Page 100 of The Last Time I Lied

Theo confirms it with a solemn nod. My legs start to quiver, begging me to lie down again. I tighten my grip on the edge of Miranda’s bunk and remain standing.

“Detective Flynn broke the news to their families. He asked if any of them have been contacted by one of the girls. No one has. Miranda’s grandmother didn’t even know she had a cell phone, so there’s still no word on what carrier she uses.”

“Did Flynn talk to the kitchen staff?”

“He did. All of them live in the next town over. They’re all cafeteria staff at the middle school there. Just happy to have a job for the summer. They carpool together every morning before breakfast and every evening after dinner. No one stayed behind last night, and no one came in early this morning. Not even Marvin.”

All that information I had given Flynn—all my attempts to help—ended up being for nothing. Disappointment swells in my chest, tight against my rib cage.

Theo sets the magazine aside and says, “Do you want to talk about what happened back at the Lodge?”

“Not really.”

“You said you saw Vivian.”

My mouth goes dry, making it hard to speak. My tongue feels too sticky and heavy to form words. A bottle of water sits next to Theo. He gives it to me, and I swallow all but a few drops.

“I did,” I say after clearing my throat. “On the live feed of the cabin.”

“I looked, Emma. No one was there.”

“Oh, I know. It was...”

I’m unable to adequately describe it. A hallucination? My imagination?

“Stress,” Theo says. “You’re under a tremendous amount.”

“But I’ve seen her before. When I was much younger. It’s why I was sent away. I thought she was gone. But she’s not. I keep seeing her. Here. Now.”

Theo cocks his head, looking at me the same way I’m sure he looks at his patients when he has to give them bad news.

“I had a conversation with my mother,” he says. “We both agree it was wrong to invite you back here, even if it was with the best intentions. That doesn’t mean we think any of this is your fault. It’s ours. We underestimated the effect being here would have on you.”

“Are you telling me to leave camp?”

“Yes,” Theo says. “I think it’s for the best.”

“But what about the girls?”

“There’s a search party looking for them right now. They’ve split into two groups. One is taking the woods to the right of camp and another is doing the same thing on the left.”

“I need to join it,” I say, making a move toward the door on unsteady legs. “I want to help.”

Theo blocks my path. “You’re in no condition to go trampling through the woods.”

“But I need to find them.”

“They’ll be found,” Theo says as he grips my arms, holding me in place. “I promise. The plan is to add more searchers tomorrow, if necessary. Within twenty-four hours, every square foot of this property will have been thoroughly searched.”

I don’t remind him that a similar search did little good fifteen years ago. Every square foot of land was covered then, too. All it yielded was a sweatshirt.

“I’m staying,” I insist. “I’m not leaving until they’re found.”

A rumble sounds in the distance—a deep thudding that echoes across the valley like thunder. A helicopter joining the search. The sound is familiar to me. I heard it a lot fifteen years ago. The cabin rattles as the chopper roars overhead, low in the sky, practically skimming the trees. Theo grimaces as it passes.

“My mother doesn’t trust you, Em,” he says, raising his voice so it can compete with the helicopter. “I’m not sure I do, either.”

I get louder, too. “I swear to you, I didn’t hurt those girls.”

---