Read November Lake: Teenage Detective (The November Lake Mysteries) Book 1 for Free Online Page A

“The key is locked inside the car.”
    Bending
down, I lit the inside of the car up by shinning the torch through
the window. Then standing straight, and with my heart starting to
quicken, I looked at Kale and said, “The key isn’t there anymore.
Someone has taken it.”
    “ What?” Kale said, easing me aside and peering into the car.
“Why would someone want to take the car key?”
    “ So we can’t drive away from here,” I said, my skin turning
cold. Shivering, I pulled my coat tight about me.
    “ But who would do that?” Kale said.
    “ The same guy who was staring at me back at the petrol station,
the same guy who drove us off the road, the same guy who has now
disappeared,” I whispered, my eyes darting left, then right as I
glanced nervously into the thickening fog.
    “ But why would he want to do any of those things?” Kale
whispered back, his face now looking as if it had drained of all
colour.
    “ I guess there is only one way of finding out,” I said, setting
off in the direction that the spots of blood led.
     
    The
trail soon petered out or became invisible amongst the wild thorny
shrubs and bushes that covered the slate walls on either side of
the country road. The fog was still dense and surrounded us like
smoky cloud. It muffled any sound, drowning our world in silence.
The whole effect was disorientating, and it wasn’t long before I
had lost all sense of direction. I rummaged through my coat pocket
for my phone, fingertips brushing over the mints Kale had given me
earlier that night. I plucked my phone from my pocket. There was no
signal.
    “ I haven’t got a signal either,” Kale said, standing beside me,
phone in hand.
    “ I’m not surprised,” I smiled, looking at the brick he held in
his hands. “Where did you get that thing? A museum?”
    “ It’s cheap,” he said, shoving it into his pocket. “I like
cheap and so does my overdraft.”
    I shone
my torch along the wall for any signs of blood. A few steps away,
almost hidden by the fog was a stile. “This way,” I said over my
shoulder at Kale. I spotted the bloody handprint on the wooden post
almost at once. Shining the light on it, I said, “Looks like our
man went this way.”
    Gripping
the torch in one hand, I climbed over the stile and into the field
on the other side. Mud squelched about my boots. I waited for Kale
to climb over, then together we set off into the fog once again. We
hadn’t gone very far when I heard the sound of murmuring. It was
very faint. Cocking my head to one side, I strained to locate the
direction it was coming from.
    “ Ahead,” Kale said, pointing into the wall of fog and setting
off.
    I went
after him. The murmuring grew louder. And with every step it
sounded as if someone was crying out in pain. I gripped Kale’s arm
to slow him. “Be careful.”
    “ Always.” Kale gave a nervous smile.
    Then,
turning, we almost tripped over the body lying in the field. Both
of us cried out in surprise and the body at our feet cried out in
pain.
    “ Watch where you’re going, can’t you?” a voice
groaned.
    I shone
my torch down into the upturned face peering out of the churning
fog at us. I flinched backwards at his stare. It was the man who
had been watching me back at the petrol station. But now his eyes
were clouded over with pain as he pressed the palm of one hand to
his side. He wore a wax coat, and the blue checked shirt beneath it
was stained black with his blood. It seeped through his fingers. My
first instinct was to kneel down and tend to his wound, as I had
learnt advanced first aid at training school, but I fought the urge
and stood back. This was the man who had creeped me out. This was
the man who had driven us off the road and stolen the keys to our
car. I placed my hand in my coat pocket and let my fingers brush
over my police badge.
    “ Help me,” the man groaned.
    “ Give me back the keys to my car,” Kale said, holding out his
hand.
    “ I don’t know what you’re talking