Buried (Twisted Cedars Mysteries Book 1) by C. J. Carmichael Read Free Book Online Page A

well.”
    Rather than seem pleased, Jim gave him a suspicious look, then straightened his shoulders and nodded. “Well, better get myself home. Guess I’ll be seeing you at the rehearsal dinner on Friday.”
    Dougal doubted it, but nodded anyway. He was sure Kyle and his father had ass-loads of money. His worries for his sister didn’t include financial ones.
    Dougal drove the four blocks to the Ocean View Motel, which was pretty much as he remembered it. The ocean was all he could hear when he stepped out of his car. He’d been ensconced in Manhattan for so many years he’d grown unaccustomed to the sound of the sea. Now the crashing waves, the almighty noise of them, the power and the salty spray, lifted his spirits a little as he crossed the parking lot.
    A gray-haired man was tearing rotten planks from the short set of stairs that led inside. Dougal recognized him right away. Amos Ward, local handyman, a jack-of-all-trades. He and his wife Stella had been like family when Dougal was growing up. Amos had also once been Dougal’s dad’s best friend. But that had been before, as Stella put it, “Edward showed his true colors.”
    Amos clasped Dougal’s hand warmly, asked how life was treating him. After a brief catch-up, he went back to work, applying his weight to the crowbar and prying away another piece of the disintegrating pine. “Come over to the house some night. I know Stella would love to see you.”
    “I’ll do that.” Dougal went around the corner and found a secondary door propped open with a cement block. Inside, a curly-haired blonde smiled from behind the desk. She was a year younger than him—he remembered her from school.
    “Dougal Lachlan! Is that really you?” She bubbled on for a while about how long it had been since they’d seen one another. She caught him up on the major events of her life, including marriage to a guy he vaguely remembered from the football team.
    “Me and Lance bought this motel last year. We’ve hired Amos to help us fix it up a little. Sorry for the mess.”
    Holly. Her name came to him mid-way through her stream of sentences.
    “You must be here for your sister’s wedding. How many nights will you be staying?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    “That’s okay. I’ll take an imprint of your credit card and we’ll settle up whenever you’re ready to leave. License plate number?”
    She filled out the paperwork efficiently, and then passed him a key.
    “It’s the nicest room. Amos just finished renovating the bathroom.”
    “Thanks.” The brass key had the room number engraved on it. Not good for security reasons, but handy for the guest with a bad memory.
    Holly looked at him expectantly, probably waiting for him to provide some details about his life. He just gave her a smile and a nod, then stepped outside. Checking the number on his key, again, he realized he’d been given the unit farthest from the office, which suited him just fine.
    As he neared his room, a house down the beach caught his eye. The two-story home with a wrap-around porch had been white fourteen years ago. Now it was a bluish gray. It belonged to the Hammonds and he realized that Charlotte probably lived there alone now.
    He wondered if she found it lonely. But then, she had Wade to keep her company. He had to give her credit for her taste in men. Unlike Kyle, Wade had rock-solid values. He was the sort of man who could sleep well at night. Hell, Kyle probably slept well, too, mainly because he was too much of a hound dog to worry about any harm he might have caused others.
    Dougal guessed he was the only insomniac of the group.
    * * *
    After dropping off his belongings in his room, Dougal took stock and realized he was hungry. He still hadn’t contacted his sister, but figured the encounter would go better if he had some food in his stomach. He was sure Jamie was going to berate him for not showing up for their mother’s funeral. And while he knew he deserved it, he wasn’t sure if he