Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers (41 page)

By the time of the funeral Regina assumed that she would have been at a point of some resolve, but there was no relief to be had by anyone associated with this tragedy. Sheriff had not released any of the details of the previous evening to the public, but this place was not so large that everyone did not have at least one bit or piece of the entire story by now and their questioning eyes burned into Regina and Nikki from every direction, their true motivations cloaked cleverly under the guise of sympathy.

Lola’s story had come to an end, but in the process lay a plethora of new questions at the feet of Black Water as a whole and Regina stared suspiciously back at the people who surrounded the casket and wondered who they were and what they were hiding.

What was in Mrs. Landcaster’s house that was so horrible that not only did she have to hide it, but she herself did not want to be anywhere near it? Was it only the blood of animals that covered Mr. Flowers’ apron? And what really happened to Ann Ivey? Regina accepted that she
was
a secret keeper, but how could she not be when she came from a whole town of them she thought as she watched the people that watched her.

After the funeral the girls stood outside of the police station. The night before, Nikki and Regina had been ready to tell the police everything, including their integral part in the death of Lola Rusher, but things looked different in the light of day and the motivation to reveal one of the many secrets that held Black Water together was ebbing.

Sheriff Handow was startled to find the two women on the step of his police station when he swung open the door to leave.

“Ladies,” he greeted the similarly startled women. “Something else you want to tell me?” He asked as he looked at them sympathetically, they looked back at him, but no one spoke.

Regina smiled innocently.

Some people say that Black Water is hell, but that is not true. Hell is the place that the devil goes to escape the evil of this place and all of the people who call it home.

The End

J
eanNicole Rivers is a great lover of reading and writing. Though she loves reading and writing varied genres, horror/thriller is her favorite. JeanNicole has been writing poetry and short stories since she was a child, but has always aspired to compose a novel. The Secret Keepers, the first story in what will be a series of Black Water Tales, is her first novel.

JeanNicole Rivers graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and lives in Houston, Texas.

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