Shadow Falls

by Wendy Dranfield

  “Jesus Christ, you’re heavy.”

  Brody barks as if to confirm it, and Nate wonders why Donna made out he was unfriendly. The dog is enjoying having his thick fur coat ruffled as they both watch Madison appear. The closer she gets, the more alert Brody becomes. He sits up and then stands in front of Nate. Madison stops a few feet away.

  “Who’s this?” she asks.

  “Hold out your hand and crouch down. He’s friendly.”

  She doesn’t look so sure, but she does it. Brody sniffs her hand and then, not finding anything of interest, immediately turns his attention back to Nate.

  “You want this, don’t you?” Nate holds up the tennis ball, and the dog drops onto his front legs, ass in the air, tail wagging energetically just like any regular pet.

  Nate gets up and throws the ball as far as he can, but the dog just watches it. He doesn’t run for it. “Fetch!”

  Brody looks at him like he wants to chase the ball but for some reason he won’t.

  “He’s not earned it yet,” says a male voice.

  Nate looks behind Madison and sees a tall young man with ginger hair, probably in his early twenties, approaching them. “He was a working dog so he has to earn his ball.”

  Madison nods. “Of course. The ball is the reward for a job well done. Do you know what he was trained to find? I assume it was drugs.”

  The stranger looks down at Brody and pats his head. Brody turns away, unimpressed, and sits next to Nate.

  “Bodies, actually. He’s a cadaver dog. That’s what the shelter was told when the cop’s wife handed him in. She didn’t like the idea of keeping her dead husband’s cadaver dog, apparently, and I can’t say I blame her.”

  Nate looks at Brody. The dog has been through a lot: losing his owner, discarded by his family and out of the job he was bred for. He has nothing to do but roam the woods every day. Nate can already feel himself falling for him and wonders whether anyone’s put him to use in the woods to look for Jenny’s body. He stands up and holds his hand out to the man. “I’m Nate Monroe.”

  “Josh Sanders. I work here. I’ve been a camp counselor for a few summers.”

  He turns to Madison, who introduces herself.

  “You’re looking for Jenny Lucas, aren’t you?” says Josh.

  “We are,” Nate confirms. “The family have asked for our help.”

  “We have a spare cabin if you’d like to stay here for a few days. We’ve lost that many kids early that we’ve made the remainder bunk together, which leaves us one spare. You’d have to share, but there are plenty of empty beds to choose from.”

  Nate looks over at Madison to see what she thinks.

  “Fine by me,” she says. “The less travelling back and forth we have to do, the more time we’ll have to find Jenny.”

  “Great,” says Josh. He turns around and points past the office. “It’s the farthest cabin over there. I’ll make sure there are clean sheets and towels for you. Want me to take you there now?”

  “Not yet,” says Madison. “First, we’d like to check out Jenny’s cabin. I understand it’s number 5. Is that correct?”

  Nate notices Josh hesitate. Perhaps he’s wondering if Donna will be mad at him for letting them enter one of the kids’ cabins.

  He nods. “Her bed was the one closest to the door.”

  “Thanks.”

  Nate follows Madison. He looks back at Brody as they walk away. The dog doesn’t follow them; eventually he gets up and runs in the opposite direction, toward the woods, leaving the discarded tennis ball untouched.

  When they walk into the cabin, Nate is surprised to see there are no children inside. He’s overcome by a strong smell of perfume, hairspray and sweaty socks, all mixed together to form a sickly-sweet aroma.

  Jenny’s bed stands out, as it’s the only one with no sheets on it.

  “If she was nearest the door, she’d be the easiest to grab,” says Madison.

  “But she didn’t sleep in here that night. Didn’t Grant say her friends thought she had chosen to sleep by the campfire?”

  Madison gives him a look. “If we believe her friends. Remember, we only have the statements of young kids to go by. We need to be open to the idea that they could be covering up for themselves, or maybe for their favorite camp counselor.”

  Nate would never have considered a child could have any involvement in Jennifer’s disappearance. He pulls open the drawer of the nightstand, but it’s empty.

  Madison has no luck with the tall locker on the other side of the bed. “The contents have either been released to her parents or they’re still being held as evidence.”

  He walks around the rest of the cabin. It looks like a bomb has gone off, with clothes everywhere, toiletries covering every shelf and nightstand, and home-made bunting wrapped around lights and bedheads. In comparison, Jenny’s small area looks like no one has ever stayed there. He starts to feel as if she’s out of their reach. As if the task of finding her is too difficult. The thought of letting Esme down fills him with dread.

  “Come on,” says Madison. “Let’s mix with the kids and see what we can find out.”

  He’s relieved to follow her out into the fresh air.

  Twenty-Three

  Madison pulls opens the wooden door to the cabin that houses the cafeteria and walks in. The smell of hot dogs and fried onions is strong and makes her stomach growl.

  “Want a coffee?” asks Nate.

  “Please. Grab me something to eat too. A hot dog would be good.”

  He nods. “You find us somewhere to sit.”

  Madison scans the rows of noisy, animated kids and spots a young girl sitting on her own, picking at some tomato pasta. She’s about Jenny’s age. Every now and then she glances up at a table of older girls, who are giggling together, but they don’t invite her over.

  “Hi, I’m Madison. Do you mind if my friend and I join you?”

  The girl looks up at her and smiles. “Sure.”

  Madison notices her braces. “I had those when I was your age. They suck, don’t they?”

  The girl nods and touches them self-consciously. “I’m having them taken off before school starts. I can’t wait.”

  The sad look on her face makes Madison feel sorry for her. It’s hard being that age. She remembers the struggle of trying to get good grades and please her mother whilst also trying to fit in with her peers, some of whom could be mean like the giggling girls. She wonders what kind of worries Jenny had in her young life and whether these girls made them worse. Or perhaps she was one of them. She wipes some crumbs off the table and rests her chin in her hand. “What’s your name?”

  “Becky.”

  Nate joins them and passes Madison a fully loaded hot dog and a coffee.

  “This is Nate,” she says.

  He smiles at Becky. “Hi.”

  Becky blushes. Probably not enough for Nate to notice, but Madison does. “Did you get to know Jenny Lucas while she was here?” She takes a bite of her dog. The onions taste amazing but the mustard squirts everywhere.

  “I wasn’t in her bunk but I knew who she was. Do you know what happened to her?”

  Madison shakes her head and uses a napkin to wipe her mouth. “Not yet.”

  Becky looks teary. “I wanted to go home when she vanished, but my parents are abroad on holiday so I couldn’t.”

  Madison doesn’t want to upset the girl further. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

  Becky goes back to picking at her pasta.

  Madison finishes her hot dog and spots a suited man walk in. He scans the room and then eyeballs her. She nudges Nate, who looks up and watches the guy approach their table.

  “Let me guess,” says Nate, wiping ketchup from his fingers. “Detective Morgan from Trinity Creek PD?”

  The man doesn’t show any surprise. “How did you guess?”

  Nate smirks. “I can spot a cop a mile off. I’m Nate. This is Madison.”

  Madison looks at Morgan. He’s probabl
y a little older than her, with dark hair and a tan. He must be hot in his navy suit.

  “The camp director tells me you’re looking into the disappearance of Jennifer Lucas,” he says. “Is that right?”

  Nate pushes his plate away and Madison can feel the hostility oozing off him. “News travels fast around here. Is that a problem?”

  She notices the cafeteria has gone quiet and all eyes are on them.

  “It’s only a problem if you give the family false hope,” says Morgan.

  “Why would we do that?” she asks.

  He ignores her. “Which family member hired you?”

  She and Nate share a look, and then both stand up without replying, collecting their dirty dishes. She manages to down some coffee. “We’ll catch you later, Becky.”

  The girl smiles and immediately glances at the table of mean girls to see if they noticed she has adults talking to her.

  Morgan looks irritated. “Can we discuss this outside?”

  They stack their dishes on the cleaning bench and follow him outside, into the sunshine.

  He looks around. “I hope you’ve been warned about the crazy dog that lives here. Damn thing near took my face off last time I was here. It’s just a matter of time before it bites one of the kids.” He slides his sunglasses on and takes a seat at a picnic table.

  Madison sits opposite him with Nate next to her. For some reason Morgan looks only at Nate as he talks. It irritates her.

  “Donna tells me you’re private investigators, working for Jennifer’s family. Are you both licensed? Because I’d like to record your details.”

  Nate shakes his head. “Unlicensed. The family were aware of that before they hired us.”

  He looks dubious, like they’re lying just so he can’t get their details. “That’s fine and all, but this is an open case for my police department and I don’t want anyone messing it up. You’re free to ask questions and look into things, but I’d appreciate it if you’d work with me, not against me.”

  That gives Madison hope that he’s not an asshole. She sees surprise on Nate’s face. “Are you saying you want us to keep you in the loop with anything we find?” she asks.

  “Yes. I’m happy to cooperate with you if you don’t fuck things up.”

  Nate’s shaking his head. “I don’t work with cops. I’m being paid by Esme Lucas, so she’s the only person I’ll be updating. You’ve had two weeks to find her granddaughter. What have you been doing?”

  Morgan stares hard at him.

  Madison speaks up before they come to blows. “Let’s not be hasty, Nate.” She turns to face Morgan. “Detective, I’m a former police officer and I know what a pain in the ass PIs can be. But I agree with you, there’s nothing wrong with us all sharing information. After all, we’re here to find Jenny, not to score points.” She looks back at Nate, who looks away. Then she turns back to the cop. “Let me give you my number so we can stay in touch.”

  He retrieves his cell phone and she takes it from him. She pulls out the piece of cardboard with her new cell number on and enters it as he watches.

  “Why don’t you work with cops?” he asks Nate. “What have you got against us?”

  Nate laughs. “Let’s just say I’ve yet to meet a good one.”

  “Hey! What about me?” Madison hands the phone back to Morgan. “Send me a message so I have your number.”

  He sends her a text. “What’s your last name, Madison?”

  She freezes, unsure whether to tell him. She could really do without him googling her to try to figure out where she used to work.

  Nate speaks up for her. “You don’t need to know our last names. We’re not the ones being investigated here.”

  Morgan sighs, giving the impression he’s running out of patience. “Listen, I’m happy to tell you what we’ve done so far.” He looks around, making sure no kids are listening in, but he needn’t bother: it’s eerily quiet. Madison’s pretty sure that everyone left on the campsite is eating lunch in the cabin behind them.

  “We’ve done a background check on everyone working here. Apart from some minor misdemeanors, there’s no one of interest. We’ve searched the woods and the lake and found nothing. Not even Jennifer’s backpack or an item of clothing. Which means one thing.”

  “She was abducted,” says Madison.

  “Exactly. Shadow Falls is small, and my department has jurisdiction over five towns altogether. I’ve checked for registered sex offenders nearby and only found two that aren’t currently serving time. They both have credible alibis and even let us search their homes without a warrant, so they’re not suspects in Jenny’s disappearance.”

  “So it could’ve been someone who was driving through and looking for easy prey?” says Nate.

  “Probably. They don’t get many truck drivers through here as it’s off the beaten track, but it’s not unheard of for sex offenders to stalk summer camps. With only so many staff to go around, there are always going to be easy pickings for people like that. If that’s what happened here, there’s small hope of finding the girl or her abductor; they’ll be long gone.”

  “So why did you tell the family she probably ran away?” Madison asks.

  Morgan leans back with a confused look on his face. “I never told them that. A twelve-year-old girl wouldn’t get far if she ran away from here. These woods stretch for miles into the Six Rivers National Forest, and there are no busy highways nearby where she could’ve hitched a ride.”

  Madison glances at Nate.

  “The grandmother told us you thought she’s likely to be a runaway,” he says.

  Morgan slowly shakes his head. “No. At the beginning of my investigation I did say it was one of the possibilities I would look into, but once we realized she hadn’t taken anything with her other than the clothes she was wearing and her backpack and towel, I didn’t think that was a credible theory. Maybe the grandmother misunderstood. She was hysterical on some occasions. She still calls me five times a day.”

  Madison nods. “Parents and relatives tend to hear what they want to hear. It’s understandable. God knows I’d rather cling onto the hope that my child had run away than consider he’s with a sexual predator. So, this case is still open with your department then?”

  “Of course,” says Morgan. “But the trail’s gone cold so there’s not much we can do at the moment. I’m keeping an eye on other missing child cases from around the state. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find a link one day and nail the bastard who took her. But I don’t expect to find Jennifer Lucas alive. Obviously I haven’t said that to her family, so don’t quote me.”

  “We saw on the news that there’s a substantial reward,” Madison says. “Are the parents covering that?”

  He nods. “They are.”

  “Could money be a motive for kidnap?”

  “I don’t think so, but I guess anything’s possible. There have been no ransom requests so far.”

  “What about her cell phone; did you find anything of interest on there?” She can feel Nate staring at her.

  “We’re still pulling the data.” Morgan looks amused. “I can imagine you were a good cop. Why did you quit?”

  She’s taken aback. Is it wrong to feel flattered that another cop appreciates her?

  “Are there any other missing children around here?” asks Nate, probably buying her time to come up with a cover story.

  “Not in Shadow Falls, no. There’s actually never been a child homicide or abduction recorded in this town, which is something in itself. There is an open missing person’s case—an adult—but it’s completely unrelated.”

  “Did the amber alert generate any leads?” asks Madison.

  Morgan looks annoyed now. “I didn’t issue an amber alert.”

  Her mouth falls open. “What? You’re kidding, right?”

  “No. I had to make a judgment call, and based on the lack of evidence to suggest she was abducted, I decided against it.” Morgan stands up. “If you find anything, don’t keep it to y
ourselves. Despite the odds against it, I want that child home with her family. Preferably alive.”

  He’s distracted by Josh, the camp counselor they met earlier, who smiles at them as he walks past with another male counselor. The doors behind them open and a bunch of kids start piling out, running in various directions and shouting as they go.

  “Thanks for your time.” Detective Morgan nods at them both and heads back toward his car.

  Madison has no doubt mistakes have been made here, not just the length of time it took Donna to call the police, but the way Morgan has investigated so far. As she watches him walk away, she wonders how long it will be before he tries to figure out who she and Nate are. She worries that her conviction might get her kicked out of Shadow Falls, making it harder to find Jennifer Lucas.

  twenty-four

  November 2000—Austin, Texas

  As the foreman prepares to read the verdict to the packed courtroom, Nate is pulled upwards by the arm. His lawyer is trying to make him stand, but Nate’s legs are shaking hard. His knees don’t feel strong enough to hold him and he doesn’t want to risk causing a scene. He stays where he is.

  “I’ll only ask one more time,” says Judge Kemper, with impatience written all over her face. “Will the defendant please rise.”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” His lawyer pulls him again, harder this time. “Come on, buddy,” he whispers. “I’ve got you.”

  Nate stands but leans forward onto his knuckles on the tabletop. He can’t even look at the jury to try to gauge their verdict. He blesses himself and recites a silent prayer. Stacey’s uncle might have made out he was the devil, but he does still have faith. Whether that will last long after today he doesn’t know.

  He always believed in the American judicial system until he was arrested. Since then, his eyes have been opened and he has no doubt at all that he’s about to be found guilty of murder. The only doubt is whether he’ll be convicted of capital murder, which carries the possibility of being sentenced to death. He doesn’t know if the prosecution managed to poison the jury into believing that he’d gone to the Connors’ home with the intention of raping Stacey before killing her, but whether it’s capital murder or just plain murder—life in prison or the death sentence—it’s all inconsequential. Stacey is still dead.