The Lake House

24|| The Walk

Lesley knew she had to warn Denise about Gary's actions. Perhaps Denise was unaware that Gary could potentially be the city councilman responsible for Leah's death. It made sense from Lesley's perspective given that Gary and Denise were still newlyweds.

She barely even knew the man before they got hitched.

They had tied the knot just a year ago and had known each other for only two years prior to that.

The situation prompted Lesley to reflect on a documentary she had watched once. The circumstances were eerily similar to those of Gary and Denise. In the documentary, a single woman dated a man for only six months and eventually married him. However, over a decade later, she uncovered the shocking truth that he had been living a web of lies, assuming a false identity. He was on law enforcement's  Most Wanted list. After being on their radar for months, they were finally able to apprehend him. One day, an anonymous tip led them to the woman's door. The police delivered the jarring news as they stood on her doorstep. The man she had married wasn't the man she thought he was. He was actually a wanted and notorious serial killer.

With those thoughts storming through her head, she immediately called Denise and invited her out for a walk in the park.

"Hey, Denise!" Lesley's voice, filled with anticipation, crackled through the phone. "Do you have any free time today to go for a walk in the park?"

Denise quickly paused and took a moment to think. After a hectic day, the idea of a relaxing walk in the park among nature's healing landscape seemed like the perfect way to unwind. She and Gary had recently hired two new employees to help with the daily operations of Yoga Zen. Both new hires were young college kids eager to earn money. Earlier that morning Denise trained them and they adapted quickly. Denise and Gary felt confident in their new workers allowing them to manage Yoga Zen without any oversight, which was a relief, giving Denise the opportunity to finally breathe.

Now that the new hires were trained and capable, Denise had the luxury of enjoying a few free hours to herself each day. At that moment, she realized that there was no better way to enjoy those free hours than by taking a nice stroll in the park with her best friend on such a beautiful Autumn day.

"That sounds like a great idea, Lesley!" Densie replied ecstatically. "Where and when?"

Lesley informed her of the park down by the forest in Arcaden. She promised Denise that she wouldn't go out into the forest to conduct any more investigations and they both laughed. The worry and the tension slowly evaded Lesley as she stood on the phone with Denise. Denise had a personality that could light up the dimmest room and that's what Lesley appreciated so much about her. Lesley found that being a friend of Denise was an honor and a privilege, something she didn't dare take for granted. That's why she wanted to be upfront with her and deliver the news of Gary's mischievous actions.

Lesley knew she had other pressing priorities, such as Nick's disappearance. The thought of Nick being gone tore at Lesley's heart. However, when she contacted his parents and informed them, they weren't worried at all. They told her that Nick was a wanderer and probably got lost somewhere or maybe even lost his cell. That gave her a small glimmer of hope and they were probably right. Lesley was accustomed to Nick losing things. And he had lost two cell phones prior. But then again, it wasn't like him to go an entire four days without contacting her. As he was capable of obtaining some form of communication to let her know he was okay. 

Lesley would check in with Todd later to find out how the investigation was going. For now, all she could do was sit and worry. And that wasn't going to be the case. After what she spotted in the bar yesterday, she knew she had to inform Denise no matter how heavy the pain of Gary's misdeeds pulled at Denise's heart, she had the right to know.

Lesley changed into her running pants, a blue t-shirt emblazoned with the Nike logo, and slipped on her black tennis shoes. She was out the door in less than twenty minutes and made her way down to the Arcaden Community Park.

As she drove into the parking lot, she navigated the area in search of a park . Once she found a spot underneath a tree, she maneuvered her car into it. The promising shade would be refreshing once she returned.

The weather had been cool the past couple of weeks as it welcomed autumn. However, that day was different. The sun was out, shining bright. It was quite unusual for the midst of a normally cool season.

Lesley stepped out of her car and sped walked to the walking trail, decidedly to get a bit of exercise in early. It was refreshing to venture out into the world on such a bright and sunny day. She appreciated the warm breeze that shifted against her skin.

As she strolled through the parking lot, Lesley scanned the area for Denise's car but found no sign of it, confirming she hadn't arrived yet. She cast a quick glance at her wristwatch, reassuring herself that it wouldn't be long before Denise joined her. After all, Denise resided a bit further from the park than Lesley did, so a slight delay was warranted.

Lesley spotted a bench situated just outside of the start of the walking trail. She sat down and glanced around at her surroundings. There were a few people in the park. A man and a woman, who appeared to be husband in wife, both wearing white tennis hats, khaki shorts, and tennis shoes, said a friendly hello to Lesley as a kind neighborly gesture while they walked past her and made their way onto the trail. Lesley smiled and waved.

Then suddenly, she heard a whisper speaking through the warm air.

"Lesley, I have faith in you." the voice said. "You're going to find Nick, I know it."

"Leah, is that you?" Lesley shifted in the bench, frantically searching around the area for any sign of Leah.

"Leah?!" She called out. But there were no signs of her anywhere. She sighed, a bit disappointed that she wasn't able to converse with Leah. However, she knew Leah would return when she needed to.

Lesley glanced down at her watch once more, curious as to where Denise was. She shrugged and anticipated her arrival at any moment. And just as she lifted her head, she spotted Denise's Tesla circling the parking lot in search of a parking spot.

Lesley stood up from the bench and observed as Denise swiftly parked her car and hopped out. Lesley enthusiastically waved her arms in the air, guiding Denise to her spot. Denise's eyes lit up when she saw Lesley's gesture and a warm smile graced her face.

As soon as Denise stepped in front of Lesley, she wrapped her in a warm embrace.

"Denise, I don't know if I told you, but Nick is missing." Lesley bent her head down, gazing at the ground. "I haven't seen or heard from him in a few days."

Denise stared into Lesley's eyes, absorbing her pain. "I'm so sorry, Lesley." Denise patted her back consolingly. "But, you know what?" she paused. "I could've sworn I saw Nick in the back of a police vehicle." her eyes wandered up toward the sky as she thought about it.

"What?!" Lesley's eyes shot wide open.

"If I remember correctly." Denise said. "If it wasn't him, it sure looked like him."

"When was this?" Lesley asked, gazing into Denise's eyes as if her eyes could send Lesley a nonverbal cue of hope.

"Yesterday."