The Inn at Shadow Lake Read online

  A brilliant flash of lightning cast eerie shadows on the wooden plank ceiling, revealing clusters of creepy cobwebs. An explosive clap of thunder echoed behind the flash of light, shaking the very floor on which she sat.

  Not willing to stay in the confining space any longer, Julie decided to take the carton with her and look for the employee album in the safety of her office.

  Making her way toward the ladder, she shut off the light, wondering for the hundredth time why she felt as if someone was watching her. She turned toward the tiny window and the sound of the howling wind, and swallowed hard. Did she really think she could solve a murder investigation on her own? But the detectives had been more secretive than ever the past few days. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  The next few months would make or break the future of Shadow Lake Inn. She’d worked nonstop to keep the inn running the past few years. Julie wouldn’t let anything get in the way of its success. Not even a murder.

  Saying a quick, silent prayer and shaking the uneasiness from her heart, Julie stood and promised herself she would solve the investigation on her own.

  The floor creaked under her boots when she walked and another loud crash of thunder rumbled against the roof. Luminescent lightning cast a sinister glow across the attic revealing a small, ancient-looking little doorway she had never noticed before. Funny. Why hadn’t she seen that tiny entry way until now?

  Maybe she’d call Nick and ask him to look at it the next time he paid a visit, or surprised her again with an impromptu trip up from Seattle. He’d been so sweet, helping to fix things around the lodge since Paul’s death.

  Julie gripped the box in one arm and made her way down the tall ladder that led to and from the old tower room. Another crash of thunder shook the inn. The heel of her designer boot caught on one of the lower wooden rungs. Losing her balance, Julie dropped the box and held on to the wobbly ladder. The cardboard container flipped over and fell, scattering several photos along the old oak flooring of the corridor beneath her. Holding on for dear life, Julie prayed she wouldn’t meet the same fate.

  “Whoa!” Strong, muscular arms settled around her waist and guided her down the ladder. “You okay? You almost took a nasty tumble.” A man’s deep voice rumbled gently against the back of her neck, his breath warm on her cheek. Gently turning her around in his arms, his gaze connected with hers. Familiar steel-blue eyes widened in surprised recognition. “Julie?”

  Swallowing hard, her gaze flew to the familiar face of her college sweetheart, Zach Marshall. She forgot about the storm thundering overhead, the murder at the inn and the narrow escape of falling from the ladder. Her heart reeled with a sudden rush of sweet memories.

  Zach’s good looks, tall lean body and mischievous grin had attracted her initially all those years ago. But his honesty and charm had won her heart. One slow smile from Zach and she was over the moon. And when he kissed her…

  “Julie!” Chuckling lightly, a slow grin lit his face. “Is it really you?”

  Julie swallowed and fought to still the dizziness as the passageway began to swirl around her. She blinked and cleared her mind, yet there he was standing before her. “Z-Zach?”

  “Yeah,” he answered, chuckling again. “I never thought I’d run into anyone I knew…way out here.” His intense gaze held hers. “Hey, you sure you’re all right?” he asked, his voice deep and low. “You’re shaking.”

  “Yes.” He stood merely inches away, his strong arms still lightly placed around her waist. Her hands rested on his cotton shirt. His steady heartbeat pulsed against her fingers. “I’m fine,” she managed, gazing into his eyes.

  He let her down until she stood on solid ground. Slowly lowering her hands from Zach’s hard, muscular chest, she pulled her gaze from his and turned toward the loud, clattering sound of approaching footsteps.

  “What on earth?” Beatrice, Julie’s British lodge manager, stood in the hallway. Placing both hands on her ample hips, she glanced up toward the attic door. “What were you doing up there?” she asked with a nod of her head. “You know it’s haunted,” she added, fixing a stern look at Julie.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Beatrice.” Yet Julie wondered. She stole a glance at Zach, half-tempted to touch him again and make sure he wasn’t an illusion from her past. She pressed a hand to her lips. He really was here. But why?

  Beatrice hurried to collect the loose photographs that lay scattered across the floor. “Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Really,” Julie insisted, though she felt as if she might keel over when she noticed the subject of the pictures lying faceup on the floor.

  Zach. On his Harley.

  “What madness sent you up that ancient ladder anyway dressed up the way you are? And during a storm, no less.” Beatrice clucked her tongue in disapproval and placed the pencil she’d been holding into her curly, gray hair.

  “I…had some things to take care of.” Julie smoothed her long, black skirt. She couldn’t blurt out she was looking for clues to the murder. Not in front of Zach. Or anyone.

  “You should have asked for help,” Beatrice admonished. “You could’ve fallen. We’ve had enough accidents around here lately.” As she spoke, she flipped through the photographs in her hand. Eyes wide, she looked back and forth from the old pictures to Zach, then stood, transfixed.

  For the first time Julie could remember, Beatrice appeared speechless. Julie’s gaze focused on the photographs in Beatrice’s hand. She remembered with vivid accuracy the day she took those pictures—Zach on his bike moments before he proposed and then sped away.

  Out of her life. Forever.

  Until today.

  Glancing at Beatrice and placing a finger to her lips, Julie realized that her friend recognized him as the man in the photos. Would she at least have the common sense and decency to keep her mouth shut?

  “Let me grab that for you,” Zach offered. He reached for the overturned carton on the floor. “It looks heavy.”

  “No!” Julie and Beatrice exclaimed in unison, exchanging frantic glances.

  Zach’s eyes narrowed. “You sure?”

  “Yes.” Julie cleared her throat. “I can manage it.” Brushing remnants of cobwebs from her ice-pink cashmere sweater set, Julie gave her friend and coworker a warning look.

  Beatrice raised an eyebrow in response. “You should take some time off.” She stole another glance at Zach and the pictures she held in her hand. “After all, you are the owner. You certainly deserve a break. Especially after everything that’s happened around here the past few weeks.” She eyeballed Zach again.

  “I’m fine…really,” Julie croaked. She bit her lower lip. “No need to take the day off.” Surely, Beatrice knew not to utter a word about the murder or that Zach was the man in the photos. How embarrassing. Didn’t she have any sense of privacy?

  Though the lodge couldn’t afford the extra cost, Julie had insisted on paying a security guard for the safety of the guests. Besides the police, she and Beatrice were the only ones who knew about the crime.

  Beatrice just happened to be there when Julie came stumbling into the office in her bloodstained sweats early on that awful morning. Blood on her hands, too, from when she tried to awaken Paul, in vain.

  Soon after, the police had discreetly arrived, not wanting to alarm the guests, yet questioning several of them. The detectives said that maintaining a low profile was vital to the ongoing investigation. But keeping the brutal slaying quiet weighed heavily on Julie’s nerves. She didn’t like it.

  Still holding the snapshots in a death grip, Beatrice placed both hands on her hips again. “I shall speak with you later,” she added in her very proper British accent. She turned and started down the long corridor.

  “Wait!” Catching up with her, Julie gently took the photos of Zach from Beatrice’s hands. “I’ll take those.” Whispering lightly she added, “Not a word!” and marched back to the troublesome box before Zach could get a look at
its contents.

  “Well then,” Beatrice said after a moment. “I guess I’ll leave you to your…guest.” She gave Zach a fleeting glance, turned on her heel and stalked away.

  Julie and Zach faced each other. A silent moment that seemed to stretch into eternity. The storm and the murder weren’t the only mystifying elements causing her pulse to race. His tall, powerful physique, black leather jacket and well-fitted jeans added several extra beats to her already fluttering heart.

  Her mind drifted back eight years. She saw herself riding with him on his motorcycle, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist. Memories of his clean, masculine scent—flashbacks of Zach wearing the very same leather jacket he wore today—filled her senses. Julie felt the distinct memory of his lips against hers. Images of their private picnic spot at Hurricane Ridge filled her mind with thoughts she should have forgotten, even as a chill of awareness prickled her spine.

  She’d been so young. Only twenty-one. Yet she’d loved Zach with all her heart. Julie forced herself to breathe. The deserted hallway suddenly seemed much too small, too narrow. Chestnut-brown hair fell across his eyes. His slow, crooked grin released a stream of remembrances to flood her mind—the way his eyes darkened with emotion when he kissed her, his tender touch.

  Did he end up in California on his impromptu adventure, the one he had asked her to go on with him the day he proposed? Surely he couldn’t have expected her to leave her family and friends on a moment’s notice and ride off with him into the sunset. She’d never even had the chance to tell him about her grandmother’s death the night before. He’d always been too adventurous for her. Too impulsive.

  She told him “no,” yet watching him speed away on his Harley without her left an ache, an emptiness deep in her heart. There had been many sleepless nights when she relied on God’s strength, wondering if she’d made a mistake in not going with him.

  But she couldn’t leave her family. Julie needed time to grieve over the passing of the beloved grandmother who had always made life fun for her and her brother. If only she’d had the chance to tell Zach. She drew a shaky breath. She’d never heard from him again. Until now.

  “What were you doing up there alone?” Zach asked, nodding toward the attic. Slowly his gaze drifted down the length of her body. His hands fisted inside the pockets of his leather jacket. His intense gaze returned to meet hers.

  “Nothing, really.” Zach was the only person she ever told about her claustrophobia. Had he remembered? “What are you doing in this section of the inn, Zach? This corridor isn’t open to guests. It needs to be renovated. Didn’t you see the sign?”

  “Sign?” Zach glanced down the hallway. “Must’ve missed it.”

  “I guess so.” Taking a quick breath, she reached for the box and slowly turned it upright being careful not to let the albums or any other photos slip out for Zach to see. She lifted it from the wooden floor. “I’ll just put this away.” Far away.

  “I can’t let you do that,” Zach said grabbing the carton.

  “What? Wait, I—”

  “It’s way too heavy. Good thing I happened to wander by.” He easily lifted the cardboard container from her arms. “You might’ve fallen off that ladder if I hadn’t been here.” He raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the stairs at the other end of the hall. “Lead the way.”

  “Fine.” Several minutes later, they reached the main floor and Julie opened the door to her private office. I should’ve duct-taped that box shut. Permanently.

  “Where do you want this?” he asked, hovering in the doorway.

  “Thanks, I can handle it from here.” Julie took the box from his arms, walked to the far corner of her office and then lowered it onto the carpet. She turned to face him. “See, it wasn’t that heavy.”

  “If you say so.” Zach leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his broad chest. His blue-gray eyes filled with a familiar longing and a lazy smile eased its way across his face. “So, how are you, Julie?”

  “I’m fine.” She took in a much-needed breath. Zach’s sudden presence in her life was taking its toll on her already frazzled nerves. The pleasant aroma of vanilla almond coffee brewing in the Capresso machine in the corner of the room gave her the sense of normalcy she so desperately needed. Beatrice always made her a fresh pot of coffee at this time of day. At least something was going according to plan. Julie curled a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s been a while, Zach,” she said, leaning one hip against the top of her desk.

  “Yeah.” Zach scanned the office before his penetrating gaze returned to meet hers. “About eight years, Jewels.”

  He called her by his old nickname for her. The one she hated. Yet, hearing it now brought forth a rush of precious memories. She forced the sweet thoughts from her heart and mind. “Has it been that long?” Though she knew all too well exactly how long ago it had been.

  “Yeah. So, what have you been up to?” he asked.

  Julie smiled. “Running the lodge, for one thing.”

  His gaze locked on hers. “You really own this resort?”

  “Yes.” She nodded and took in another quick breath. It was good to see him. Zach had meant the world to her once. “My husband and I bought it and—”

  “Right.” His sudden, cool gaze confused her. “You look great. You haven’t aged a day.” He pushed off the doorway and backed up a step.

  “Thanks.” Why was he deliberately making her uncomfortable? It wasn’t like him. At least not like the Zach she used to know. She lowered her gaze so he wouldn’t notice the moisture in her eyes. “I’d…better let you go,” she said once she composed herself. She lifted her gaze to meet his.

  “Yeah, I’m off to do some exploring.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know. Take a drive around the lake, find a couple of places to fish.”

  Julie ached to do a little exploring of her own and run her fingers across the roughness of his jaw. It was good to hear his deep, familiar voice. She had to get a grip on the overpowering emotions coursing through her. Seeing him again, old feelings resurfaced, stronger than ever.

  A strand of hair fell across his forehead and she fought the overwhelming impulse to smooth it back, as she used to. “How long are you staying, Zach?” Surely, he couldn’t be their “mystery man,” the one who had insisted on main level accommodations with a view of the lake. But the way her day was going…

  Julie wished she’d made more time to be involved with the lone guest who had mysteriously booked a room for an extended stay. If she’d seen his name, she would’ve had some warning. “Are you with your family?” she asked, hoping he would say yes.

  “No. It’s just me.” He smiled, but it wasn’t real.

  Julie studied his face. Something was wrong. He was their “mystery man,” all right, in more ways than one. “Is your room okay? We wanted to make sure that you’d be comfortable. You know, for such a long…vacation.”

  “Yeah. It’s great.” His distant gaze held hers. “You and your husband must love it here.”

  Julie walked to stand at the open door with him. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end of the lobby, she surveyed the silvery lake and the tall evergreens of the densely treed property.

  Her heart felt as heavy as the thick morning mist that rose from Shadow Lake. The steely gray presence curled up the vast, manicured lawn near the back of the lodge, lingering at the tall windows until it enveloped the building in a translucent cocoon.

  Eerie, yet beautiful. Peaceful, but lonely.

  Just like her heart.

  Dragging in a deep breath, and wondering about her sudden case of melancholy, she turned to face Zach. “My husband…Tim—” she blinked and cleared her throat “—he…he died suddenly. Three years ago.” She still found it hard to discuss Tim’s death and the virus that had weakened his heart in a matter of weeks.

  Zach reached out and gently lifted her chin so her gaze would meet his. “I’m sorry, Julie.” His words, so sincerely spoken, revealed the
tender man she remembered. The gentle touch of his long fingers brushing her cheek stirred emotions she’d tried to bury along with their past.

  He took her hands in his. His gaze connected to her soul this time and a glimmer of sunshine filtered into the fogginess of her heart. His strong, warm hands felt so good around hers. They stood only inches apart. “You sure you’re all right?”

  Thoughts of their past raced through her mind and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him again. Clearing her head, she pushed the thought away. “I’m fine.” In Zach’s strong arms, she felt like a college girl all over again. Could he feel how her hands trembled in his?

  “Okay. I’m off to do some sightseeing.” Gently, he released her hands from his.

  “Thanks for saving me from an embarrassing fall.”

  “Yes. Catch you later.” Zach chuckled. He winked and for a split second, his teasing gaze held hers.

  She’d always loved his sense of humor. In seconds, he was out the door with no plans and probably no map. He hadn’t changed at all. But something in his life had left the emptiness she saw in his eyes. After all these years, why would God bring Zach back into her life now? Circumstances at the lodge couldn’t be worse.

  Zach would never admit it, she knew, but he looked as if he could use a friend.

  Placing a hand to her heart and reeling from the deep emotions swirling inside, Julie suddenly realized, so could she.

  Especially since…the murder.

  TWO

  Zach pulled his vehicle into the small parking lot across from Shadow Lake Inn after having spent the last four hours mapping out the perimeter around the lake and meeting with team members on the case.

  Senior Agent John Castlerock hadn’t been at the rendezvous point as planned, and none of the other agents knew his whereabouts. Zach didn’t like the troubling thoughts running through his mind.