Mystery of Moon Lake (Book 1, The Mysteries of Lucy Alderidge Series)

Chapter Three- Part Two.

If Lucy had thought the aeroplane trip was bad, getting to Moon Lake was even harder.

Her flight took her to Jackson Airport, which then she had to catch a bus to Evanston and after that Olivia had a driver waiting to take Lucy from there to Moon Lake which was another 3 and a half hour drive, all up the trip took 30 hours, boy was she glad that she had managed to sleep on the plane even with how terrified she was, but what sleep she didn't get she caught back up on with the 3 hour bus trip to Evanston.

After finally reaching Moon Lake Lucy was exhausted, she was jetlagged and felt gross in her clothing which she had been wearing the whole trip.

The driver, who hadn't even spoken to her the entire way, even when she had tried to make conversation, dumped her bags next to the side walk of the main street, slammed the boot shut, got back into the vehicle and took off back the way they had came, someone did not have much manners, considering he was paid to drive people around.

Taking in a big breath, Lucy took in her surroundings.

This place was tiny, the stores looked faded, like they have had too much sun over the years and no new coats of paint, however the street was actually more busy than what Lucy would have imagined it would be for such a small town.

The air smelled of pine, sand and freshwater, the soft breeze blew all around her, causing her to shiver.

It was 9am and even though the sun was warm, the autumn breeze still nipped at Lucy's goose bumps.

People were buying up meat, toiletries and other essentials, Lucy guessed they were preparing for the colder months which had just arrived here in September, the trees of the forest however that surrounded the town looked breath taking.

They were shades of orange, blowing softly, against the crystal blue of the lake she could see, it looked like a set from a movie, or a place one would travel in Hawaii.

The shape of Moon Lake was like a half moon, shaping around the freshwater lake, it seemed almost magical.

"You must be Lucy Alderidge am I correct?" came a very strong Utah accent from behind her, the man pronounced his o's like a's which really stood out to Lucy being Australian.

"Yes I am" Lucy said, turning around to get a look at whom was speaking to her.

The man was very tall, at least 6 feet, his strong chin full of thick stubble, under his green ranger hat she could see he had black hair in a buzz cut, green eyes, a wide nose which almost seemed too big for his face, bushy eyebrows, and he wore a tan colour ranger shirt, fern green pants and black hiking boots, it was very obvious to Lucy that this man was a forest ranger from his appearance.

"I'm Fred Nicks, your assistant Olivia asked if I could assist you on your case, take you wherever you need to go" his thick voice filling the air as he stood tall and proud, he clearly loved his job.

"It's very nice to meet you, it would really help me out" Lucy replied, reaching her hand out for a shake which he gladly returned.

"Is this your stuff then?" he asked, pointing his chin out towards her bags, with how much he jerked his head she was surprised when his hat didn't fall off.

"Yes, I don't know how long I will be staying here so I thought I would bring enough to see me through" she blushed slightly at her two suitcases and laptop bag.

"You should see my wife when she packs, this is nothing" he chuckled, smiling kindly at her, which made her feel much better.

She was very nervous, not knowing how the people worked here, and especially what they would think of her.

"Well I have you a room at one of the cabin's on the beach, one of our nicer areas, I'll drive you up there now if you would like" Ranger Nicks offered.

"That would be great, I can't wait to shower" Lucy exasperated, she felt gross as her clothing clung to her.

Chuckling Ranger Nicks grabbed her bags and began walking back down the way he had came.

Lucy followed silently, taking in the shops around them.

There wasn't much here, a hunting store, a grocery store, clothing store and not much else.

She did however notice a small market set up with heaps of stalls selling fresh fruits and vegetables, small nick knacks, and other items that looked handmade.

"Quite a quaint little place you have here" Lucy commented, once they reached the ranger's car.

His car was obviously his crowning jewel, it was a silver Ford Ranger (T6) in mint condition, it was the four door, mid size pickup truck, 2019 model.

"I guess it would be very different from what you are used to in Sydney" he smiled, picking up her bags with ease and putting them in the tub.

"Very, no skyscrapers here" Lucy joked, which earned her a hearty chuckle from him.

"In you hop miss" he said opening the front passenger door for her, for a moment she stood there awkwardly before putting her foot on the step and climbing in, it felt so big around her short stature.

"I have you set up in the midnight cabin, it has everything you need, double bed, fridge, oven, microwave, toilet and shower, also my wife Charlotte stocked the cupboards and fridge for you when she heard you were coming" Ranger Nicks explained to her.

"Oh she didn't need to do that" Lucy gasped, they were all so nice and thoughtful here, very different to Sydney where everyone was too busy with their own lives.

"We don't get many Private Investigators up here, she wanted to make a good impression and help you out, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up with a knitted blanket either" he spoke proudly of his wife, which made Lucy smile softly, she hoped one day to have someone talk about her like that.

The rest of the short trip was spent in silence, as Lucy watched the pine trees go by the window, as they drove through a part of the forest to reach the beach, the water sparkling shiny as it softly wove.

"It's the second cabin on the left" Ranger Nicks said once he pulled up in the small but rather empty car park.

"I thought this place would be full of tourists" Lucy admitted that she was surprised as she climbed out of the Ute, basically jumping down due to how high it was.

"Fall season everyone heads back to their own lives, too cold here to go swimming and hunting season is over" Ranger Nicks explained as he eased her bags out of the tub and placed them on the pavement.

"Seems serene out here" Lucy said, taking a moment, closing her eyes and breathing in the surroundings.

It reminded her of when she was a little girl and her father took her camping at Stansbury beach, she had come home with plenty of shells they had found together and she made a huge collage of them they put on her wall above her bed.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been to the beach, even though there was one in Sydney, she had always been too busy at university, then at work, then with the after effects of her work, it made her regret that she hadn't spent more time with her father.

That they never got to go back to Stansbury, never got to go camping again.

Lucy sighed as the sadness washed over her, she opened her eyes and stared out at the water, and she felt at peace, for she knew he would be proud she was here, he always said she would do amazing things, help so many people and it was at that moment that she promised to him, that she would do all those things.

Author's Note- Hey Readers! How are you all? Staying safe with all the floods that are happening in NSW I hope, and with all that is happening with Russia and Ukraine, I hope you are all well.

How are you enjoying my book? This was a bit of a slow chapter, but don't worry, now that she is here things are going to pick up, new clues are found, as well as new victims.

Be sure to subscribe to keep updated on the chapters to come as the mystery grows, also don't forget to comment to let me know what you think, or even just take a moment to vote for this chapter to let me know if you liked it, cheers!