Free Minnie Crockwell - Will Travel for Trouble 02 - Trouble at Sunny Lake by Minnie Crockwell Page B

snatching at some unobservant insect. I eyed the boats lined up on the dock but decided against another pontoon boat adventure. I couldn’t face finding another body.  
    You are quiet this morning, Minerva, Ben said.
    I nodded.
    “I am, aren’t I? Just thinking?”
    About what, may I ask?
    I grinned. “I thought you could read my mind, Ben. In fact, I know you can.”
    Ben chuckled.  
    I try not to pry into your thoughts, but it is often unavoidable. There are times when it is not possible though.
    “Did you read my mind last night?”
    No , he answered briefly.
    I knew from his one-word answer that he probably had been aware of my thoughts about John last night. I sighed heavily.  
    “It’s just that I have regrets, Ben. That’s all.” I was conflicted about pining for a man I’d lost long ago and caring for a man who had been long dead. Neither one of them held my hand as I walked along the edge of the lake.
    Yes, I know , he said quietly. I too have regrets of my own.
    “Really? I’m sorry. They’re a drag, aren’t they? I would love to be one of those people who says, ‘I have no regrets. None!’ What regrets do you have, Ben?”
    My untimely death before I could marry or have children. My presentation to you as an otherworldly spirit, a ghost. That I cannot protect you as I would like. That I cannot hold your hand when you are lonely.
    A tear slipped down my cheek.
    “Oh, Ben!” I reached out to the side as if to take his hand though I had no idea where he was in relation to me. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you feel bad. If you didn’t read my mind, I could hide some of these emotions from you.”
    Yes, I know. Forgive me. It is not always by choice that I am privy to your innermost secrets. My hand is here, next to yours. I see you reach for it.
    I opened my palm and imagined him taking my hand in his. For a brief instant, I thought I could feel a sensation of warmth, but then it was gone. Probably just my imagination.
    “Did you feel that?” I asked Ben with a thumping heart.
    “Miss Crockwell,” someone called out to me from behind. I turned.
    Deputy Kline approached me. I wondered what brought him out so early in the morning, or what he wanted with me. He was suited up for work in his uniform of black ball cap, black polo shirt with embroidered white star on the chest, green cargo pants and belt with pistol and handcuffs on his hip.
    “Yes?”  
    “I’m glad I caught you this morning,” He said. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since the other day, and frankly I wasn’t as polite as I could have been that afternoon. I was in a bit of shock.”
    I waited. What did he want? I hadn’t warmed to him at all.
    He removed his ball cap and ran a hand through short, graying hair.
    “I think Josh told you about Jason Strait and his history.”
    I nodded. “Most of it anyway.”
    “And that my son was killed as a direct result of something he did in Afghanistan,” he stated flatly, showing little emotion other than a ticking in his jaw.
    “I heard that. I’m so sorry.”
    He nodded and pressed his lips together in a bitter grimace.  
    “Well, I’m sorry you had to be dragged into all of this, from finding Jason’s body to that business last night at the cabin with his brother. I talked to Josh on the phone this morning, and he told me you’d met Scott, and that you were the one who knew where he was.”
    I nodded. What did he want? Surely not just to back-brief me on what I already knew?
    “Tensions are running high around here right now, Miss Crockwell. Everyone is mad at everyone. I just wanted to warn you to stay away from Scott Strait. As of last night, he’s our prime suspect in Jason’s murder. His behavior has been suspicious, and they’ve had a history of coming to blows with each other.”
    I nodded again.  
    “Are you going to arrest him?” As if Deputy Kline really needed to tell me that! Pffftttt…
    Surprisingly, he did.
    “Not right now. We