“I hate that term. I don’t even know why I used it.”
“Shock value maybe? To get my attention?” Still holding Susan in his arms, he gave her an affectionate squeeze.
“I don’t know… I guess I want this to be more than that.”
“I know we haven’t really spent much time together. But the more I get to know you, the more I want to spend time with you. I have no idea where this is going, but for me it isn’t about some casual relationship—friends with benefits without a commitment.”
“What are you saying, Brandon?”
“I’m a little too old to ask you to be my girlfriend,” Brandon said with a chuckle. “But I’d like to give the exclusive thing a try. Give us a chance to get to know each other better, see if there is a future for us.”
“I remember you saying you weren’t looking for a relationship.”
“I wasn’t. But things have changed. I suppose part of it was losing Kev—being reminded how quickly life can change, the importance of family and friends. And also… I met you. I don’t want you to think I suddenly wanted to get into a relationship, that any woman would fit the bill, and that you just happened to be there. More accurately, I suddenly realized I no longer wanted to waste my time on women who only interested me for… well, for a lack of better word, casual sex.”
“I feel the same way. I’d like to see where this thing takes us. But if we’re going to be exclusive… I mean…”
“What?” Brandon asked with a frown.
“I really think you should give me your class ring,” she teased.
“Okay… if I can find it,” Brandon said with a chuckle as he opened the car door for Susan. After she got in, he closed the door, and she rolled down the window.
“When we get this thing sorted out with Sarah, we can go on a real date,” Brandon said as he leaned against the car door and looked into the open window.
“What would be your idea of a real date?”
“I was thinking fishing—maybe pack a picnic. Do you like to fish?”
“I like to sit by the lake, and I like to eat. But I’ll let you do the fishing.”
“How about if I bait your hook?”
“You would do that for me?”
“Sure.” Brandon grinned.
“It would be very un-feminist of me to let you do that. You wouldn’t tease me about it later, would you?”
“Are you kidding me? You’ll forever be reminded that I had to bait your hook.”
Susan laughed and accepted his quick kiss goodbye.
“Okay, I suppose I can survive the ridicule. But you’ll also have to clean any fish I catch.”
“Deal. But you’ll have to cook them.”
“Don’t get all chauvinist with me. You’ll cook your own damn fish,” Susan said with mock indignation.
“Okay, just as long as I know how it is.”
Susan flashed Brandon a playful grin before they exchanged their final goodbyes. He stood by the side of the street and watched her drive away.
When Susan arrived back at the camp, she pulled into the north parking lot and found a vacant spot adjacent to a thicket of pine trees not far from the path leading to the cabins. There were approximately a dozen cars parked in the area and no people in sight.
Standing by the side of her car, she looked out toward the mountain highway and thought about Brandon. In spite of the unsettling information they’d discovered about Harriet Summers, she couldn’t stop smiling. Something deep inside her made a queasy little flip. Susan Thomas felt like a giddy high school girl again.
Taking a deep breath, she started to turn around when she felt something hard nudge the center of her back and heard a female voice say, “Don’t move.”
Susan froze. Is that a gun in my back?
“Now, very slowly, I want you to step backwards and move into the trees with me. Move slowly if you know what’s good for you.”
Susan was fairly certain she recognized the voice: Harriet Summers. Taking careful, short steps, Susan moved backwards away from the parking lot and into the trees. Frantically, she looked around. The last thing she wanted was for one of the girls to see them and get hurt. Perhaps it isn’t a real gun.
Walking backwards proved challenging, but she took it one step at a time and tried her best not to stumble into Harriet, who held the gun with what appeared to be a shaky hand.
“Stop. You can turn around now,” Harriet ordered when they were concealed within the thicket. Susan turned around and faced the elderly woman who was most definitely holding a real gun.
“Where is it? What did you do with it?” Harriet demanded.
“What are you talking about?” The moment Susan asked the question, she knew the answer—the hair. At the time, she hadn’t considered Harriet would notice the hair had been removed from the trashcan, but she now realized her foolish oversight. She herself had told Mr. Summers to let his wife know she’d stopped by. Stupid. Stupid!
“You know what I’m talking about. What you took out of the trashcan!”
“What are you talking about?” I need to play dumb. Make her think her husband removed the hair—anything but me. “I just stopped by your house to check on you. I was worried that you might not have gotten home okay. I don’t know what you think I took, but I would never steal anything.”
“I know you used the bathroom. You were the only one who could have taken it.”
“I lose things all the time—maybe whatever you think you lost is just misplaced. I didn’t take anything out of your house, I promise.” I wonder if I will go to hell for lying under the circumstances. I just hope I don’t find the answer to that question in the very near future.
“Does he have it? Did you give it to him?”
Oh my god, Brandon. I can’t let her shoot me and then go after Brandon!
“Whatever you think I took, it can’t be worth shooting me over. I mean, if you think I stole something, call the sheriff. Report me. Please. But please not this...”
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
I guess suggesting calling the sheriff wasn’t the best tactic.
“Only because I don’t want you to do something you will regret—what we’ll both regret. If I knew what you were talking about I would gladly hand it over. Honest. What could I have possibly taken from you that I would be willing to keep and risk getting shot?” That sounds reasonable to me… if in fact she was missing something of value, like money or jewelry.
“I don’t want to shoot you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I never did.”
“Can we talk about it? Let me help you. Tell me what you’re looking for. Maybe I saw it in the bathroom when I was there.” Don’t they say to get friendly with your kidnaper? Is this what’s happening, I’m being kidnapped? Can I continue to maintain this charade, or does she know I’m lying and will it just make her more angry, more apt to shoot me?
“Give me your purse,” Harriet demanded. After Susan handed her the purse, Harriet said, “Now sit down on the ground and don’t make any sudden movements.” Once again, Susan complied. While keeping hold of the gun, Harriet shakily rummaged through the purse.
“Stand up and empty your pockets,” Harriet ordered after tossing the purse on the ground.
Susan stood up and turned her pockets inside out. They were empty.
“You must have given it to him. I knew I should have gone to their cabin before coming here. Start walking.” Harriet pointed down the trail with her gun.
“Where are we going?” Susan took one tentative step.
“I need to think. I should have flushed it down the toilet. I never wanted to hurt anyone. But this always happens—someone has to butt in and then someone gets hurt. This is your fault, you know. If you would have simply minded your own business none of this would have happened.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The meeting at Carol’s office was scheduled to take place an hour after Susan returned to Camp Shipley. Susan had wanted to change h
er clothes and freshen up before talking with the sergeant, and she planned to meet Brandon, Kit and Sarah at Carol’s office at the designated time.
Brandon was a little surprised Susan wasn’t waiting for him at Carol’s when he arrived but wasn’t overly concerned considering her cabin was just a short walk away.
After introductions were made, Carol suggested having Sarah go with her assistant into the next room so the adults could first talk with Sergeant Grant. He could ask Sarah questions after he had a better feel for the situation.
Instead of waiting for Susan, Kit went ahead and told the sergeant how she had discovered Sarah’s hair had been cut, and why she believed it was done during the time the child was missing. Brandon told of Susan’s unusual meeting with Harriet Summers up at Trail’s Chapel and how they happened to determine the woman’s identity. He then told how Sarah had mentioned the pearls, which made both him and Susan wonder if Harriet had in some way been responsible for cutting the child’s hair since she’d obviously been looking for a little girl when Susan ran into her at the chapel. Brandon had just explained how Susan had found the hair in the Summerses’ bathroom when there was a knock at the office door.
“That must be Susan,” Carol said, standing up. Brandon glanced at his watch and wondered what had taken Susan so long.
When Carol opened the door to the office, it wasn’t Susan. It was Lexi Beaumont and two of her bunkmates.
“Lexi, we’re in a meeting now,” Carol explained. “By the way, have you seen Susan? She’s supposed to be at this meeting.”
Lexi held up a red purse and said, “That’s why I’m here. We found this in the trees by the parking lot. It belongs to Susan. Her car’s in the parking lot. We’ve been looking for her—she’s not at the cabin, and we can’t find her anywhere. We were hoping you knew where she was.”
Carol took the purse and ushered Lexi and the other girls into the office. Both the sergeant and Brandon stood up.
“I don’t understand; how can she be missing? You said her car is in the parking lot.” Brandon said as Carol looked inside the purse and removed a wallet. She opened it.
“It’s Susan’s,” Carol confirmed. She handed the purse to the sergeant.
“Show me where you found this,” Grant instructed Lexi. She nodded and then led him and the rest of the group from the office.
“We were standing here,” Lexi explained a few minutes later as they stood at the edge of the north parking lot adjacent to the thicket of pine trees. “We had just got back from the trail ride and sort of expected to find Susan at the cabin. When she wasn’t there, we walked out to the parking lot to see if her car was here.”
“I noticed the purse,” Andrea spoke up. “But I didn’t know it was a purse. I just saw something bright red through the trees and was curious.
“Show me where you found it exactly,” the sergeant said. “But the rest of you, stay here.”
Andrea and the officer moved through the trees until they reached the area where the purse had been found. The ground showed evidence of footprints. Going down on one knee, the officer took a closer look.
“It appears there were two people,” the sergeant said when he and Andrea returned to the group. “The footprints lead off into the forest, away from camp and the cabins. Considering the rain we had yesterday, they must be fresh.”
Overwhelmed with a sick sensation—not much different from how he’d felt when he’d learned of Kevin’s murder—Brandon panicked. The first thought that popped into his head was that Harriet Summers was responsible for Susan’s disappearance, yet why the woman would take her didn’t make sense to him. Before he had time to analyze the situation or voice his concerns, a sheriff’s vehicle turned into the parking lot and pulled up to where the sergeant was standing. The car came to a stop and the driver rolled down the window. It was Deputy Anderson. The sergeant leaned into the car.
“I thought that was you standing there,” Anderson said. He’d noticed his supervisor when driving down the road. “I was getting ready to radio you.”
“What’s going on?” the sergeant asked.
“I got a call from my brother-in-law, Ed, about thirty minutes ago. Seems some gal, who claims to be a counselor from one of the local camps, stopped by their place looking for Harriet this morning. He let her use their bathroom and now his gun is missing. He keeps it in a drawer in the kitchen.”
“Really?” the sergeant glanced over his shoulder at Brandon who was standing out of ear shot, talking frantically to Kit and Carol. He looked back at Anderson.
“And what does your sister say? Maybe she moved it.”
“Harriet’s not home right now; I couldn’t ask her.”
“Where is she?”
“Ed said she went hiking about an hour ago. But I can’t imagine why she’d move the gun. They always keep it in the same place. I bet if we locate that woman and the man who was with her, we’ll find the gun.”
“I’m pretty sure I know who stopped by your sister’s house,” the sergeant said, standing up straight. “Jim, I think we need to have a talk.”
• • • •
Kit and Sarah stayed with Carol while Brandon went with the sergeant and Anderson to question Ed Summers. Fortunately, it was dinner hour, making it easier for Carol to gather the girls in one location. She didn’t want them wandering around the camp if there was some unbalanced woman with a gun holding one of her counselors hostage. Sarah was excited to eat dinner with all the girls and wasn’t aware of the unfolding drama. The sergeant only allowed Brandon to come with him because he didn’t want Brandon to take off and search for Harriet and Susan on his own—assuming, of course, the women were together.
“That’s the man who was here today!” Ed said the minute Brandon walked into his cabin with the two officers. “You’re quick, Jim. Did you get my gun back? Why isn’t he in handcuffs?”
“Just a minute, Ed,” the sergeant said. “Did Harriet get back yet?”
“Harriet? No, she went hiking. But, I’d prefer she not know about this. As it is, she was angry at me for letting them in here. Why isn’t he in handcuffs?”
“We don’t think he or his friend took your gun,” Jim said, his voice shaky. “Ed, where is my sister?”
“I told you, she went hiking. And of course they took my gun. Where is the woman?”
“I think Harriet might have her. We need to figure out where she may have gone. I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Anderson said.
“What are you talking about?” Ed said angrily.
“My name is Brandon Carpenter,” Brandon spoke up. “My sister and I rented a cabin up here for the summer. Yesterday, my four-year-old niece—my sister’s daughter—went missing. While searching for her, Susan, the woman you met this morning, ran into your wife up at Trail’s Chapel. Your wife claimed to be looking for her granddaughter.”
“We don’t have a granddaughter,” Ed said.
“Yes, I know. After Sarah was found, my sister noticed someone had cut off a lock of her hair. According to Sarah, a woman—a woman wearing pearls—found her and promised to take her home. Instead, she took her to a cabin and started to cut off her hair. Sarah was frightened, and when something interrupted the woman and she left the room for a moment, my niece managed to escape. When we came here today, my friend found a lock of Sarah’s hair in the trashcan in your bathroom. My friend is missing. We think your wife has taken her.”
During Brandon’s telling of the events, Ed’s complexion lost all color.
“Oh my god, Harriet… what have you done?” Closing his eyes, Ed dejectedly bowed his head.
“What’s going on, Ed?” Jim asked, leaning by the wheelchair.
“Harriet never got over losing Terri,” Ed said at last. Terri was their young daughter who had drowned during a visit to the beach when the child was in kindergarten. “I can’t do this… I can’t lie anymore.”
“What does this have to do with Terri?” Anderson asked.
“I didn’
t know how bad it was for Harriet… not until the Collins girl.”
“The Collins girl? Are you talking about the little girl that went missing—what fifteen, sixteen years ago?” the sergeant asked.
“I wasn’t here—wasn’t at the cabin that weekend. Harriet came up to Shipley that weekend alone. When she came home, she had a little girl with her.”
“Are you saying my sister took the Collins girl?”
“She told me the little girl was being abused—that she saw the aunt hit her. She said they didn’t deserve to have such a perfect little girl. It took me a minute for it to register—Harriet had kidnapped the child. She seemed to have no idea the severity of the situation. I realized she needed help. I told her she had to take the child back, that we would get her help.”
“What happened?” Brandon asked, knowing the child’s body had been left at a church.
“She wouldn’t listen to me. I started to take the child downstairs. I didn’t want them to lock Harriet up—I just wanted to get her help. I decided to leave the little girl at the police department, tell them I found her.”
“But you left her body instead at the church,” Brandon snapped.
“No. No… Harriet flew at me… she was so angry. She accused me of taking another child away. She blamed me for Terri drowning—said I didn’t keep a close enough eye on her. Perhaps she was right. We fell down the stairs. It killed the little girl, and me…”
“It damaged your spinal cord,” Anderson finished for him.
“When I woke up, Harriet was beside my bed in the hospital. I asked her where the child was. She told me she’d dropped her off at a church. At the time, I assumed the little girl was alive… that Harriet had dropped her off at the church like I had intended to drop her off at the police station. It was much later that I discovered she had died. The fall had killed her.”
“Oh my god…” Jim stood up and walked to the couch. Sitting down he put his hands over his face and shook his head.
Sundered Hearts Page 16
