November Lake: Teenage Detective (The November Lake Mysteries) Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

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searching for clues that might have been missed.
    Kale
drove through the dark, as he navigated the endless narrow country
roads that snaked across the sea of bleak, barren moorlands. The
rain that had threatened had stayed away, and instead a thick,
heavy fog had fallen. Kale had to slow the car to a near crawl,
sitting forward in his seat with his hands gripping the steering
wheel. The windscreen started to mist up from the inside. I
switched on the heaters, and taking a handkerchief from my jeans
pocket, I tried to clear the window.
    “ Better?” I asked.
    “ Yes, thanks,” Kale said, his handsome face a mask of
concentration as he took a tight bend that suddenly sprang up in
the road ahead.
    Then,
from behind, there was a flash of light. I glanced back over my
shoulder and peered through the rear window. There was a car behind
us. It was traveling at speed as its headlights loomed up suddenly.
I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the glare as the car
suddenly swerved back and forth across the road.
    “ What’s his problem?” Kale hissed.
    The car
was now so close I could see the dark outline of the
driver.
    The
vehicle swerved alongside us, and Kale steered the car toward the
undergrowth along the side of the road. I glanced to the right,
peering past Kale, desperate to get a glimpse of the imbecile who
had nearly forced us from the road. It drew level, and I could see
it was a large 4X4. At once, my mind raced back to the guy who had
been staring at me in the petrol station. But there was so much fog
swirling and churning about, it was impossible to see who was
driving the car.
    Kale
slowed as he shot a glance at the car swerving back and forth.
“Hey, slow down before you get us all killed…!”
    There
was a crunching sound, like sheet metal crumpling, then we were
veering toward the ditch beside the road. Screaming, I threw my
hands to my face. I shot forward, air bursting from my lungs. Kale
lurched out of his seat as the car dived bonnet-first into the
ditch. The horn sounded as if in warning as Kale’s chest struck the
steering wheel. His seatbelt locked, pulling him back down into his
seat.
    With the
engine ticking over, we sat stunned and listened to the sound of
the 4X4 roar away into the distance.
    “ Are you okay?” Kale breathed, sounding winded.
    Before
I’d had the chance to tell him I was just shaken up, a deep,
booming crash echoed out of the fog ahead. Both Kale and I looked
at each other as if both sharing the same sudden thought. Whoever
had been driving had now crashed ahead of us.
    “ Get a torch from the boot,” Kale wheezed, pushing open the
door and climbing out. The engine continued to purr and the keys
swung from the ignition. Leaning against my door, I stumbled out
into the ditch, my boots slopping down into the nearest puddle.
With my hands placed against the side of the car for support, I
made my way to the boot. I popped it open and snatched up the
torch. Switching it on, I shone the cone of light into the fog.
Screwing up my eyes, I could just make out Kale disappearing like a
ghost into the distance.
    “ Hey, Kale!” I hollered. “Wait for me.”
    I raced
into the writhing fog after him. The sound of his footsteps grew
muffled as he ran ahead of me. The light from the torch bounced off
the fog as if being reflected back. Then, just ahead, I could see
two orange lights flashing on and off like a heartbeat. The car
loomed out of the fog, hazard lights blazing. The front of it
looked as if a tree trunk had taken root in the middle of the
engine. Stepping closer, I could see the 4X4 had crashed into a
tree. Smoke billowed from the crunched-up bonnet. The driver’s door
was open, as was the back passenger door. Kale was standing beside
the car, back bent as he peered inside.
    “ Is the driver okay?” I asked, rushing forward.
    “ What driver?” Kale breathed, standing straight.
    I shone
the torch into the car. I didn’t need it to see that the driver’s
seat was