“Why do I feel like I’m leading a discussion at the justice league?”
“Criminals aren’t safe while we’re in town,” said LeVar.
Darren sipped a beer and nodded at Thomas.
“I’m unsure who closed more cases this year. The sheriff’s department, or Wolf Lake Consulting.”
“The private investigators won, hands down,” Chelsey said, drawing laughter.
Darren turned to Gray.
“We could use you on the team. An ex-sheriff leading the charge would take us to a whole new level.”
“Bah,” Gray said, nursing his wine. “You don’t want my tired face dragging you down. Besides, I’m enjoying retirement. It’s your turn to catch the bad guys.”
“Don’t forget the rogue Scooby Doo investigative team,” Serena added.
Thomas rolled his eyes.
“You mean the sleuths holding secret meetings inside my guest house?”
LeVar smirked.
“We’d invite you, Shep Dawg. But the card table is too small for that many egos.”
Everyone chuckled. Thomas raised his hands in defeat.
“It’s probably better I don’t know what you’re doing behind my back.”
“Making the Nightshade County Sheriff’s Department look good,” Raven said, accepting a high-five from Chelsey.
Thomas cleared his throat.
“Be that as it may, we were all fortunate to have an indispensable resource at our disposal.” The guests shared confused glances. “I’m speaking about our very own Scout Mourning, of course.”
“Here, here,” Raven said, raising a wine glass.
Scout’s face turned three shades of crimson.
“And rumor has it there are two more crime fighting superheroes helping Scout.”
They all turned their heads toward Naomi and Serena.
“Don’t look at me,” Serena said. “Scout caught Gardner Raimi on her own.”
The chatter died down. Thomas pushed his water glass around pensively as he studied the tabletop.
“But the sailing hasn’t always been smooth. Last spring, a serial killer visited our yards after stalking Scout on the teen sleuthing forum. A gangster attacked LeVar in his own home. And Halloween night, Mark Benson broke into Raven and Serena’s house.”
Silence flowed around the room. Thomas waited until the gravity of his words settled on them. Knocking his knuckles against the table, he swept his gaze to each guest.
“All of you mean more to me than words can express. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself. You need an alternate approach.” Thomas nodded at Raven and Darren. “From now on, all amateur investigations go through me. Not because I’m on a power trip and want to micromanage your activities. I want in.”
Raven’s eyes brightened.
“You want to be part of the club?”
“I do. Strictly off the books, of course. I’ll use our research in official investigations when appropriate, but we’ll keep the entities separate.”
“Sounds agreeable,” Darren said. “As an ex-cop, I’m not always comfortable with our research. We should never go behind Thomas’s back.”
“I concur,” Naomi said. “And as a mother, I don’t want my daughter investigating murder cases without supervision.”
“Which is why everything must be above board,” Thomas said. “Scout will use the computer in the guest house for research. But only when one of us is with her.”
He held Scout’s eyes until she swallowed her argument.
“From now on, we watch each other’s back. We’re more than friends. We’re family. And we must operate as a team if we wish to keep everyone safe. Are we in agreement?”
No one protested.
“Good. Now promise me the next case won’t leave me standing over a dead body. I need less stress in my life.”
* * *
Thank you so much for reading!
Ready for the next gripping thriller in the Wolf Lake series?
Start reading I Know Your Name now.
Join my VIP Reader Group!
I’m a pretty nice guy once you look past the grisly images in my head. Most of all, I love connecting with awesome readers like you.
Join my VIP Reader Group and get a FREE screen background by clicking below.
Let’s Rock
Show Your Support for Indie Thriller Authors
Did you enjoy this book? If so, please let other thriller fans know by leaving a short review. Positive reviews help spread the word about independent authors and their novels. Thank you.
Copyright Information
Published by Dan Padavona
Visit my website at www.danpadavona.com
Copyright © 2021 by Dan Padavona
Artwork copyright © 2021 by Dan Padavona
Cover Design by Caroline Teagle Johnson
All Rights Reserved
Although some of the locations in this book are actual places, the characters and setting are wholly of the author's imagination. Any resemblance between the people in this book and people in the real world is purely coincidental and unintended.
About the Author
Dan Padavona is the author of the The Darkwater Cove series, The Scarlett Bell thriller series, Severity, The Dark Vanishings series, Camp Slasher, Quilt, Crawlspace, The Face of Midnight, Storberry, Shadow Witch, and the horror anthology, The Island. He lives in upstate New York with his beautiful wife, Terri, and their children, Joe, and Julia. Dan is a meteorologist with NOAA’s National Weather Service. Besides writing, he enjoys visiting amusement parks, beach vacations, Renaissance fairs, gardening, playing with the family dogs, and eating too much ice cream.
Visit Dan at: www.danpadavona.com
