Read Troubled Waters (The Lake Trilogy, Book 2) for Free Online

big couch in the Great Room. I’m about to call out my Marcus-free day report when I hear something that sounds like someone sniffling. I search for the source and head to the kitchen where I find Luke and Claire looking solemn. I can see that it’s Claire who has been crying by her red, puffy eyes and sniffing nose.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask, rushing to Claire’s side.
    “Layla, you should sit down,” Luke says softly.
    “Why? What’s going on?”
    “Layla…” Luke says slowly. “They found Will.”
    “What? That’s great!” I say excitedly.
    “No, it’s not,” Luke begins. “There was an accident.”
    The sound of Luke’s voice is the last thing I remember.
    *****
    I wake up without opening my eyes. I’m in my bed and I can hear Luke and Claire’s muffled voices.
    “How much longer did Carol say she thought Layla would be out?” Luke asks quietly.
    “She said that there’s really no way to tell but considering her past experience, it could be a while. She said this type of shutting down is the mind’s way of protecting itself. Carol was surprised when I told her how fast Layla went from hysterics to passing out,” Claire says, seeming to relay a conversation she had with Caroline’s mom. Having a psychiatrist friend has its perks.
    “Is there anything we can do for her?” I can hear the sadness in Luke’s voice.
    “The best thing right now is to let her rest.”
    The voices stop and I try to remember every word that Luke said about the accident. It’s getting blurry and I need to recapture it before the details are completely gone. If I can remember what he told me then I can piece together how it isn’t true; how there’s been a mistake.
    Will and his mother were driving home from Hickory when something happened…Will lost control of the car. They hit…a tree…and the engine…it caught on fire. They were both knocked unconscious before the whole car went up in flames. There has to be something I’m forgetting. It can’t be that cut and dry. Oil slick? No. Cow in the road? Yes, maybe that was it. Luke said they were on a back road off Interstate Forty. Something about it isn’t sitting right with me. There’s been a mistake. Or, if it’s not a mistake, there’s more to it. It couldn’t be just a tragic accident. Not another tragic accident to add to the story of my life.
    When I open my eyes the room is pitch black except for the bright red glow of the clock, which reads 11:45 pm. I get up and steady myself before I walk to the door and open it. My eyes are sore and swollen. It hurts to blink.
    I walk carefully down the stairs and into the kitchen.
    “Layla! Honey, how are you?” Luke rushes to my side from across the room in one fluid slide, trying to steady me although I’m balancing just fine now. He helps me onto the stool at the island counter and Claire brings me a glass of water.
    “I’m fine,” I say calmly.
    “Would you like to talk, Layla?”
    “How did you find out?” I answer, although the words were on the tip of my tongue before she asked.
    “Will’s father called,” Claire answers.
    “What did he say?”
    “He told us what we told you. He thought…he thought you might want to know,” she continues.
    “That’s very generous of him,” I say with as much insincerity as I know how to convey. “Did he sound upset?”
    “Yes,” Claire answers slowly.
    “How upset?”
    “Very upset…in his own way.” She knows where I’m going with my questioning.
    “If they were on their way home from Hickory, why are we just finding out now? It’s been over two months.”
    “Layla, you don’t want all the details…” Luke starts.
    “Yes. I do. Why are we just finding out now?” I reiterate.
    Luke takes a deep breath, readying himself. “Their bodies were…unrecognizable. An investigator that Greg had on the case followed a lead that just now panned out. They were in the city morgue. They had to be identified through their dental records.”
    “Is