The House Across the Lake

Chapter 1: Found

"Blake."
The young woman's eyes shot up as her mother successfully grabbed her attention. "Lets go for a walk, you can't stay inside dwelling on this," she sympathized as she grasped her daughter's hand. Blake slowly pulled herself out of the worn chair she had claimed long ago as her own at the family dinner table. The old chair creaked with age as Blake lifted her body with a sigh.

"I'm not dwelling on it, I'm grieving...all over again." She laid down the photo she was holding moments earlier of herself and her childhood friend, John. "I'm grieving, I'm angry, and I'm confused." Her mother pulled her in to a reassuring embrace while stroking one of Blake's soft blonde curls. "It's all part of life. It's hard when you lose someone but the pain begins to feel more numb with time." Blake pulled away and wiped a salty tear from her cheek. "Now lets go get some fresh air."

________

The Washington October breeze smelled of rain and crisp leaves. The cold air stung Blake's lungs as she shut the door of her parents brick home behind her. Her mother took a deep breath in, "Don't you just love autumn?"

Blake shrugged as she watched a leaf fall from a tree limb overhead. "Do you miss this when you are at school? The openness and quiet?" Blake looked up the winding, rain-colored asphalt road covered in leaves. "Sometimes. The city can be quite busy I guess."

Her mother offered a soft smile. "I'm glad that you are home, even though the circumstances aren't...ideal. It's been too long since we've spent more than a day together." The women could hear a car engine in the near distance. They looked behind them in the direction of their home and merged closer to the side of the road. A small black SUV came around the bend. Blake's mother clearly recognized the car as she largely waved with a smile.

The car rolled to a stop beside them as the passenger window rolled down revealing an older woman with long grey hair, soft eyes and a sweet grin.

"Hey there miss Nora, how are you?" The woman's bubbly attitude was prominent. "Aw, I'm doing fine Mrs. Jones. Where are you headed?" Blake observed the woman as her mother responded. "Oh, just going into town to get some supplies. My back gate keeps coming unlatched, and I'm worried Ollie will get out, so the hardware store is first on my list of places to be this morning." She explained about her mischievous little dog with a small laugh.

Mrs. Jones eyes shifted to Blake. "Oh forgive me, this is my daughter"- "Blake" the woman eerily finished Nora's sentence. "I've heard lots about you...and I am so very sorry about what happened to your friend. Tragic, really. These young men have been disappearing right and left underneath everyone's noses for almost a year now. He's only the second to be recovered."

"It is rather mysterious isn't it, I wish the police department would take all evidence more serious. Their theories just don't add up to..." Blake is interrupted by the sound of thunder splitting the tension and silence of the surrounding forest.

"I better get into town before it begins to storm, and you two certainly don't want to get stuck in the rain. It was lovely finally meeting you Blake. Goodbye Nora." The peculiar woman drove off as Nora and her daughter began to head back to their home.

"So who was that?" Blake questioned. "Adeline Jones. She moved a few miles up the road from us about a year ago...It's strange." Blake's mother stated with a furrowed brow. "What's strange? She seemed a little odd but nice enough." Blake responded.

"I've only talked to her a handful of times and your name didn't ever come up in the conversation. I'm not sure how she knows you were friends with John either," Nora thought out loud. "It's a small town, people talk, maybe she's just a little nosey?" Blake offered as an answer as her mind wandered back to how the woman had said "I've heard lots about you."