Crime At Northland Lake (Completed)

A Visit to Northland Lake

'10:15 am' showed his silver, digital watch. "Took me half an hour with Joseph McMillan." Nick said to himself. He was driving in his normal speed along the long road. The detective enjoyed the beautiful scenery filled with trees all around. Suddenly, Nick stopped the car to the side. He reclined his seat and started thinking, "Both the men have been to Northland Lake on the same night. There's been a day gap. Maybe I can find something there." Without delaying a minute, Nick turned on the engines and left for Northland Lake.

The drive felt very comfortable for the young man. He always enjoyed driving with light music. 'Northland Lake- 100m', showed a green board to Nick's right. The detective felt it was very easy to travel in this part of the world. The roads seemed to go on and on with a few rights and lefts.
Nick took a right turn, entering Northland Lake area. There was no parking which made Nick stop the car to the side. The lake was visible from the steeped road. Nick got off the sedan and walked down the slope.
There was absolutely nobody near the lake. Nick was expecting a lot of people on a Sunday in such a peaceful place. He was once again surrounded with greenery and clear blue water in front of him. Nick went towards the water cautiously. He kneeled down and observed the lake carefully. Everything seemed normal until he slowly began to notice a light dark figure under the lake. It had a beautiful shape and was moving along with the waves. "What is that thing?" Nick took a closer look. Feeling nauseous, he tripped back and fell on the dirty weeds and leaves.

Nick started panting heavily and once again went towards the water. But this time, there was no figure. It was just plain, greenish blue water. "Must've been my imagination." Nick thought to himself.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Hearing the voice, Nick tripped back once again. "Woah! Careful young man." On turning back, Nick noticed that it was a tall, pale, middle-aged man. His hair was turning white, but the man had great facial features. Nick got up and went towards him. "You are?" The detective asked.

"I'm Mr. Howard Spencer. I live right there." The man pointed to a small cottage, somewhat hidden behind the trees.
"Nick McAllister, from the police department. Detective as profession." He shook hands.
"Detective eh?" Howard bit his lips. "Must be a filmy job." He laughed and so did Nick.
"Where's that famous pine tree?" Nick asked. Howard's expression changed to an annoyed look. "Gosh!" He exclaimed. "Why does everybody think it's a pine tree? It's a cedar. It's right there." Howard pointed to a tall, dark green structure.

"Any specific reason why it's famous?" Nick asked as he went towards the tree.
"Not really. It's just that this tree has been here from a really long time and barely a leaf has fallen from its branches. One of the oldest trees in South Shields." Howard explained.
"Is the place always this silent? There's absolutely nobody here." Nick said as he looked around.
"Yeah." Howard nodded. "This place is not really known for visitors. A few people come for their morning walks but otherwise it's empty. The main reason is because of this lake. It's really deep. Anybody can trip and fall, and eventually drown."

"How deep is it?" Nick asked.
"Umm, around three hundred fifty meters I suppose." Howard replied confidently. "You're lucky that you didn't fall forward when you heard my voice." Howard smirked.

"You live nearby. So do you get a good view of the lake?" Nick asked coming closer to the tall man.
"From the kitchen you get one of the best views. But only during the day time though. At night you can't see a thing. The view is the main reason why my father built the house in such a level."
"Did you see or hear anything from your house on Friday night?"
Howard thought for a while and replied, "I definitely did not see anything. But I heard noises at midnight. It was maybe between twelve forty to one fifteen or so."

"You didn't care to see or you couldn't see?"
"I didn't really care to. My bedroom is on the other side and I was in deep sleep. But I certainly heard things." Howard said.
"Things like what?" Nick asked, tilting his head.
"See, this place is always silent, vehicles barely come and go. That night, there were a few sounds of vehicles moving. I was really surprised."
"You heard anything else?"
"There was a slight moan of a man heard. I don't remember the time, but after that there was pin drop silence."
"You didn't hear a car door opening or closing?" Nick asked.
"See buddy, my ears are sharp but not too sharp to hear such sensitive sounds from a house that's over there." Howard pointed. Nick had a good laugh, shaking his head.
"What time did you wake up on Saturday morning?" The detective asked.
"My alarm was set at seven fifty. But I woke up at eight fifteen. My wife woke up at seven thirty." The tall man said.
"You have a wife?"
"Yep." Howard smiled. "A very beautiful one I must say." He added, scratching his head.

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'Another crime for Nick to think about. What is it? And why did it happen? Coming up in the next chapter.'