Page 46 of Wilderness Search
“Stella, look at me.” Willa studied the girl’s face. “Has anyone threatened to hurt you?”
She shook her head no.
“Has anyone done anything to make you uncomfortable?”
“No. Not how you mean.”
“What other way is there?”
“I didn’t like missing swimming that afternoon, but that was because I broke a rule. Not because anyone was bullying me. We studied about bullying in school, so I learned about that.” She pushed away. “I need to get back to camp before somebody misses me. You won’t tell anyone about the food, will you?”
“No, I won’t. Not anyone at camp. I might tell another friend of mine, but he’s very good at keeping secrets. And he’ll make certain you don’t get in any trouble. And wait just a second.” She dug in her purse and pulled out a pen and a receipt. She turned the receipt over to the blank side. “What are your parents’ names and their phone number?” she asked.
Stella’s eyes widened. “You’re going to call my parents?”
“Only if I need to. I might suggest they let you come home early, if that’s okay with you.”
Stella bit her lip, then nodded, and gave Willa the information. “Don’t make it sound like I’m in trouble,” she said.
“I won’t. I promise.”
Stella looked at Willa a long moment, then turned and raced away. Willa stood and walked to the fork of the tree. Half a dozen potato puffs, a corn dog and one broken cookie were wrapped in a napkin. Willa started to wrap the food again and return it to its hiding place when she saw the note in the corner of the napkin. Written in tiny letters, in pencil, was Stella’s message to her friend: “Olivia, please come home.”
I have to talk to you, but not at the sheriff’s department, and not at my house.
Aaron stared at the message from Willa, heart racing, then replied,Did you learn something at the camp?
I’ll tell you when we meet. Mount Wilson trailhead?
Why there? But he would find out when he saw her. He texted,I could be there at 3:30.
See you then.
He changed out of his uniform after his shift ended at three, and drove to the trailhead. Willa’s Toyota was there, and she climbed out of the driver’s seat when he pulled up beside her. She wore jeans and a lacy top, and carried a small pack.
“We don’t have time to do the whole trail,” she said. “But let’s walk up to the first overlook.”
“All right.” He grabbed his own pack and followed her up. She was a strong hiker, with a confident stride. By the time the trail leveled out after the first half mile they were both breathing hard from the exertion. “What did you want to tell me?” he asked, unable to pretend patience any longer.
“Olivia’s best friend at camp, Stella, was in my first class of the morning,” Willa said. “She said some things that piqued my interest, but I didn’t get a chance to ask many questions. Then I saw her right before I left and she had a lot of interesting things to say.”
“Does she know where Olivia is now?” he asked. “Does she know why she ran away?”
“She doesn’t know either of those things, but she said the night before she disappeared, Olivia told Stella she had ‘seen something she shouldn’t have,’ and that she was afraid. Oliviawouldn’t elaborate, and said she couldn’t tell Stella anything else because she was afraid Stella might be hurt,too.”
“Had someone hurt Olivia?”
“Stella said Olivia didn’t look hurt. But maybe it was something Stella couldn’t see.”
“Or maybe what Olivia saw was someone hurting someone else.”
Willa started walking again. The trail was wider here, and Aaron fell into step beside her, matching his stride to hers. “Stella said she didn’t know Olivia was planning to run away,” she said. “When she found out Olivia was gone the next morning, she was really afraid.”
“Why didn’t she say anything to us when we questioned her?” Aaron asked. “Or to one of the counselors?”
“Because she was afraid,” Willa said. “She didn’t know what Olivia had seen or who was involved so she kept her mouth shut. A pretty smart decision, considering.”
Maybe itwassmart, from a frightened child’s point of view. “And she really doesn’t have any idea where Olivia is now?”
