As the last streaks of sunset gave way to the more sinister shaded sky, Trent Newman carefully turned into the Pine Lake Recreational Area. He took in the environment and noticed no cars, no people, not even park rangers.
Under cover of darkness…no witnesses to worry about, he thought. All I need is to concentrate on where I’m going.
He smiled in anticipation of the fateful meeting he had planned for Claire. Finally, the love of my life is here!
Grinning from ear to ear, he reasoned, In fact, what a great place to make it all happen!
As Trent recalled what had occurred here four years ago, a frown replaced his smile, How did Claire know to come here?
Agitated, he continued questioning, does she suspect Libby is buried here? And, if so, who else might know my secret?
He thought about Jim Hoppes and frowned. Trent knew that he would have to kill him if that was the case. He clutched the knife tighter, squeezing the handle as if it was a replacement for a future victim’s neck.
Responding to the building uneasiness, Trent applied more pressure on the accelerator as he followed the main road into the park. Rounding a curve, he did not see another car turn into the entrance. All of his attention was focused on finding Claire.
He knew she would understand. It had always been about Claire. He loved her and no one else.
There’s her car! He recognized immediately that she had parked in the wrong lot.
This buys me more time, if she hasn’t been here long.
Again, his grin turned to a scowl. But, if she has, I don’t want her digging around too much. She might be sorry if she finds anything.
Trent continued on to the right parking lot. Organizing his thoughts and preparing for what he would tell Claire, he didn’t notice the other car as it pulled into the same parking area she had used.
* * * * *
As Jim Hoppes approached the park, he noticed a vehicle turning onto the main road and deliberately slowed down to make himself less visible. Jim strained his eyes to see the other car and identify its occupant.
Can’t tell for sure, but it looks like a man driving. Hard to see more than that…he hesitated and remembered something…it was following me on 46 and turned off on a side road behind me.
His analytical mind struggled to remember anything else of importance, and his eyes lit up when he finally recalled that that road led to Pine Lake too. Now I remember! It’s a short cut to the Lake!
Jim pushed himself to recollect when he first noticed the vehicle behind him. I know it wasn’t behind me when I drove through Nashville, but maybe he was trying to follow at a distance.
The car doesn’t ring a bell…or does it?
He fought to recall more details. Whoever it is he stayed too far back for me to make a positive I.D., so now I’d best be careful, stay back, and keep an eye on him.
No one else is in the Park that I can see so why would anyone be here? It’s almost dark, still cold…not exactly a prime time for picnicking.
Then, a look of determination came over Jim’s face as he realized his suspicions might be warranted. I’ll follow at a safe distance with my lights turned off. Don’t want to alert him to my presence. He might be up to no good.
Jim let his foot off the accelerator and slowed down. Turning off his headlights before rounding the curve, he kept his eyes on the car ahead. Hmmm…wonder why the person driving that car slowed and braked slightly?
The other car sped up again almost as if he had read Jim’s mind. Guess I’ll find out soon enough.
As Jim kept an eye on the car lights ahead, he came to the point in the road where the other driver had slowed down and braked. Jim looked over. That’s Claire’s car!
Without hesitating he made a fateful decision and swung his car into the same parking area.
* * * * *
Claire stood there in the clearing, her eyes adjusting to nightfall, taking in the details while her mind absorbed the visual memories. She listened to the sounds of nature and surroundings and could hear the canoe bobbing up and down in the slight current, tapping against the rickety dock. An owl hooted in the distance. Claire thought she heard a small animal skitter across the forest floor, but the hard ground muted the sound enough to cast some doubt on her auditory impression.
Feeling foolish now and wondering how she planned to summon up a ghost, she leaned against one of the dock posts and thought, so, what’s next, Claire Dungarven? Do you wait until Libby appears or do you say something and alert her to the fact that you’re here?
Claire shook her head. That’s pretty silly. She’s the one who told me to come! She’s here and she knows I am too!
Sighing, she stood up straight and announced to the cold and dark, “Libby, it’s Claire. If you’re here, please let me know.”
Looking obliquely out over the lake, her senses sharpened as she tried to pick up any noise or vision that would herald Libby’s presence. Starting to doubt her own sanity, she positioned herself there in that spot to stare out into the night, almost in a hypnotic trance. She didn’t realize that she was hardly breathing until she let out a strong exhalation. And that was the exact moment when she heard a tenuous rustling coming from the forest behind her. Tensing, she listened with all the inner strength she could muster. Her ears hurt physically from the strain she put on herself, but no other sound emanated from the woods.
Claire couldn’t identify the noise because it was so hushed as to be inconsequential. However she knew it wasn’t. It was there and it was there for a reason. It was alerting her to a presence and she knew in that instant that she was about to meet Libby Newman face-to-face.
She turned around slowly, feeling the trepidation, hearing her own heart hammering away inside her chest. Her eyes focused on the outlines coming into sight—the stoic tree trunks, spreading out into barren branches, with moonlight filtering through. But as Claire adjusted her eyesight to take in the surroundings of land and not water, she was hit with the vision of a shape forming amongst the trees. It seemed to take on more substance as it moved forward out of the forest and into the space between solid and liquid, between woods and lake. Was it just her mind playing tricks on her or did it look like it was floating as it approached? Her brain didn’t have time to answer that question before she jolted upright in surprising recognition of the figure before her as night glow lit up the features. Shock coursed through her body and she shivered as the night air turned even colder. Her eyes opened wide and her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she said, “Oh my God, what are you doing here?”