Buried Secrets (New Adult Dark Suspense Romance) by Emme Rollins Page B
Authors: Emme Rollins
Ads: Link
“Thanks, sweetheart. I’ll try.”
Just any other morning—like a commercial—mother cooks breakfast, father reads the paper, daughter says have a nice day.
There's an empty chair! Nick's chair is empty, don't you see that?
“Don't work too hard.” Julia got up to walk him to the door.
“I'll see you tonight.” He kissed her cheek and the door shut behind him.
Dusty heard his Range Rover start as Julia sat back down. It was quiet. Behind her, Dusty heard the dripping from the automatic coffee maker. The light blue of the kitchen seemed too bright, surreal, in the early morning light. Far away, a dog barked. Red , Dusty thought. Mr. Cooper's Irish Setter, Red, was the only dog they could ever hear barking out this far.
“Do you need any help?” Dusty couldn’t even believe she said it. Maybe Nick was right, she thought, incredulous. Maybe she was just like Julia.
“No.” Her stepmother glanced up, giving her a conciliatory smile that said she wasn’t going to mention Dusty’s bad behavior but she appreciated the peacemaking offer. With Julia, you always had to read the subtext. “Thanks though.”
Dusty picked up the paper again. The Millsberg Journal served as Larkspur's paper as well as the surrounding towns of Janesville and Goodwin. Her father also mail-ordered the Detroit Free Press and USA Today because The Millsberg Journal was just local fare for the most part. Your Community Information Center.
The headline was more about the fracking controversy. The town council had finally passed the ordinance that would allow some big oil company to drill for natural gas on state land, but an injunction had been signed by a judge, halting the whole project. They wouldn’t have even been allowed to touch state land if the feds hadn’t recently introduced a bill—likely set to pass—that would allow state law to supersede federal law in cases like these. Larkspur was jumping the gun, so said the judge.
She’d heard all about it from her father, a typical businessman who thought drilling for natural gas would be simply “good for business” in their little town. Anything that brought business to their tiny little burg was seen as an improvement, as far as her father and most of the town seemed concerned.
But it wasn’t the headline article that really caught her attention. It was the column on the left.
Another Victim Claimed By Clinton Grove Cat.
Nick had made the headlines.
“Is it supposed to get any warmer?” Julia licked one of the envelopes and sealed it by tracing the triangle with one well-manicured nail.
Dusty glanced at the small box in the bottom left-hand corner that contained the weather outlook.
“Seventies.” The article drew her attention but it wasn’t about Nick after all.
By Mike Murphy
Larkspur Staff Writer
LARKSPUR--Another victim was claimed yesterday evening by what Larkspur residents are beginning to call the Clinton Grove Cat. Scott Summers, 12, from the neighboring town of Millsberg, was attacked last night while out with friends. Joseph Turner, 13, a friend of Summers', said, “We were coming home from a friend’s and we took the shortcut through the woods by the (Clinton Grove) cemetery. Scott was bringing up the rear and something got him. Nobody saw it. It was too dark.”
The shortcut to which Turner referred has been causing similar problems in the Larkspur area. Sheriff Buck Thompson said, “We're trying to keep the kids from using it but it's a problem. It is a lot shorter.”
The Sheriff also said that until the animal is caught, an eight o'clock curfew will be in effect. There have been two other victims in the past month. Joe Wilson, 41, a life-long Larkspur resident, was attacked and killed on August 28 in an abandoned train station across from the cemetery. Dominick Chandler was killed just four days ago (see obituary, page 17).
Sheriff Thompson believes the killings are the work of an animal. “It's no human, I can tell you that much,”
Just any other morning—like a commercial—mother cooks breakfast, father reads the paper, daughter says have a nice day.
There's an empty chair! Nick's chair is empty, don't you see that?
“Don't work too hard.” Julia got up to walk him to the door.
“I'll see you tonight.” He kissed her cheek and the door shut behind him.
Dusty heard his Range Rover start as Julia sat back down. It was quiet. Behind her, Dusty heard the dripping from the automatic coffee maker. The light blue of the kitchen seemed too bright, surreal, in the early morning light. Far away, a dog barked. Red , Dusty thought. Mr. Cooper's Irish Setter, Red, was the only dog they could ever hear barking out this far.
“Do you need any help?” Dusty couldn’t even believe she said it. Maybe Nick was right, she thought, incredulous. Maybe she was just like Julia.
“No.” Her stepmother glanced up, giving her a conciliatory smile that said she wasn’t going to mention Dusty’s bad behavior but she appreciated the peacemaking offer. With Julia, you always had to read the subtext. “Thanks though.”
Dusty picked up the paper again. The Millsberg Journal served as Larkspur's paper as well as the surrounding towns of Janesville and Goodwin. Her father also mail-ordered the Detroit Free Press and USA Today because The Millsberg Journal was just local fare for the most part. Your Community Information Center.
The headline was more about the fracking controversy. The town council had finally passed the ordinance that would allow some big oil company to drill for natural gas on state land, but an injunction had been signed by a judge, halting the whole project. They wouldn’t have even been allowed to touch state land if the feds hadn’t recently introduced a bill—likely set to pass—that would allow state law to supersede federal law in cases like these. Larkspur was jumping the gun, so said the judge.
She’d heard all about it from her father, a typical businessman who thought drilling for natural gas would be simply “good for business” in their little town. Anything that brought business to their tiny little burg was seen as an improvement, as far as her father and most of the town seemed concerned.
But it wasn’t the headline article that really caught her attention. It was the column on the left.
Another Victim Claimed By Clinton Grove Cat.
Nick had made the headlines.
“Is it supposed to get any warmer?” Julia licked one of the envelopes and sealed it by tracing the triangle with one well-manicured nail.
Dusty glanced at the small box in the bottom left-hand corner that contained the weather outlook.
“Seventies.” The article drew her attention but it wasn’t about Nick after all.
By Mike Murphy
Larkspur Staff Writer
LARKSPUR--Another victim was claimed yesterday evening by what Larkspur residents are beginning to call the Clinton Grove Cat. Scott Summers, 12, from the neighboring town of Millsberg, was attacked last night while out with friends. Joseph Turner, 13, a friend of Summers', said, “We were coming home from a friend’s and we took the shortcut through the woods by the (Clinton Grove) cemetery. Scott was bringing up the rear and something got him. Nobody saw it. It was too dark.”
The shortcut to which Turner referred has been causing similar problems in the Larkspur area. Sheriff Buck Thompson said, “We're trying to keep the kids from using it but it's a problem. It is a lot shorter.”
The Sheriff also said that until the animal is caught, an eight o'clock curfew will be in effect. There have been two other victims in the past month. Joe Wilson, 41, a life-long Larkspur resident, was attacked and killed on August 28 in an abandoned train station across from the cemetery. Dominick Chandler was killed just four days ago (see obituary, page 17).
Sheriff Thompson believes the killings are the work of an animal. “It's no human, I can tell you that much,”
Similar Books
