She’d arrived in her official capacity on Monday morning and by Wednesday evening she had learned that everyone in Lost Lagoon seemed to move at a slower pace than anywhere else in the world. She’d discovered that the town was rich in pirate lore and that a new amusement park being built on a ridge just above the town had the business owners excited about new commerce.
It was after seven when she packed up to leave to go home. She’d already called her mother to tell her to go ahead and feed Lily and get her ready for bed.
She was surprised to leave the office and see Daniel at his desk. She’d assumed he’d gone home at four when he was off duty.
“I thought you’d have left by now. Don’t you have a family to get home to?” she asked.
He reared back in his chair, looking as fresh and alert as he had that morning. “No wife, no family and no desire for either. I’m a confirmed bachelor,” he said. “I assume you’re headed home?”
“Eventually, but before that I want to go to the scene of Shelly’s murder. I haven’t really gotten out and about town much and I just want to get a feel for where the crime took place.”
Daniel frowned. “I’d rather you not go there by yourself. How about I drive there and you follow me? I can give you a better idea of what things looked like on that night.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she protested.
“You didn’t. I offered. Besides, it’s my job to assist you.” He stood as if it were settled. “I was ready to knock off for the night anyway.”
Minutes later Olivia followed behind Daniel’s patrol car toward the south end of town. They traveled on Main Street, and as she drove she glanced at the various businesses that lined the streets.
So far she’d only gone from the station to her home on the west side of town. She hadn’t ventured into the heart of Lost Lagoon. On one side of the street she noticed an ice cream parlor and made a note to be sure and visit it with her mother and Lily. Lily loved ice cream.
Lily. If she’d been conflicted at all about telling Daniel that their night of passion had resulted in a daughter for him, her conflict had been resolved when he’d said he had no desire for a wife or a family and that he was a confirmed bachelor.
She focused back on her surroundings. On one corner a shop held a large sign that indicated it was Mama Baptiste’s Apothecary and Gift Shop and further down the road was a two-story hotel named The Pirate’s Inn. In between were shops catering to tourists, a dress boutique and Jimmy’s Place where the parking spaces in front of the three-story building were filled with various makes and models of vehicles.
Olivia’s stomach rumbled as she thought of all the people inside enjoying a meal. She’d skipped lunch that day and although she knew Rose would have kept something for her to zap in the microwave for dinner, her stomach was ready to be fed as soon as possible.
While they continued on, the buildings ended and Main Street joined an outer road that she knew circled around the entire town.
Olivia followed him onto the outer road and then when he stopped and pulled to the curb, she did the same. On the opposite side of the road in the near distance was a row of bushes broken only by a stone bench.
Daniel got out of his car and she followed suit. Here the smell of the swamp was thick in the humid air. The scent of tangled musty foliage battled with a fishy smell, and the humidity was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Daniel joined her by the side of her car. “Bo worked the night shift at Bo’s Place and Shelly worked the night shift at The Pirate’s Inn. Before she went into work, Bo often sneaked away and the two of them would meet here for a few minutes before they each returned to work.”
“So Shelly showed up that night, but according to the message that she got from Bo, he didn’t come.” Olivia stared at the bench where a young, beautiful woman had spent the last minutes of her life. Who had met Shelly here in the middle of the night and strangled her to death then threw her body in the nearby lagoon?
They crossed the street. Beyond the bushes and the stone bench was a grassy area that ran from one edge of the swampy growth to the other side, and beyond that the lagoon water sparkled darkly in the waning sunlight.
“No evidence was found?” Olivia asked.
“The bushes on the left side of the bench were trampled down, indicating that the struggle occurred there, but we didn’t find anything in the way of evidence.” His voice held a wealth of frustration.
“From the minute I read this file, I’ve been haunted by her,” Olivia said softly.
“You aren’t the only one. I’ve spent two years with her ghost haunting my dreams, begging for justice. In the last year, Shelly’s sister, Savannah, kept her sister relevant by dressing up like a ghost and walking on the grassy area just in front of the lagoon.”
Olivia looked at him in surprise. “Really?”
“On Friday nights teenagers would gather and hide behind the bushes, waiting for the ghost of Shelly to appear. Savannah used a tunnel that runs from her backyard to the base of a tree.” He pointed to the right of the grassy area where a cypress tree rose up. “She’d wear some gauzy white dress with a flashlight tied to her waist beneath to give her a ghostly glow. She’d walk across to the other side where a cave led back to the tunnel that would take her home.”
“Why would she do such a thing?” Olivia asked, wanting to know all the ins and outs of this case.
Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the dark lagoon water. He appeared haunted, his eyes fixed in the distance and his posture one of faint defeat.
“When Shelly was buried, Savannah’s parents moved away and left her and her brother, Mac, the family house. Mac married and moved out soon after that. According to Shelly, she wasn’t allowed to speak of her sister, either to her parents or to her brother. She did her ghostly walks to hear the teenagers behind the bushes gasp and shout out Shelly’s name. It was her way of keeping her sister alive.”
He pulled his hands from his pockets and turned back to gaze at Olivia. “Thankfully, Josh caught on to what she was doing and with his love she’s healing. But she needs closure. She needs her sister’s killer behind bars to fully embrace the life she’s building with Josh.”
“Tomorrow I’d like you to go with me to interview Bo McBride. I know small towns and that often people are hostile or suspicious of strangers. I think I’ll get more answers if you’re with me.”
Daniel nodded. “Just tell me when and I’ll be glad to go with you.”
Olivia walked forward and sat on the bench, as if she could somehow pick up something from the horror of the crime that had happened so long ago.
It was darker here, the sinking sun unable to penetrate the shadows formed by the swamp vegetation and the trees with thick Spanish moss dripping from their branches.
Daniel sat next to her. His spicy cologne was familiar as it wafted to her. It wasn’t just a familiar scent she’d noticed over the last couple of days, but one she remembered from a night that shouldn’t have happened. It was a night that should have been erased from her memory bank long ago.
“Tell me about Bo McBride,” she said in an effort to keep away memories that had no place in her head.
“Bo was one of the golden boys in town. He was liked and respected by everyone. He was handsome and had a beautiful girlfriend. His business was extremely successful and at least on the surface it appeared he had the world by the tail.”
“Do you think he killed Shelly?”
His features were dappled by shadows and his eyes glowed silvery