Page 54 of Wilderness Search
“If you had to guess, who do you think she was sneaking off to see? Did she have a boyfriend?”
“I never saw her so much as talking to a boy. Some of these girls, they’re regular flirts. They hit on the male counselors, even—guys who are four and five years older.”
“Did Olivia do that?”
“No. She was still a little girl. Which is a good thing, you know? She was kind of a tomboy. Athletic. Not afraid of spiders and stuff. She was having a lot of fun at camp. I don’t know why she left.”
A pair of boys approached, demanding marshmallows, and Veronica turned away.
Willa returned to the fire. She held her marshmallows over the blaze. Within seconds, one burst into flames. She blew it out,then popped it into her mouth—one side scorched, the interior half-melted, the other side cold and pillowy. Exactly as she remembered.
She roasted the other marshmallow and ate it, then looked around for something else to do. Aaron had disappeared, though she spotted a couple of other deputies, conspicuous by their alert attitudes and watchful gazes, despite their civilian clothing.
She scanned the crowd for anyone else she knew and her gaze came to rest on a girl who stood by herself on the edge of the firelight. The girl’s stillness made Willa look more closely. She had the air of someone waiting for something—but not necessarily something good. She was tall and thin, growing too fast to have yet filled out, shiny brown hair hanging straight to the middle of her back. She wore a green Mountain Kingdom T-shirt and khaki shorts, and scuffed green sneakers. A boy ran up and said something to her, laughing. She scowled and slapped at him and he ran away, still laughing.
Then something caught the girl’s attention from somewhere in the darkness. She looked away, then back, then darted off, disappearing quickly into the shadows.
Was she meeting someone? Another boy? Or had something else attracted her? Could it be Olivia, signaling a friend to meet her and bring food or a message or something else?
Heart pounding, Willa hurried after the girl. She had lost sight of her in the darkness, then she heard soft footsteps, moving toward one of the pit toilets. She slowed. Maybe that’s all the girl had been doing—going to the restroom.
Unlike the other pit toilets, this one didn’t have a light over the door. Why purposely choose one in the darkness? Willa stood next to a thick-trunked tree and waited. The door to the toilet didn’t open, but the shadows to the side of the little building thickened as the girl stepped into them.
There was a scuffling sound. A sharp “no!” Willa started. There had been fear in that one word, and she felt an answering fear grip her throat.
She started to turn away—to go for help. Then another sound, like weeping. Willa still held the coat hanger she had used to roast the marshmallows. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it would have to do.
She rushed toward the pit toilet. “Hey!” she shouted. “What’s going on back there?”
More scuffling, and one high-pitched scream. Footsteps raced away—someone young and light. The girl. Then strong arms grabbed Willa.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a low voice growled, but before she could answer, a hand clamped over her mouth.
“Was it likethis last week when your brother was here?” Aaron had spotted Wade Lawson and pulled him aside.
Wade glanced back at the bonfire—a five-foot wide, four-foot high blaze encircled by a double stack of rocks, the flames licking several feet into the night air. Kids crowded close, waving marshmallow sticks, talking, and laughing.
“Yeah. It’s the same every week. Bonfire, kids, singing, marshmallows. Later one of the counselors will play guitar and lead a sing-along. Someone will tell a scary story. Then we’ve got scared kids hyped up on sugar that we have to take back to the cabins and try to settle down.”
“About what time did Trevor leave?”
“Early. Maybe an hour in.”
Aaron checked his watch. “It’s seven o’clock. Did he leave before or after that?”
“About that, I guess. Maybe a little after? It was just getting dark. When the sun gets below the mountains, it gets dark fast.”
“And you say he left here and headed for the pit toilet?”
“Yeah. That direction.” Wade pointed to their left. “And I never saw him alive again. He was fine and definitely sober, yet you people tell me he got wasted, got in his car and drove off the pass. I can’t even wrap my head around that.” He grabbed at his hair. “It’s like you’re talking about somebody else.”
“I’m sorry,” Aaron said. “It must be tough being here, so soon after it happened.”
“It sucks, but I don’t have a choice. I’ve got a cabin full of kids to look after.” He glanced over Aaron’s shoulder. “I have to go. Malcolm! What did I tell you about burning holes in your shirt with that coat hanger?”
Aaron looked toward the row of pit toilets clustered under the trees. Three log-sided sheds, painted green, each with an LED light over the door.
Wait. There was a fourth. The light over this one was burned out. Something moved beside this one—a big shadow. A man-size shadow, struggling with something. Aaron started toward the scene, walking at first. Then he heard a scream and broke into a run.
