by Raven Snow
“Just doing my job. Go on.”
Rowen didn’t have to walk far to be intercepted by her aunts. This time they weren’t alone. “We’re so glad you’re all right,” blurted Crystal Spruce before anyone else could speak. “Why in the world would you wander away from the group?” She held up a hand before anyone could answer that. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re all right.”
Rowen didn’t want to say anything to Crystal. She did her best to move around her, to try and get back to the cabin. It had running water, and she would be more than happy to drink right out of the faucet. “Sorry, excuse us. We’re tired and thirsty and just want to—”
“Of course!” interrupted Crystal, so loud it made Rowen jump. Her eyes were wide, her nerves clearly shot. A few girls getting lost in the woods wasn’t great press for her retreat. She didn’t even know about the murder yet. She was probably hoping she could still salvage things. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll get you girls something cold to drink. And what about something to eat, huh? I bet you’re all starving.”
“Famished,” said Willow before Rowen could politely refuse.
“Follow me then.” Crystal started walking up the dirt road, presumably toward the camp proper and her tent. “You poor, poor girls. You must have been so scared.”
“You’re all right now,” said Nadine, placing herself between her daughters as they walked. She was coming along, it seemed. No great surprise there.
“Do we need to drive you home?” asked Lydia, walking next to Rowen. The question was a serious one, void of reluctance. Never mind how much she had been looking forward to the retreat, her family clearly came first. “Eric is going to kill me when he hears about this.”
“Oh, no.” It was Crystal Spruce who answered for Rowen. “I hope you aren’t planning to go home. This was unfortunate, but no one was hurt. I was hoping we could put it behind us. No harm done. We all had a scare is all.”
“You’re, of course, welcome to come and go as needed,” said Veronica, swooping into the conversation. She had been lingering nearby with that clipboard of hers the whole while. She spoke quickly now, like she needed to amend some of the questionable rambling her boss was doing. “We don’t want to step on any toes with the police and, obviously, your health is our greatest concern.”
Rowen doubted that was true. A lawsuit was their greatest concern. The health of Rowen and her cousins just so happened to be tangential. “Thanks,” she said, forcing a smile and a nod. She tried to be pleasant. It wasn’t like it was their fault she had gotten lost. Besides, they were in for a nasty shock when they heard about Phoenix. She didn’t envy them that.
***
The inside of Crystal Spruce’s giant tent was nicer than Rowen had imagined. Inside, there was every modern convenience you could have asked for in the wild. There were beanbag chairs on an intricately woven carpet. A makeshift kitchen took up one corner. There was a water cooler, a teapot, a hot plate. A futon and down comforter sat in front of a shelf of books. One book was splayed open on a pillow, like someone had been reading it. Even if she didn’t have it now, Crystal had clearly planned on plenty of leisure time.
“Take a seat wherever you like,” Crystal said, though she was herding them toward the beanbag chairs when she said it. Not that Rowen minded. There was room for all of them there and sitting sounded heavenly. She didn’t care what she sat on. Heck, she would have even taken the ground. “Go get them some water,” Crystal hissed at Veronica, swatting her arm. Veronica glared at Crystal but did as she was told.
Rowen sank into one of the oversized beanbag chairs. It was softer than she had expected. It was heavenly, filled with something undoubtedly more expensive than your run of the mill filling.
“Oh, man,” Willow moaned. “I need some of these for my apartment.”
“You too. Sit.” Crystal motioned for Lydia and Nadine to take a seat as well.
“I’m all right,” said Lydia. Her expression was difficult to read as she took in her surroundings.
Nadine wasn’t as obstinate. She took a seat next to Willow. The beanbag chair was plenty big enough for two people.
Veronica returned with her arms full of water bottles. She handed them out, and Rowen gladly accepted one. The water was cool and tasted vaguely of lemon. Rowen gulped down half the bottle before resolving to just sip the rest.
“Do you girls like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” Crystal asked brightly. “Of course you do. Everyone does. Go make them some sandwiches,” she ordered Veronica. “Would you two like some?” she asked Lydia and Nadine.
“No, thank you,” said Nadine.
“I’m fine,” said Lydia, still unreadable.
Crystal finally seemed to be unwinding. “All right,” she said slowly. With nothing else to offer, she sank down into a beanbag chair across from the others. “Well, you all had quite the adventure, huh?”
That was putting an impressively positive spin on it. “It wasn’t an experience I care to repeat,” said Rowen, unsure of how else to respond to that.
“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking. I know you girls were heading back to the cabin. Tasha and Erica told us—”
“Erin,” Peony corrected.
“Right, right. Tasha and Erin. They told us you went back to the cabin. Did you lose the trail? I’ll have to speak with someone about that. The trail should be clearly marked.”
Was she really trying to throw the campsite itself under the bus? “No, it was our fault. We walked off the trail.”
“Rowen led us off the trail,” Willow added quickly.
An inappropriate emotion flickered across Crystal’s features. Relief? Probably. Lydia’s expression changed as well, growing incredulous. “You went off the trail? Why in the world did you go off the trail?”
“It wasn’t Rowen’s fault,” said Peony.
Rowen knew her cousin was trying to be helpful, but she didn’t want her saying anything she shouldn’t. “It’s fine, Peony. It was my fault.”
“You did it for a good reason, though.”
“What reason is that?” asked Nadine.
“Peony--” Rowen began but failed to silence her in time.
“There was a body.”
In the small kitchen, a butter knife clattered off a small table and onto the floor. Veronica turned, mid-peanut butter and jelly sandwich construction. “A body? What do you mean there was a body?”
“We found a body,” said Peony, speaking more slowly this time. It wasn’t for Veronica’s benefit. Her eyes darted to Willow and then to Rowen. Was she realizing that bit of information should have been kept to herself? If so, it was a little too late for that.
“What body?” asked Crystal, leaning forward on the beanbag chair. Her own eyes had grown wide. Rowen could see her thin hands shaking. “Where did you see a body?”
“Ben will be here soon,” said Rowen, trying to defuse the situation. “I think we should probably wait to talk about it until he gets here. We shouldn’t—”
“Who was it?” asked Veronica. There was a tremor in her voice. Like Crystal, she was shaking. She had crossed back across the room on terribly unsteady legs. Lydia hovered close like she wanted to help, but Veronica just took a step away from her.
Neither Willow nor Peony said anything. They were both looking at Rowen, like they were waiting for her to answer. “We didn’t want to touch it,” Rowen said, which wasn’t untrue, not technically. “We didn’t want to, you know, be disrespectful or disturb the crime scene. I’m sure the police will identify the body when—”
“Veronica!” Crystal called after her assistant as she rushed from the tent. Without a word to her guests, Crystal got to her feet and hurried after her.
No one said anything for a while. They sat around in an awkward silence, holding their water bottles and listening in case Crystal or Veronica came back. “I don’t think they’re coming back.” Peony was the first to say it. “Sorry.”
“They
were going to find out eventually.” Willow stood and headed to the kitchen. “I still want a sandwich.”
“It was Phoenix, wasn’t it?” asked Lydia.
“Lydia,” chided Nadine. “You heard Rowen. They shouldn’t—”
“Yeah,” Rowen interrupted with a sigh. “It was definitely Phoenix.”
“He was strangled,” added Willow. She had picked up the knife Veronica dropped and was picking up where she had left off. “At least that’s what it looked like.”
“That’s terrible,” Nadine said softly, hand moving to cover her mouth as she shook her head in dismay.
“Was it his spirit that guided you to the body?” asked Lydia.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think whatever guided me to his body was sentient. It was just a feeling.” Rowen was still hoping that Phoenix would show up. It probably wasn’t a good thing to hope someone hadn’t moved on, but she wanted answers. “Sorry we worried you.”
“We’re just glad you’re all right,” Lydia assured her.
“Though it’s a good thing you called Ben when you did,” said Nadine. “Crystal didn’t want to involve the police. She was really dragging her feet about the whole thing. I thought she and Lydia were going to get into some sort of fight. I have to admit, I was getting rather cross myself.”
“That’s putting it mildly. You were ready to back me up if it came to blows.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“She was.”
Willow laughed. “Geez, Mom. Wish I could have seen that.” She returned to the beanbag chairs with a plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Taking one for herself, she placed the rest in front of her cousins.
Rowen had lost her appetite, but she took a sandwich anyway. Eating something would probably make her feel a bit better. “Ben said he tried to call on the satellite phone and no one answered.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Lydia. “They’ve been horribly disorganized. They weren’t prepared for an emergency at all.”
“I’m sure it has something to do with Phoenix’s disappearance,” Nadine said in their defense.
Lydia relented. “I guess that’s true. But still…”
Rowen began to wonder aloud whether this was the end of Crystal Spruce’s retreat or not. It had to be, didn’t it? She kept that question to herself, taking a bite of her sandwich instead. Whatever happened next remained to be seen. All Rowen knew for certain was that she had her work cut out for her in these coming days.
Chapter Seven
All of a sudden, Rowen and her cousins were the most popular people in camp. Everyone had questions. It didn’t matter how much they said either. They always wanted more details.
The police had everyone stay in the cabin. That suited Rowen just fine. After a night in the rain, she was happy to sleep indoors. The only downside was that it made her fellow camp goers impossible to ignore.
“Did they say how long we would be here?” asked Paris, sitting on the bunk across from Rowen with a few members of her posse.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“You would know before any of us,” Paris insisted. “That cute officer out there is your brother, isn’t he?”
“Brother in-law,” Rowen stressed that second part just in case Paris got the wrong idea. Not that she had any concerns that Ben would ever be tempted to cheat on Rose. She just didn’t want Paris or her friends harassing him. “And he hasn’t told me anything. Seriously.”
“Mmm hmm.” Paris didn’t have to say she didn’t believe Rowen. It was implied.
“Do you think we’ll get refunded if we have to go home early?” asked Gossamer. She and Gary were seated on a bunk together. He had an arm around her, comforting her. At least all this had brought those two crazy kids together. “I spent a lot of money, and I know the website said nonrefundable, but I thought that meant if I couldn’t make it. I didn’t think about the camp being canceled.”
Paris waved her hand dismissively, like Gossamer’s concerns were a total non-issue. “I’m more worried about them keeping us here. Imagine. Someone got murdered. We’ll all have to give statements to the police. I hear it was a murder, so there will definitely be a trial. We’ll have to be available for that, and who knows how long it’ll take? Murder trials are a big deal.”
One of the housewives gasped. “I didn’t think about that. Oh my gosh. I can’t do that. I need to call home and tell my husband. God, my kids will be crushed.”
“You’re kinda getting ahead of yourselves there,” said Willow, rolling her eyes at the drama that was going on at Paris’ bunk. “And I think your family will understand if you have to testify in a trial. I mean, a guy got murdered. Let’s keep things in perspective here. He’s the one who got the raw deal.”
It would be tacky to laugh and give Willow a thumbs up, so Rowen fought the urge. Paris sighed. “Poor Phoenix.” Everyone had more or less decided that it was he who had been murdered. Rowen and her cousins had neither confirmed nor denied. It was probably the lack of denying that had led to everyone determining it was him. “He was so cute and sweet. This is devastating.”
“You barely knew him,” pointed out Tasha.
“I don’t have to know someone intimately to mourn their death,” she snapped back. “I value all human life.”
“I guess that feeling of yours was right, huh?” Erin asked Rowen, quietly. She was pale and jumpy today. Rowen doubted she had slept much since they had gone missing. She felt guilty about that. Erin seemed like a very empathetic person.
“I guess. I kind of wish it hadn’t been, but yeah.” Rowen wasn’t sure what else to say about that. It was over and done with, and she didn’t want to bring anyone’s attention to the fact that she had foreseen something coming now that there wasn’t anything anyone could do about. Not that there had ever been.
“Do you have any other feelings?” asked Erin. “Like, do you get the sense that anything else is going to happen or know, like, who hurt Phoenix?”
“Not yet. I’d tell you if I did.” Rowen wasn’t sure that was true. What good did it do to share her concerns if there wasn’t anything anyone could do to stop it from happening? At least saying she would ended the conversation. She stood by her guns.
***
Rowen and her cousins hiked out to show Ben where they had found the body. Not that they could show him precisely where they had found it. They found the place where they had stepped off the trail, and Rowen was able to point out which direction she had gone.
“You think your nature spirits would help us find the body again?” Willow asked Peony, sounding like she was only half teasing.
Peony shook her head sadly. “I don’t think they’ll keep doing favors on demand for me. At least not until I start returning those favors, you know?”
Ben ignored all that, focusing instead on what he had to work with in the present. He spoke with his officers, got them to form a sort of grid. “So they’re canvassing the whole area, huh?” asked Rowen.
“Not the whole area.” With his officers no longer crowded around him, Ben showed the map in his hands to Rowen. “I’ve got them searching this area. They’re spread a little thin, but I’m hoping they find the body. I don’t want this sort of thing to fall to volunteers.”
***
Rowen did her very best to help find the body. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. She no longer felt that pull, and without it she didn’t have a thing to go on. Finding a dead body in the woods sounded at least ten times as hard as finding one’s way out of a forest.
“I’m sorry,” Rowen apologized when Ben walked her back to camp.
“It’s not your fault,” Ben assured her. “I still have my officers out there. Something could still turn up.” He smiled when he said all that, but didn’t sound particularly optimistic.
“Oh, excuse me! Officer!” It was Crystal. She was hurrying across the grass in khaki shorts and a white tank top. “You’re the one in charge here, right?”
“Th
e Chief of Police,” Ben said with considerable patience considering he had to have introduced himself to the woman at least once before. “Ben.”
“That’s right; that’s right.” Crystal touched a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. “I’m so frazzled lately, I swear.”
“It’s fine,” Ben assured her. “You have a lot on your plate.”
Crystal nodded. “Speaking of which… I don’t suppose you would mind sitting down with me for just a minute or two? I was hoping that we could talk.”
Ben glanced back over his shoulder, like he could see the status of everyone through the wall of trees. He checked his watch next. “Is it something we can discuss here?”
“I’d really rather we had some privacy.”
“Of course. I can’t sit down for long, though.”
“Oh, obviously.” Crystal’s gaze landed on Rowen next. “You can come along, if you like.” Rowen did not like, not at all. “In fact, I think I would rather you were there.”
It would be a lie to say Rowen wasn’t intrigued. Besides, where else did she have to go? Back to the cabin where Paris would grill her over the past hour she’d spent with Ben? No thanks. “Sure. I’d be happy to come along.”
***
Crystal led the way back to her tent once more. Not much had changed since the last time Rowen had been in there. The water bottles were still on the counter. The ceramic plates they had eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches off of sat right beside them. Rowen couldn’t blame them for not cleaning. It would probably be the least of her concerns if she was them as well.
“Take a seat,” said Crystal with false brightness.
Ben looked like he wanted to object, but he sat anyway. With his ramrod straight, business-like posture, he looked more than a little ridiculous sitting on a beanbag chair. Rowen plopped into the chair beside him.
“Can I get either of you anything?” asked Crystal. “Water? Tea?”
“That’s all right, thanks,” said Ben.
Rowen could tell that Crystal didn’t really want to waste time brewing them up a drink. She was just offering to be polite. “I’m fine,” said Rowen, even though she could really go for some caffeine. Her recent sleep patterns - or lack thereof - had really done a number on her.
