Dark Realms by Kristen Middleton Page A

legs. “How do you like Shore Lake so far?”
    “Seriously, it’s kind of a hard question to
answer. Last night we found a body near the lake, and today, one of
the waitresses at Ruth’s passed me a note that warned us to stay
inside after dark and not invite any strangers inside.”
    His eyes widened. “Seriously?! Are you
kidding me?”
    I took a sip of the water. “No, I wish I
was.” I set my water down and pulled out the note Amy had given
me.
    He read it and frowned. “Very strange. So,
do the cops know whose body you found?”
    “Some girl around my age, Tina Johnson?”
    He scratched his head. “Tina Johnson? To
tell you the truth, I don’t really know many of the locals. I only
stay with my dad during the summer and then for the rest of the
year, I live with my mom in Minnesota.”
    “Oh, so you’re going back to Minnesota next
month when school starts?”
    He smiled. “I graduated last spring, so now
I can stay wherever I want.”
    “What are you going to do now?” I asked.
    He sighed. “Probably help my dad out while I
take some engineering classes at the local college.”
    “What about your mom?”
    “She just remarried and is pretty busy with
her new husband,” he said. “My dad doesn’t really have anyone else
but me, so I’m probably sticking around here.”
    I took a sip of water and set it down.
“Well, it sounds like your dad really needs you in more ways than
one.”
    He nodded. “What about your old man?” he
asked and then looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t
have asked. If he’s passed away or something, I apologize for my
lack of tactfulness.”
    I smiled humorlessly.
“Actually, there are times that I wish he had passed away. I know that sounds
really cold, but he’s an asshole. Thank goodness my mom is no
longer with him.”
    “Then cheers to that,” he said, tapping my
water bottle with his.
    “Cheers.”
    He re-capped his water. “So, you mentioned
the dead girl, do they think she was murdered?”
    “No, it sounds like she liked to party a
little too much and may have accidently killed herself.”
    “What about the waitress at the diner?” he
asked, biting his lower lip. “That was a pretty weird.”
    “Very.” I sat back in the chair. “So, um,
have you heard anything about missing people or other bodies being
discovered near the lake?”
    He looked thoughtful. “No, not really;
although, there have been plenty of people moving recently. That’s
why I mentioned the cabins. Either people are selling or just
renting out their lake homes.”
    “Hey, Nikki,” said Nathan as he stepped into
the break room, “are you ready to get going? I want to pick up
those steaks for mom before it gets too late.”
    I looked at my watch and noticed it was
already after seven. “Yeah, we’d better leave.”
    “Thanks for stopping by, guys,” said Duncan,
standing up. He lowered his voice. “I’ll work on my dad so he’ll
hire you.”
    Nathan laughed. “Sounds good. I’ll give you
a call in a couple of days if I don’t hear from him, to see what’s
going on. If anything, we can go cruising.”
    “Definitely. And don’t forget about the
barbeque this weekend,” said Duncan. “Now that Nikki’s practically
begged me to be your date, Nathan.”
    Nathan’s eyes widened innocently. “Oh, what
ever will I wear?” he asked, standing kind of prissy. “Do you like
pink, Duncan?”
    Duncan looked at my dress and then winked.
“Actually, I prefer blue.”

Chapter Seven
     
     
    It was dark by the time we made it home and
mom was on the deck, desperately trying to figure out the
grill.
    “Step aside before you blow us all up,”
ordered Nathan, handing her the package of steaks.
    “No arguments here,” she answered. “I prefer
cooking on the stove myself, but the steaks taste so much better on
the grill. Thanks for picking them up, by the way.”
    “No problem. Just don’t give the sheriff
mine, it’s the thirty-ouncer,” he