Silent Night by Colleen Coble Read Free Book Online

her mother it was time for a new look,” Bree said. “Martha loves those chickens, though.” She pointed to the cookie plate. “Want to put those on the table? And there are peanut butter ones in the cookie jar.”
    Lauri carried the plate and the jar to the table. “So, big brother, what new sin have I committed now? I could tell I’m in trouble by the way you said my name.”
    Kade glanced at Bree, then back to Lauri. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’d moved?”
    Lauri’s careful smile vanished. She opened the lid to the cookie jar and extracted a cookie before she spoke. “I didn’t think it mattered. When you come to see me, we usually meet at the coffee shop. It’s not a big deal.”
    “What do you know about Frannie Hastings?”
    Lauri’s eyes widened, and she put down the cookie. “Where did you hear that name and how did you know I moved?”
    Kade kept his tone neutral. “We talked to Garrick’s roommate. He mentioned that though he didn’t know Garrick well, the next-door neighbor did. And he gave us the name of that neighbor. You.”
    Lauri slumped back in her chair. “Great.”
    “So what’s this all about, Lauri?” Kade asked.
    Lauri bit her lips. “I’ve done some dumb things in my life. If you think I haven’t noticed, you’d be wrong. I wanted to do something to make you proud of me.”
    “But what does that have to do with Garrick and the missing girl? And I am proud of you, Lauri. Your grades have been great.”
    It was small praise and he knew it, but it was the best he could come up with on short notice.
    Lauri made a face. “I want to be like Bree.” Her gaze went to her sister-in-law. “I found out something about Garrick. Something that made me think he might have had something to do with Frannie Hasting’s disappearance.”
    Bree poured cream into the coffee, then carried the mugs to the table. She handed a cup to each of them. “Did you talk to the sheriff?”
    Lauri’s fingers curled around the mug. “Garrick was acting funny after she went missing. And he told Frannie he’d figured out a way to make enough money to finish his degree. She was curious about it, and he promised to tell her on their weekend away.”
    “That hardly sounds sinister,” Bree said. “She appears to have fallen through the ice.”
    “But Samson didn’t react, right?”
    Bree frowned. “No, but he found her things. I did take him out on the ice, but he didn’t seem to smell anything.”
    “Something about the whole thing seemed off to me. When she went missing, I moved into the apartment next door. When Garrick and Andy were both gone one day, I got into Garrick’s room.”
    “You broke in?” Kade asked, not bothering to hide his disapproval.
    Lauri hunched defensively. “The door wasn’t locked.”
    Kade sighed. “What did you find?”
    “Her necklace. And she never took it off. If she’d fallen through the ice, it wouldn’t have been in his room.”
    “Maybe it fell off in his room,” Bree said. “You can’t jump to conclusions, Lauri.”
    “I know. So I went through his cell phone. I found a text where Garrick had asked her to go camping with him two days before she disappeared. The date was set for the day she went missing.”
    Bree gasped and sat down. “Did you talk to the police about this?”
    Lauri hung her head. “I didn’t have any proof. But I could tell Garrick liked me so I played along. I was supposed to pick him up after the drop and we would head for a cabin on the north side of Little Piney Lake. I hoped to find out something about Frannie.”
    “So that’s why you were there.” Kade’s gut clenched. “Lauri, the duct tape? It was in his backpack.”
    Lauri pumped her fist in the air. “I knew it!” She looked thoughtful. “I wonder if he realized I was on to him.”
    Bree put her coffee on the table and leaned forward. “You put yourself in extreme danger. He could have hurt you or worse. You should have come to me and Kade.”
    Lauri