by Raven Snow
Wynter had been silent until now. He stood suddenly, sitting his mug to one side. “I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to,” Crystal said quickly. “You can stay here with Veronica and help her deal with the… legal side of things.”
“Are you kidding?” Wynter was already moving to where he’d sat his duffel bag on top of his cot. “No offense, but I think I have more hiking experience than everyone here combined. The woods are a tricky place at night. You need an expert with you.” He pulled a heavy duty flashlight from his bag. “Grab a few walkie talkies, will you? Just in case we get separated.”
Crystal sighed but did as she was asked. Rowen wasn’t sure why she was so impatient all of a sudden. “Here, Rowen. Make sure you get one of these.” She handed one of the walkies to Rowen.
It was a good idea. Rowen felt better having the walkie on her person. At least they had an expert coming with them, assuming Wynter had as much experience as he claimed.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Wynter asked, lowering his voice as he approached Crystal to hand her a second heavy duty flashlight. “Veronica is probably right, you know. I’m sure this could wait until morning. It would be safer for everyone involved if—”
“We’re doing this now, while we still have the opportunity,” insisted Crystal. “Now, come on.” She turned and left the tent.
Wynter followed. Rowen did the same, sparing only a glance back at Veronica. She was already grabbing the satellite phone.
***
“So!” Crystal began when she reached the other campers. “I’m sure everyone’s been filled in on what’s going on. You know that all of this is optional. Anyone who doesn’t want to participate is welcome to stay behind.”
Looks were exchanged. No one wanted to be the first to refuse the hike out into the woods. Maybe they didn’t even realize how dangerous it might be.
“It could be dangerous.” Rowen felt obligated to mention that. “It wasn’t all that long ago that my cousins and I got lost. I know you all remember that.”
“We’re going in prepared,” said Crystal, a statement Rowen was sure Veronica would have flipped her lid over. “I have Wynter here. He’s very experienced when it comes to exploring the wilderness.”
“More or less,” said Wynter, his tone measured. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. This whole thing wasn’t sitting well with him either.
“We need to get moving quick. These feelings Rowen has been describing come and go,” Crystal explained. “It has a lot to do with the position of everything around us. Remember what I said about this town having special ley lines and magnetic properties? They can amplify psychic ability. What we’re experiencing now is an exceptionally powerful period of time. We need to act before it passes.”
That all sounded like complete nonsense to Rowen, though Crystal had said it all with a straight face. A lack of raised eyebrows and whispers told Rowen that most of them had bought it. Not a single person had said they wouldn’t accompany her yet.
“Everyone who plans on going needs to have a flashlight,” Crystal continued. “If you have to, go back to the cabin and get one. I’ll meet you all there. Move quickly.”
“Bring a water bottle too,” Peony called after everyone as they dispersed.
Chapter Eleven
It didn’t take long for everyone to assemble at the edge of the woods. It did take a little longer to quiet everyone down and get them to concentrate. Rowen needed their minds on Phoenix if she wanted to feel that pull again.
“Okay,” Rowen said, opening her eyes after an indeterminable amount of time standing there with her eyes closed. She had to calm her own thoughts and anxieties. This was what she had wanted, she told herself. They needed to find Phoenix. That was the priority. Never mind that the experience was probably about to traumatize an entire group of people. “It’s this way.” She crossed over into the dark woods, followed closely by Crystal.
“I feel it too,” said Crystal placing a hand over her chest as she pressed on ahead.
Rowen didn’t know for a fact that Crystal was lying, but she expected that she was. She did her best to mind her own business and follow the force that tugged her along. For the most part, everyone else was silent. Flashlight beams bounced around the forest floor and across tree trunks. They traversed only the marked hiking paths at first but, eventually, it was time to go off trail.
Rowen stopped before pressing deeper into the woods. “I need to go this way,” she said, pointing into the dense, dark trees. “If you guys want to wait on the trail, that’s fine.”
“No thanks,” Paris said with a laugh, like the suggestion was ridiculous.
“I might wait here,” said Willow. She clearly still had some well-founded hangups about going off-trail.
“You’re not going to be the only one who stays behind,” Nadine said softly, taking her daughter by the arm.
“So we’ll all get lost in the woods together then,” grumbled Willow. “Great.”
“Come on. Let’s not waste time.” Crystal stepped off the trail and pressed on into the woods. To Rowen’s surprise she was actually headed in the right direction. She hurried after her, followed by everyone else.
***
They walked for what felt like a long time, longer than it had taken Rowen to find the body the first time. She kept chancing glances over at Wynter, hoping he was able to mentally map the path they were taking and what the way back would be. He was too covered in shadow for Rowen to see much of him. His expression was completely unreadable. Crystal, meanwhile, was easy to make out in the collective beams of everyone’s flashlights. Her jaw was set and her eyes were forward. She looked determined.
And then they were there. At least Rowen hoped they were there. The force pulling her dropped off suddenly. Rowen stopped walking altogether, stumbling forward when Gossamer ran into her from behind.
“Sorry,” said Gossamer quickly.
“It’s all right,” Rowen assured her. She looked around. “This should be it.”
“What do you mean?” asked Erin.
“I mean he should be around here. The energy drawing me to him? This is where it led.”
Predictably, Paris turned a little circle and gave a huff. “So it led you to a dead end. Is that what you’re saying?”
“No,” snapped Willow. “That’s not how it works. He could still be nearby.”
Crystal nodded. “She’s right. We need to take a careful look around.” She closed her eyes. “I feel him here. Yes, this is where we need to look.” She opened her eyes once more and shook her head slowly. “However… I’m afraid he is no longer among the living. Anyone who isn’t comfortable with the idea of… finding a corpse, feel free to remain here. You can still help of course. Keep thinking of Phoenix. It will help us hone in on his exact location.”
This time everyone really did pause. Finding a dead body was a much less attractive idea than finding someone alive. They didn’t want to find a corpse that had been exposed to the elements for several days. Rowen didn’t blame them.
“It would probably be more helpful if everyone stayed here and just concentrated,” Rowen said quickly. It was a lie, but she wanted to provide an out for everyone. She wasn’t heartless. There was no reason all of them needed to see Phoenix like this. Heck, Phoenix himself probably wouldn’t want that. Better they remember him like the handsome young man he was.
“I feel something,” said Crystal, softly. “This way.” She began to walk away from the group. Rowen followed even though she didn’t feel whatever it was Crystal felt pulling her along.
Rowen bounced the beam of her own flashlight along the ground. She examined every inch of her surroundings carefully, even though she dreaded actually seeing Phoenix. She hoped the image wouldn’t haunt her dreams too much but didn’t see how it wouldn’t.
Rowen was thoroughly stuck in her own head when her feet snagged on a root. She yelped as she tripped, her knees hitting the ground h
ard. Heads whipped in her direction.
“Are you okay?” Lydia demanded, hurrying over from where she had been waiting with the rest of the group.
“I’m fine,” Rowen assured her, rising slowly and dusting off her knees.
“Are you sure?” asked Nadine.
“I’m sure. I—”
“Here.” Crystal swept past Rowen. She went down on her hands and knees a few feet away. “I think… yes. Yes, I found him.”
“What?” Rowen scrambled over to Crystal. She dropped back down to her own knees, tying to see what Crystal had seen.
Even with the flashlight aimed in the right direction, it was hard to tell whether what Rowen was looking at was Phoenix. The shape was ambiguous. If it was Phoenix, he had been moved. His body was jammed in a hollow of dirt and roots at an odd angle. The clothes looked right, she decided. “That’s…” She nodded. “I think that’s him.”
“Is he okay?” asked the distant voice of Gossamer. Her high voice sounded higher than usual, like she was afraid. She probably already knew the answer to the question she was asking.
“No,” breathed Crystal. She took a deep breath and spoke louder so as to be heard by everyone. “He’s already passed on. Wynter, can you radio back and tell Veronica to give the police another call? If you can pinpoint where exactly we are on the map, that would be helpful.”
Wynter didn’t realize she was talking to him at first. She had to say his name a second time before he responded. “S-sure,” he said, turning away from the direction the body was in. “I’ll do that.”
***
No one got lost in the woods again. At least there was that. It was also a good thing that they had finally located Phoenix. Rowen had been beginning to think someone had taken the body and disposed of it entirely. That hadn’t been the case, though she still had a great many questions.
“Someone moved the body,” Rowen said to Ben back at the camp. “He wasn’t like that when we found him.”
Ben nodded. “I know. I figured as much. Any idea who might have moved it?”
“I wish I knew.”
***
Everyone at the camp went down to the Lainswich police station. There wasn’t any way around it anymore. They officially had a murder on their hands. Crystal didn’t complain about that as much as Rowen expected her to. Apparently, she had meant what she said about wanting to go home. If anything, she seemed relieved as the police took the reins from her.
The inside of the police station was packed with camp goers. They all huddled near outlets, their phones plugged in so that they could charge. The ones with phones that weren’t dead made call after call when they weren’t being questioned by an officer. The Greensmiths did the same. Even Rowen had to find the time to give Eric a call.
“I’ll be down there in a minute,” Eric said rather than asking a bunch of questions. They didn’t live too far from the police station. Rowen wanted to vent but didn’t argue when he tried to hang up. She would much prefer having him there in person with her.
As soon as Rowen had hung up, her phone rang again. The face of the phone said that it was Rose. No huge surprise there. Rose was a reporter, and she must know that something was going on. Ben was her husband, after all. “Don’t you wish you’d gone instead of me now?” Rowen asked in way of a hello.
“A little bit,” Rose admitted. “It sounds like things got exciting. Ben wouldn’t let me go down and interview everyone. I reported on the missing person case, but it didn’t drum up a whole lot of interest. I was hoping to get the community invested, but you know how fickle people around here can be.”
“You know Peony, Willow, and I found the body first, right?” Rowen asked, keeping her voice down so as not to be overheard. “It was never a missing person case as far as we were concerned.”
“I know. I didn’t doubt that,” Rose said dismissively, like it went without saying. “I want to be at the station now, but Ben won’t allow it. Everyone is there right?” She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “Hey, Julia Martinez isn’t there, is she? I have Channel 2 on now, but I haven’t seen the murder mentioned. Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s not down there lurking in the parking lot, waiting for someone to come out so she can—”
“I haven’t seen her or heard from her.” Not that Rowen had really been on the lookout for the Channel 2 reporter. She had other things on her mind.
“I know it’s a bad time, and I hate to bring it up now but… Do you think you could set us up some interviews? I’m not picky. Anyone will do—as long as it’s not someone we’re related to, obviously. I’d like an outsider’s perspective.”
Rowen sighed. She was too tired to think about how to deal with the media side of the murder. “I’ll see what I can do.” From the corner of her eye, Rowen saw Ben motioning to her. “Listen, I have to go. I’ll call you back later, okay?”
“Okay.” Rose paused but only for a second. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine,” Rowen lied. “I’ll call you back.” With that she hung up and crossed the room to Ben. “What’s up?”
“Step into my office, will you?” He motioned her into the small room that served as his office.
Rowen went inside. It was as messy as ever. Or cramped, at least. Files and forms were stacked a foot high on nearly every surface. Rowen didn’t doubt that he had a system for everything, but he really needed to pare it all down some day. He could do with an assistant who would stay on top of this stuff. Not that it was her place to tell him how to do his job.
“Sit,” said Ben, which was easier said than done. He had to move a pile of folders so that she could.
Rowen sat down into the bucket seat of a plastic chair. “So, where do we start?”
“That’s a good question.” Ben sat down behind his desk. He folded his hands on its surface, looking at Rowen intently. “You knew this whole time he was murdered. I didn’t doubt you on that. Do you have any idea who might have done it? You’ve spent more time with these people than I have.”
Rowen nodded. She had expected this line of questioning. “I wish I had a better answer for you.” She really did. “But I’m not sure.”
“Who was directly involved with Phoenix?”
“Just the staff, I guess.” Rowen didn’t want to throw anyone under the bus when she knew so little. “Just to be clear, I don’t have any solid theories yet. I only know that Veronica was involved with him. Crystal cared about him too. Earlier tonight, I caught her crying about the whole thing. I think that might be because she finally admitted to herself that he was dead, though.”
Ben nodded, gaze distant, deep in thought. “Is Eric on his way here?”
“Yeah, he should be here soon.”
“Good. Go home with him. Get some rest. I want you at the crime scene with me tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Really. We need to check out the scene of the crime in the daylight. I especially want you and your cousins to get a look at it. I want to know if the body is anywhere near the place where you found it.”
“I’m not sure I’d be able to tell you,” Rowen admitted, sheepishly. “To tell you the truth, the woods all look sort of the same to me.”
“Even so, I’d like you there. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course.”
“Go get some rest then. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Chapter Twelve
It was heavenly to be sleeping in a proper bed again. Rowen would have happily slept in until noon had the alarm on her phone not gone off. She groaned and rolled over, tempted to turn it off. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t an option. She had things to do today.
“Rise and shine,” said Eric with a yawn, climbing out of bed while their old dog Chester kept right on snoozing. Rowen was envious of the black lab. No worries or obligations. He could spend the whole day in bed if he wanted. Heck, Eric could too.
“You know you don’t have to come,” Rowen told him as she headed
into the master bath.
“Why wouldn’t I come? You want me there, don’t you?”
She did. “Well, thanks.”
“Consider it my husbandly duty… Also a detectively duty. I’m one of those too, you know.”
***
Rowen met Ben at the camp site. Crystal, Veronica, Wynter, and a woman Rowen didn’t recognize were all waiting with him. “Sorry I’m late,” she said as she hurried across the open field to join them. She wasn’t sure if she was actually late, but it sure felt like it with everyone standing around waiting on her.
Everyone looked beyond tired. Crystal found the energy to put on a strained smile when she saw Eric. “Is this your… husband?”
“Oh.” Rowen stepped to one side. “Everyone this is my husband, Eric. Eric, this is Crystal Spruce, Veronica, Wynter, and…” she trailed off, unable to place the second woman standing next to Crystal. She looked to be more or less Crystal’s age, albeit with less work done. Her dark gray hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
“This is Lula,” said Crystal, placing a gentle hand on the woman’s shoulder. “She’s someone I called in, like Wynter. Of course, she’s a little late. Not that that’s her fault. The retreat just ended a little earlier than we predicted.”
“Oh, nice to meet you.” Rowen held out her hand and shook Lula’s. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to work together or… ya know, meet under happier circumstances.”
“Likewise,” said Lula. She took Eric’s outstretched hand next, her wrist going limp like she expected him to kiss the back of her hand.
Eric stood there for a few seconds before awkwardly shaking her limp hand and letting it go. “Where are you from?”
“San Diego,” said Lula with a serene and somewhat inappropriate smile. “That’s where I met everyone here. I know Phoenix too. So sad. That poor boy.”
Veronica turned away from the group. She tried to do it discreetly, like something in the distance had caught her eye. Anyone with half a brain knew this was hitting her hard. Rowen felt like she should say something but had no idea what. What could she possibly say that would make Veronica feel better?
