“I can definitely see the sheriff killing people and sinking their bodies to the bottom of Shrouded Lake,” Lauren muttered.
“My Santiago is no television serial killer, you,” Lina defended, pulling Lauren toward the sitting room.
“Like I’m going to take your word for it! You’re probably his accomplice, knocking his enemies out with your witch’s brew while he takes them up the mountain and drowns them. Then you fabricate this story about the lake being haunted so no one will go in and discover the evidence. I think I’m lucky to be alive after yourspecial tea.”
Lina swatted at Lauren’s words as if they were irritating flies, as the women returned to their seating.
“It was simply tea. You wanted to sleep, I helped you sleep, and that night your dreams did not come on the trail of your tears. You should be grateful.”
“Ms. Lina, I made that tea for you. Only to be used when your hip ached so bad you couldn’t sleep,” Saige said.
“She deserved at least one night of peace in my home. She was in pain. Sheisin pain.”
Lauren’s heartbeat accelerated. She suddenly felt like she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs thinking about Derrick and Lahn, about her parent’s duplicitousness. She didn’t want these women to see her as weak, but mostly she didn’t want to put her business out on display. She straightened her spine and looked at Lina.
“I am not ungrateful. The tea worked miracles, Saige. I’m teasing Lina.”
Lina shrugged, unrepentant. “I did tell you to slow down. You don’t listen…”
“Witch,” Lauren hissed as she sat in an empty spot and reached for a cookie.
The other women eyed their cups.
“I would never waste my special brew on you.Sheat least brings excitement. I haven’t had so many visits in months. Fifteen people came by to meet the newcomer who electrocuted the mayor.”
“I hope you charged them for your time,” Lauren said, happy she missed the crowd.
“I charged for my timeandfor lunch.”
“I love a woman who will quickly incorporate sage advice.” She smiled.
“Which leads back to the reason we’re here?” Draya said. “We’d all like to learn from you Ms. Lauren; even if we have to pay a bit.”
“I’m just here for food and gossip,” Roan said over a mouthful of Lina’s shortbread cookies.
“The sheriff’s given me a deadline. I’ll be here until Monday then I have to move on. Apparently, I’m not safe to be around Lina due to my unpredictable temper and all that,” she said, shaking her head.
“He hasn’t been himself since you got to town, that’s for sure,” Roan said, the only one to empathize with Santiago when the others were objecting to his ultimatum. “With the death of his neighbor, two violent encounters, and the whole thing with the Archers… He’s a good man, just overstressed right now.”
Oh, she is definitely fucking him, Lauren thought. Roan’s defense was too impassioned for the relationship to be purely professional. She’d served under him in the military and here. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine her serving under him sexually.
Poor woman.
The sheriff was physically impressive, magnetic…commanding attention even though he didn’t seem to need a lot of words to do it. Except with her.
“Maybe now they’ll decide to burn down that house,” Audrey said. “Mrs. Willoby wasn’t the most loveable person, but she was close to the mayor’s mother at one point. Maybe Veronica will advocate for the mayor to find it unsuitable for sale, or maybe the Willobys won’t put it up for sale, shutter it up, and let the ghosts have it.”
“Not likely,” Miya said, and all eyes turned toward her. She shrugged, shaking her head. “I just know that other people have their eyes on the land. I can’t say who or my boss would probably fire me or give me an ultimatum detailing what actions I can take to keep my job.”
Miya wanted to get her real estate license, wanted to eventually start her own business here in Shrouded Lake to rival Flemming Real Estate, where she currently worked with Dave Flemming, the boss who was low-key pressuring her to be more than her boss. “I need this job,” Miya said. “I don’t have the money to not work, and I won’t return to Miami just to have my family tell me what a failure I am.”
Lauren understood the disappointments of family.
“Okay, since we don’t have much time, let’s start building a strategy for your businesses,” she said, reaching inside her bag for her laptop. “I’ll get your contact info, phone numbers, and emails, and check back with you individually once I get settled wherever I end up.”
Two and a half hours later, everyone but Roan had a plan.
As people were packing up to leave, Lauren turned to Miya. “Continue with the plan we’ve outlined, learn all you can, get the accreditations, and if Shrouded Lake’s economy gets back on track, you become that bastard’s competition. I just wish I had adetailed copy of this revitalization plan. Maybe I’ll go visit your city controller before I leave town.”
