[Ambys 2022: Mystery/Thriller Winner]
Discovering a dead body just minutes from her cottage in the trees is the last thing Dray Dinley expects upon moving to the remote town of Hero.
Being convinced by the town outcast and suspected murderer, Wells...
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Clinks from another room floated to Dray's ears. She rolled over a few times under the warm covers. An early morning on the horizon greeted the two blondes in the house.
Lucy wore quite possibly the fuzziest slippers Dray had ever seen. She made tea and filled two mugs with the steaming liquid. "Great timing," she said and held up a mug, walking out to the porch.
Dray attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes and blindly grasped onto the second mug. Its warmth spread over her hand, so she brought her other one up to meet it. The morning air chilled her skin and she didn't have fancy slippers to keep warm.
Outside, her sister nestled into a wicker chair. Dray missed that last night. She scanned the backyard. It matched the designer feel of indoors.
She took a seat beside her, holding the tea close to her face. The steam warmed her cheeks.
"So," Lucy took a sip of her drink, her eyes dancing back and forth between her cup and sister, "did you two have a good time last night, you know, in bed?"
Dray's face warmed too much. Her eyes bugged and her own sip of tea turned into a coughing fit. She held her mug at arms length, so she didn't spill. "No, Lucy," she said after a deep breath.
Lucy giggled and leaned back, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, if it's because we are in the house, the walls are decently soundproofed. We've never had a problem before."
"This is weird." Dray let her head fall back.
"I'm just saying, this is now a home for you, too. Relax as much as you can. Lord knows we all need it."
Dray peeked at Lucy. The two grinned and soft laughter filled the porch.
"So, what is going on with you two?" Lucy held her mug close to her chest and locked eyes with her little sister.
"We haven't really talked about it, I guess." Dray dropped her gaze. "There's been no official moment or anything."
Lucy's smile stayed, but her eyes narrowed. She ran her finger along the top of her cup.
"It's hard to even think about." Dray's eyes darted everywhere, but never focused anywhere. "With what's going on, anyway," she added with a flick of her hand.
A few moments filled with chirping birds before Lucy straightened in her seat and angled her body towards Dray.
"Chester Farm." She waited until Dray's eyes met hers. "We sent you there."
Dray's brow furrowed. "You wrote the letter? There was nothing there."
"We needed you out of the house." She placed her hand on Dray's arm. "That's when things started to get tense. Nothing ended up happening until later, obviously. We missed the mark on that one," she rubbed her sister's arm and relaxed back into her spot, "but it made me feel better at the time. Oh, and we also let Cliff talk to you, drop some hints."
