Free The Beach House by Chloe Young Page B

to Horace. “Does she look familiar to you?”
     
    Horace squinted at the picture. “Yes, I believe she is one of the young ladies staying there. Real beauty, ain’t she?”
     
    Sullivan tried to peer into the home past Horace as he stood in the doorway. “You live here alone, sir?”
     
    “Just me and my dog, Max. Like it that way. Real peaceful.” Horace thought about poor Max sprawled out in the living room. Now he really was lying.
     
    Sullivan almost felt sorry for the guy. He wasn’t surprised to hear that he had no wife or children living inside with him though. “You haven’t witnessed anything odd recently, have you?”
     
    Horace knew that the detective most likely knew nothing about the disappearance of the boy. “No, sir. Just a bit odd to see someone stayin’ in that house. Ain’t nobody been there since the incident all those years ago.”
     
    Sullivan frowned. It was true that he was not familiar with the criminal history of the area. “What incident would that be, Horace?”
     
    “The s’pposed drowning of that young boy. That was a long time ago though. The family didn’t see no need to come back here ‘til now. Now his brother is back at that beach house. I guess it’s good he’s finally gotten over his brother’s death.”
     
    Sullivan took a step back. “Thank you for your help. You let me know if you see anything strange going on around here.”
     
    “Of course, officer. I usually know everything that’s goin’ on ‘round here.”

Chapter 25
     
    Kristi couldn’t wait to get off of the back of the jet ski. She was furious with Damon. He had really embarrassed her this time. She realized that people doubted their relationship; it’s not like she had known him all that well when they began to seriously start dating. But this just crossed the line. It was as if he became a completely different person at times. She had no idea what he was capable of doing when this side of him emerged. Maybe Mark was right. Maybe she needed a typical, reliable guy like him, not an unpredictable guy like Damon. Maybe this time, playing it safe was the best choice.
     
    Damon watched Kristi begin to march back up the shore towards their end of the beach. He called out to her. “What the hell is wrong with you? It was just a fun game. Everyone is okay.”
     
    Megan ran to catch up with her friend. “Are you okay? That was really strange and a bit scary.”
     
    Kristi, not making eye contact with Megan, could feel tears begin to form in her eyes. “I don’t know what I’m doing any more. I just want to go home and have some time to think things through. Maybe he’s not the guy I want him to be.”
     
    Mark couldn’t help but smile as he saw Kristi leaving that chump of a boyfriend behind. He elbowed Damon and laughed. “That’s women for you. See, they tend to steer clear of the psychos out there.”
     
    Damon really couldn’t take any more of Mark. He felt like they would all be better off without his male chauvinistic ways and phony charm. “You’re right, Mark. They like jerks who care more about themselves and who screw other women behind their backs.”
     
    This comment stunned Mark. He wondered if Damon knew what had been going on between him and Kristi. They had never done it in her home when he was present or had left any clues behind. They had always been very careful. He thought that Damon must be assuming that he was cheating on Megan behind her back. Perhaps he thought he could make him confess to something on the spot. Wasn’t going to happen though.
     
    Mark began to jog after the girls. He turned to look back at Damon. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, man. You have the ultimate girl and you’re throwing it all away.”
     
    ***
    Horace peered through the window in his living room. That cop was waiting around by their beach house. That boy must have done something really stupid. It would have been easy to tell the cop that he had suspicions