something to do with Lotty and the people writing a threatening message on the wall? He stopped pacing and watched Lotty. Why had she been awake and watching out the window? He wanted to trust her, but...no, he did trust her, didn’t he? Before his mind could continue with questions, Lotty leaned into his arms. His heart raced, but this time it wasn’t because of the man outside. His conflicted feelings disappeared and he slowly wrapped his arms around her.

Sirens blared in the distance and Lotty stiffened. He wasn’t ready to let go of her, but he loosened his arms. She ran to the window as flashing lights poured into the living room through the gaps. He joined her at the window and watched as the cop car sped into Trinity and Dan’s driveway.

“How long have the street lights been out?” Jason asked. The cove was eerie without the soft light the two large posts usually provided.

“I knew it seemed darker than normal,” Lotty said. “I couldn’t figure it out. I thought it must just be clouds or something.”

The lights from the police car lit the Tucker’s driveway. Two officers got out, guns drawn. However, everything in the cove appeared normal. Jason couldn’t see any extra cars or people lurking about. What if Lotty had just had a nightmare?

“You’re sure about what you saw?” 

Lotty’s glare answered his question. “I’m going to go see what they’ve found.”

Lotty was out the door before Jason could protest. He grabbed a jacket and jogged across the street to catch her, but was still several feet away when someone yelled “Stop where you are.” One of the officers stepped around the corner of the house with his gun aimed straight for Jason. Jason threw his arms up as Lotty did the same. A second officer crept out of the shadows of the garage with his gun aimed at Lotty.

“We’re the Brooks,” Jason yelled. “We live across the street. My wife is the one who called you.”

The officer pointing his gun at Jason lowered it to his side, but the one by the garage kept his weapon trained on Lotty.

“Officer Netley,” Lotty said. “I’ve met you twice. I was—” 

“I know exactly who you are,” the tall cop grumbled. “I also know you’ve been in the center of every problem we’ve had lately.”

Jason let out a sigh of relief as the man holstered the gun.

“I’m trying to help,” Lotty said as she walked toward the cop car and leaned against it.

“You’re the one who called us?” the shorter officer asked.

“Away from the car, Ma’am,” Netley said.

Lotty’s eyebrows furrowed as she stepped aside. “Yes, I called you.”

Netley grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and rubbed the spot on the car where Lotty had leaned, as if she’d left some filthy mark. Lotty held out her hand to the shorter officer. “I’m Lotty Brooks.”

“Officer Mue,” the man said, returning the hand shake.

“So, the body you called about?” Netley asked.

Lotty took a deep breath. “Yes, the body. There was a man lurking around the yard. He parked his truck right there.” She pointed to the side of the yard. “Then I saw him dragging a body over there.” She pointed to the other side.

“How could you see with the street lights out?” Netley asked.

“There was a spotlight over there until the man threw a rock at it.”

“Hmmm,” he responded.

“I have a video.”

“You just happened to get a video? How did you manage that?”

“I had my iPad with me when I saw him, so I recorded it,” Lotty said. Jason didn’t like the shakiness in Lotty’s voice.

“She didn’t do anything wrong,” Jason said. “She’s trying to help and you’re treating her like a suspect.” Lotty looked at Jason with eyes full of gratitude, and guilt filled his chest. Minutes ago, he’d been questioning her innocence, but at least he’d kept it to himself.

“Well, she’s always acting like a suspect,” Netley said, pointing his flashlight directly at Lotty. “What’s that on your face, Ms. Brooks?”

Jason followed the light to Lotty’s face, where a large red welt covered the right side of her face. He hadn’t noticed it before and he was sure she hadn’t had it before she went to bed.

Netley continued his rant. “It looks like you’ve been involved in an altercation. Did you get in a fight with someone tonight? Maybe call us here after they made you mad?”

Lotty let out a sigh and placed her hand on her cheek. “I was spying out the window when I fell backwards and hit my face on the corner of a chair.”

Netley grumbled something inaudible and held a glare on Lotty.

Jason couldn’t watch Netley treat her like this. “Okay, well good luck with your investigation,” he said, grabbing Lotty’s hand and pulling her toward their driveway.

“Netley, get in the car,” Officer Mue instructed. “Please come back and let me see the video,” he hollered to Jason and Lotty.

Jason squeezed Lotty’s hand and she smiled at him. She took her tablet to the officer and played the video for him and Jason several times. It clearly showed a man dragging a body. Jason tried to imagine Lotty watching this all alone as it happened. Fear wrapped its icy fingers around him as he merely watched a video of it, but to see it as it happened had to be infinitely scarier. He wanted to embrace her, to tell her how amazing she was, but it would seem forced, awkward. Instead he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shivering frame. 

Officer Mue scrolled through the pictures Lotty had taken. Then he took out a flashlight and walked the same trail the man on the video had walked. He squatted down on the ground where the truck had been parked and walked back to Lotty and Jason. “It’s a good thing you have that video. There aren’t any other signs of anything happening here. No tire tracks. No drag marks. No blood.”

“So now what?” Lotty asked.

“Well, since the body is gone, we’ll analyze that video and pictures and see what we have. If we can get that license number, we’ll start there. Thank you, Mrs. Brooks.” He shook hands with Lotty and Jason and got back in the car.

They walked back across the street in silence. As they went inside, Lotty asked, “Why does Officer Netley hate me so much?”

The question didn’t seem directed at Jason. It was more to herself, but he answered anyway. “He seems to hate everyone. The day he was here after the robbery, he had every other cop wanting to shoot him. Brent said he’s brand new here and makes it clear he wishes he were still in Spokane.”

“Spokane can have him,” she said with a tired smile before walking up the stairs.

She turned toward Ty’s room. Every time she went in there to sleep, it was like a punch in his stomach. Why couldn’t she sleep in their room? Was he so difficult to be around that she couldn’t handle sleeping in the same bed? He thought of the hundreds of nights they’d laid in bed talking. When the boys had been in bed and there were no other distractions, they’d talked and laughed for hours. She’d helped him with problems at the office and laughed at stories of his incompetent assistant. He’d listened as she told him stories about Ty and the drama in the neighborhood. They’d talked about the future, remodels on their house, and a trip to Switzerland when the boys were a little older. Then they’d fall asleep in each other’s arms.

He pulled the covers back and got in bed. The ball growing in the pit of his stomach and his aching head told him he needed to think about something else. He tried to think about Gary Schreken and water rights. That would put him to sleep, but within minutes he was back to thinking about her.

He was lost in thoughts of their trip to Alberta when his door creaked open. He held his breath. All this thinking about Lotty was getting to him. He swore he could see her outline in the doorway, and she was shaking. She quietly shut the door and tiptoed to the edge of the bed. He shut his eyes as she pulled back the covers on her side. It felt like he was seven and it was Christmas morning. He had to focus on stopping the smile that was trying to spread across his face. The thought of having her next to him again had fireworks exploding in his stomach.

He opened one eye and watched her pull the covers up to her chin. He lay as still as possible, afraid if he budged she might leave. The shaking stopped and her breathing evened out. He turned on his side and watched her, making certain she was asleep. Though her back was to him, he could see her shoulder rise and fall with each breath. He scooted closer until he could feel the heat from her body and wrapped an arm around her waist. He tried to fight off sleep as long as possible, afraid this moment would be over all too soon, but his eyelids grew heavier.

Light poured in through the windows and his alarm sounded. He rolled over and shut it off. Lotty was gone. He stared at the small indentation on the pillow where her head had been. She’d been there. Right next to him.

A shrill sound pierced the silence. He looked back to his alarm, wondering what he’d pushed that had triggered such an awful sound, but realized it was a scream coming from outside. He ran to the window and couldn’t see anything, so he sprinted down the stairs two at a time. The front door was open and Lotty and the boys stood on the front porch. The sound stopped as he approached the door. 

“Who was that?” Jason asked, but he saw the answer before he finished the question. Steph Navarro, another neighbor, stared into her yard with her hand clasped over her mouth. She wore a look of horror. Several other neighbors stood in a semi-circle behind her, displaying similar expressions.

“They found the body,” Lotty whispered. She pulled the boys back inside. Jason stayed on the porch, trying to catch a glimpse, but the group of people made it impossible. He moved closer, battling it out in his mind. He was curious and wanted to see if he recognized the victim. However, he wasn’t sure he could stomach what he’d find. He inched closer, staring at Steph and her ghostly, white face. Her husband tried to pull her away, but she resisted.

Jason was finally close enough he could see the bottom half of the body. Judging by the slacks covering the legs to the black dress loafers, it must be a male. If he could get a little bit closer, he could see a face. Just as he caught a glimpse of a man’s chin, his foot caught on something and he crashed to the ground. He jumped up right away, hoping he hadn’t drawn attention to himself skulking in the shadows. He looked down to see what had tripped him and a yell burst out of his mouth. His stomach churned. Another body lay on the ground. Jason jerked his leg away as quickly as possible and tried to get a breath. This body was in the rubble next to what used to be Jocelyn’s garage and the face was covered in ash. Jason backed away as several people joined him to see what had caused a grown man to yell out in fear.

Jason didn’t recognize the man he’d tripped over. He was in a suit, just like the other body. There were no visible wounds. He wanted to look away, but curiosity forced his eyes to stay on the man. When he felt like he might get sick, he backed away, but the smell of death mixed with the man’s ashen face were imprinted in his mind.

“Everyone step back,” Brent yelled. He nudged people away from the body. “This is a crime scene. Nobody touch anything and everyone please back up.” He stopped next to Jason. “Another stranger in a suit, huh?”

Jason tried to respond, but the words got lost in his throat.

“Two men and one woman. No one here recognizes any of them.”

“A woman?” Jason whispered. There was a third body? He wanted to grab his family and get them as far from the neighborhood, from Walden, as possible.

“Yeah. She’s down by the Tuckers’ dock,” Brent said, shaking his head. “What kind of a sick person would do this? It’s not supposed to happen in Walden.” He kept shaking his head and repeating, “Not in Walden.”

Jason stared blankly toward the lake, wondering the same thing. He wandered back to his house as cop cars poured into the neighborhood. He was going to figure this out. Figure out why this neighborhood was suddenly so dangerous, why Lotty was a target, and why there were three dead bodies in his picturesque Montana town.