The Silver Lake Murder by Gregg Matthews (read novel full txt) 📗

her nose to keep the powder inside of it. The rush of the cocaine entering her system and the fast high took her away from Silver Lake for a few minutes. As the high wore off, she sunk slowly back down to the shallows of Silver Lake. She realized she was going to have to do whatever it took to get out from under the drugs.

She decided she was going to work as many shifts as she could, do as many Punchbowl inventories, and work as many Devil’s Den meetings until the debt was paid off. She reminded herself the next meeting she has to work was tomorrow night, July 4th.

She knew all her friends were going to be at the edge of the lake having parties all night long. She had no choice; Luke and the Lakeview Lounge was the one way she knew how to make decent money in this area. She needed the money she had to work. She had to do the best she could to take care of her mother as well. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the small aging cottage on the water’s edge, #7 North Shore Drive where she and her elderly mother lived.

Knowing there was a stack of unpaid bills on the kitchen table frustrated her more. She walked towards the cottage after a long day, wondering if anything was ever going to change. She knew she had to stop drinking and doing drugs but she was not ready to givethem up yet.

“That is what Cindy told me on July 3rd,” Kelly says through tears again.

“I understand,” Blake says.

“Cindy was trying really hard,” Kelly says.

“Do you think you can continue?”

“Let’s talk about the next day, July 4th,” Kelly says.

“OK.”

CHAPTER 12

Kelly takes a minute to herself. She is staring into the fire. She takes her time, looking deeper into the island woods. The tears in her eyes have dried. She stands quietly. She takes a sip of water. She repositions herself again, standing in front of Blake, Billy, and Lester. The fire has dwindled. They do not want to throw any more logs onto it because they realize Kelly is nearing the end of telling them the story. Kelly continues to tell the story. Starting with July 4th, the night of The Silver Lake Murder.

Cindy looked at the clock on the wall and read, 11:45 p.m. She reminded herself the meeting the night of July 4th is here. She had been dreading tonight for a few days now. She was upstairs inside The Devil’s Den, above the Lakeview Lounge. Walking through the sliding doors and onto the side porch, she could see to her right the lake water. Looking left, she could see the side and the back of the commercial building.

Looking up into the sky, she could see the fireworks display was still going on. She could hear the small crowd of people scream every time there was a big burst in the sky. She wondered how the party her friends were at was going. She hoped they were having a good time. She knew she had a long night ahead of her. These meetings never go smoothly; there was always some kind of trouble. I wonder what the trouble tonight is going to be?

Cindy watched me clearing mason jars with remnants of Jackal Moonshine in them. I cleaned the tops of the tables. I was going to run the vacuum cleaner as well. Cindy knew I needed the money and told Luke I was willing to work extra if he had the work for me. Cindy respected me. I kept my nose clean and stayed away from the drugs and alcohol in the bar. I was saving all the money I made and was trying to get away from Silver Lake. Cindy thought I was going to be the first one of her friends to make it out of Silver Lake in a while.

There was a large ruby red motorcycle parked in the back of the commercial building, she knew the motorcycle belonged to Luke. She had seen him ride it many times. She was on the back of the motorcycle a couple of times before she realized what was going on here.

The rumbling sound of another large motorcycle was heard off in the distance. The rumbling sounds were louder and getting louder with every passing moment. She looked back over to where Luke’s motorcycle was and realized there will be another one next to it any minute. She checked the piece of paper Luke gave her. The first name on the paper was Shawn.

A newer, pearl white motorcycle rumbled into the empty dirt parking lot located behind the Lakeview Lounge. She watched the driver park his motorcycle right next to Luke’s motorcycle.

The noise of a new arrival caused Luke to hurry down the stairs to greet his guest. She looked down at the motorcycle and saw there was a four-leaf clover, with flames coming out the side of it painted on the gas tank. She could not see from where she was standing, but the gas tank had the name Shawn in black paint across the top close to the seat. There are black painted letters along the side of the gas tank spelling out Captain. She watched Shawn turn his motorcycle and backed it into a parking spot using his feet. He backed in to make it easier to pull the motorcycle out of the parking spot if he needed to leave in a hurry. He reached up on the right handlebar and turned the ignition key to the off position. Turning the ignition key to the off position killed the engine and quieted the scene.

Simultaneously dismounting from his motorcycle and taking his black, half-shell motorcycle helmet, with a sticker on the back reading, Massachusetts Helmet Laws Suck, off his head. He removed the clear glasses he wore at night and put them and the helmet into one of the hard case saddlebags straddling