Shadow Falls

by Wendy Dranfield

  Madison thinks of Becky and the mean girls who were laughing at her in the cafeteria. It sounds like there’s some bullying going on at this camp, but she can’t tell which clique Jenny belonged to. For all she knows, Lizzie and her friend could have been falsely accusing Jenny of stealing to upset her. “Then what happened?”

  “She turned her back on us and wouldn’t say anything else. I think she was crying. So we left her alone and went back to the bunk. We thought she was sleeping outside that night so she didn’t have to see us.” Lizzie starts crying herself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would disappear. I hope she didn’t hurt herself because of us.”

  Lizzie’s mom comes back on the line. “I think that’s enough. She’s told you everything she knows, so please leave her alone.” She ends the call.

  Madison sighs. She hasn’t really learned anything other than that none of the kids went swimming and there was a bit of an argument. Maybe Jenny went for a swim after the girls left and got into trouble. Or maybe she ran away after the argument, either to avoid the bullies or to hide the evidence. Or did she sleep here at the campfire, where she was exposed and vulnerable to being grabbed?

  With all the different scenarios swimming around her head, Madison decides she needs to clear her thoughts. She takes a walk around the whole campsite, trying to figure out the layout and potential weak points in security.

  The staff at Camp Fearless are pretty friendly overall, which surprises her. She expected them to be more defensive, even protective about the camp. This is how they earn their living, after all, and businesses don’t like to be tarnished with a bad reputation. Especially one whose clients are children. She hasn’t actually interviewed the staff—she has no power to; instead she’s casually talked to everyone she’s come across, to get a feel for how many employees there are and who may have something to hide. They all appear to know why she and Nate are here before she even tells them, but none of them raise the topic of the missing girl.

  There are only ten staff on duty today, including Kat and Josh. The kitchen staff, all female, don’t have much to say for themselves, but the sports counselors are mostly cocky young men who act pretty juvenile around each other. She wants to speak to them individually, but they’re always surrounded by kids. One of them, a tall, lanky guy, refuses even to make eye contact with her, which is always a bad sign. She’ll single him out at some point, whether he likes it or not.

  She bumps into Josh.

  “Hey,” he says. “I’m free now, so let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

  She follows him to one of the cabins at the far end of the campsite, near the thickest part of the woods. When she walks in, she’s pleasantly surprised. It doesn’t smell of socks, and it’s almost bare inside. It’s obviously been thoroughly cleaned in anticipation of summer’s end. Josh acts the perfect host, explaining where the shower block is, asking if she needs any toiletries and then finding her some clean bedding. She’s not impressed. If anything, it makes her even more suspicious of him. It’s not unusual for a killer to insert themselves into an ongoing investigation into the disappearance of their victim. The more he talks to her, the more she dislikes him, which would seem irrational to anyone else, but if she told another cop how she felt about this guy, they’d understand.

  She chooses a bed at the far end and sits down to remove her shoes.

  As Josh is about to leave, she can’t resist questioning him. “So, what do you think happened to Jennifer Lucas?”

  He turns back, looking almost sad. The fluorescent lights in here highlight the dark circles under his eyes, and she realizes he appears exhausted. Maybe looking after other people’s kids will do that to you. Then again, so would the pressure of hiding a dead body.

  “I wish I knew,” he says. “Pretty much everyone here thinks she drowned, because of the way she just vanished. But that doesn’t explain why her towel and backpack are missing too.”

  “She could’ve accidentally slipped into the lake with them after she picked them up,” she suggests. “Or one of the children could’ve stolen those items from the lakeside after she drowned, and now maybe they’re too scared to come forward and admit it.”

  He leans against the doorway. Behind him, she can see that the sky is darkening fast. It’s almost nine o’clock; the same time Jenny went missing. There’s no sign of the temperature cooling down yet, and she’s wondering whether it would be better to sleep next to the lake, to catch the cool breeze.

  “It’s unlikely. We’ve got a good bunch of kids here at the moment, no troublemakers or liars.”

  Madison laughs. “Don’t all kids lie? I know I did as a kid.”

  He shakes his head. “Not about stuff like this. I mean, none of them liked Jenny all that much, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t cover anything up.”

  She stands up. “What do you mean, none of them liked Jenny? Why not?”

  Josh looks uneasy. He straightens up, crossing his arms. “Well, that’s only my impression. I guess she struggled to make friends and was a little standoffish. She told a lot of lies, so the other kids didn’t trust her, and… well, things had a way of disappearing when she was around.”

  Madison thinks about what he’s implying. This changes everything coming from a member of staff. If Jenny wasn’t liked by the other kids, could they have done something to her? So far, she and Nate, and even Detective Morgan, have suspected a member of staff could be involved. Failing that, maybe a dangerous drifter who was passing through town and taking his chance. None of them thought to suspect the kids. “So you’re saying she was both unlikeable and a thief?”

  They hear a dog bark outside, and Nate appears behind Josh in the doorway. “Who’s an unlikeable thief?” he asks. He enters the cabin with their holdalls from the trunk, and Madison sees Brody run off behind him.

  Josh shakes his head and moves to one side, letting Nate in. “Don’t go jumping to conclusions. I was just telling your partner that Jenny struggled to fit in here. But that’s not unusual; a lot of kids struggle being away from home for the first time. And let’s face it, she was only here for a week, so she didn’t have a chance to settle in properly. By the end of the summer, everyone’s fast friends and they’ve forgotten all about their families. Jenny was clearly attached to her parents, because she didn’t want to let go of her dad’s hand when they first arrived.”

  Nate walks over to a bed opposite Madison’s and drops his bag. “Were there tears from Jenny or her mom?”

  Josh shakes his head. “Her mom didn’t come. It was just Jenny and her dad. Normally mothers want to be there for a kid’s first camp experience, but I understand some can find it too tough, and if they get upset, the kids get upset. Her dad kissed her on the head, gently pried her hand from his, and walked away without looking back. Probably to avoid a scene.”

  “How did Jenny react after her dad had left?”

  “She watched him drive away, and then she stood there watching well after the car had gone. Kat had to lead her away in the end. She didn’t cry, but she looked mad, and she had a bit of an attitude problem afterwards. Some kids are like that. If they’re not looking forward to summer camp, they can act up because they feel like they’re being deserted or betrayed.”

  “Why did you say things went missing while Jenny was here?” asks Madison.

  Josh looks at his cell phone. “It was just candy and sodas, nothing valuable, and I have no proof. I’m just repeating what the kids told me. Look, I’ve got to go; I’m going to be late for a meeting with Donna.” He pauses. “I don’t have any evidence that Jenny was stealing things, but nothing’s gone missing lately. That’s all I mean.”

  He turns and walks out of the cabin, leaving Madison and Nate to share a look.

  “What are you thinking?” asks Nate.

  Madison sits back down on the bed. “Something doesn’t add up. I don’t know. I’m starting to think it’s not the staff we should be looking into.” She pauses and runs a hand through her
hair. “I think the kids could’ve had something to do with Jenny’s disappearance.”

  Thirty-Two

  The following morning, Nate wakes before Madison. When he checks his cell phone for the time, he realizes they slept right through breakfast. Not ideal when they’re on a case, but they drove through the night so it’s unavoidable. They’re no good to anyone exhausted. He wonders how he didn’t hear the morning trumpeter Donna told him about.

  He quietly gets out of bed, leaving Madison asleep under her thick comforter. When he returns from the shower block, where the water only reached lukewarm, he can hear her steady breathing as he gets dressed. She looks comfortable in her small single bed and he wonders if this is a step up from wherever she’s been staying since her release. Watching her makes him feel guilty for getting a better outcome than she did. Hopefully this job will be a step on the ladder back to a normal life for her.

  He needs to phone Esme Lucas to update her on what’s happened so far. He wanted to call her last night, but he was exhausted by the long drive up here and skipping a night’s sleep, so he turned in early.

  Once dressed, he silently leaves the cabin and walks toward the campfire. There are logs arranged around a charred patch of grass and embers in the center. He spots a yellow police identification marker sticking out from one of the logs; a number 3. He assumes Morgan’s team found something of interest here. So maybe Jenny fell asleep by the fire after all. He sits down and is instantly greeted by an enthusiastic Brody.

  “Hey, boy. Have you had breakfast yet?”

  Brody settles down on the grass in front of his feet, looking around and assessing the situation. He’s alert to every sound. The birds are chirping loudly and there’s a welcome chill in the air, with an ominous mist hanging over the lake while it’s still shaded from the sun by the tall redwood trees. Nate’s surprised when Brody ignores three rabbits hopping from one side of the camp to the other. He must be used to them.

  He thinks about what Jenny might have experienced on her last night here. It would have been scary sleeping in the dark by herself, but then if she was starting to get into horror novels, maybe that’s the experience she was after. He looks over his shoulder. The fire is pretty close to the woods. Could someone have been waiting for her to fall asleep before grabbing her? Or did one of the staff approach her and lure her away with them? That’s more likely than a stranger, given how isolated the campsite is.

  He strokes Brody’s head whilst selecting Esme’s number on his cell phone. The signal is hit-and-miss everywhere in the camp, but it’s not too bad here.

  She answers on the second ring. “Mr. Monroe, I’m so glad you’ve finally called.”

  “Sorry for the delay. The cell service out here isn’t great and yesterday was a long day, what with the drive and all.”

  “I understand. I’m just relieved to hear from you. How are things up there?”

  He thinks about it. There’s not really much to update her on. “Well, the staff are friendly and helpful. No one’s asked us to leave; in fact they’re even putting us up free of charge, which is a good sign. And I met Detective Morgan yesterday.”

  “Really?” She sounds surprised. “You didn’t tell him it was me who hired you, did you?”

  He takes a deep breath. “I didn’t really have a choice. But don’t worry about him; he wants us to work together. Your granddaughter’s disappearance is still very much an open case with the police department. They’ve run out of leads but they’re looking into missing children from nearby towns to see if there’s anything to link the cases.”

  She makes a strange groaning sound. “I hope he’s not offended by me hiring an investigator. He might not try as hard to find Jenny.”

  Nate shakes his head, even though she can’t see him. “No, I don’t think that’s true. If anything, it might make him work harder. He won’t want us finding Jenny before him. Cops are very competitive.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  He thinks about what Josh told Madison last night and knows he has to raise it with Esme. “Mrs. Lucas, I’m sure you want me to be honest with you, no matter what I find out.”

  There’s a hesitation before she replies. “Of course. What is it?”

  “It’s just that one of the staff here told us Jenny didn’t make any friends during her short stay. He actually said the other kids weren’t keen on her, as she was prone to telling lies. Does that sound like your granddaughter?”

  The line is silent until he hears what sounds like a door closing. When Esme speaks, she’s whispering. “Jenny is a lovely, intelligent girl. Other children can be jealous of her, because she’s both pretty and smart. There’s nothing she doesn’t excel at—well, apart from sports—so she often gets picked on. That’s what I was worried about when Grant told me they were sending her to summer camp. It’s not a good fit for her, Mr. Monroe. I couldn’t understand why they would put her through that.”

  Nate wonders how blinded she is by her love for her granddaughter. Maybe Grant and Anna sent Jenny here to build some confidence and gain some life experience so she’d be better at interacting with her peers. He worries that Esme is ignoring the girl’s true nature. The fact that one of the staff felt she was capable of stealing suggests she isn’t as angelic as her grandmother is making out. Not that he’d ever say that to the woman, who is clearly suffering enough already.

  “Does she have many school friends?” he asks. “Anyone that gets invited to her house?”

  “Of course! She has one best friend called Jake. But he moved away a few months ago with his family. I’m not sure where they moved to; Anna would know.”

  “If you could get Jake’s number, I’ll speak to his parents. You never know, he could have some idea of whether Jenny was planning to run away.”

  “I’ll ask Anna for it and send it to you.”

  “Great. And talking of Anna,” he says, “how did she react to you hiring me?”

  Suddenly Brody gets up and takes off in the direction of the cafeteria. Nate doesn’t blame him; he’s hungry too.

  “She wasn’t too keen at first, but she’s come around to the idea. She keeps asking me if there are any updates yet. Grant was even less keen, probably because he feels he should be doing more. I actually think he should be searching those woods himself. He’s relying on strangers too much. If I were younger, I’d be there with a group of my closest friends, people I could rely on to help me. The police are always tired and overworked; it would be easy for them to miss a vital clue. You hear about it on the news all the time.”

  “Is that what he did when Jenny first went missing? Did he help search the woods?”

  “No, he wasn’t allowed. He and Anna travelled up there, but they were told to stay away from the camp and deal directly with Trinity Creek PD, so they went straight to the police station instead. Anna has never actually seen the camp other than through its website. Grant only saw it briefly, when he dropped Jenny off.”

  Nate wonders why the police didn’t let them visit the camp to collect their child’s belongings. He’ll ask Madison about that. “Do you know if Jenny had any social media accounts?”

  “I don’t think so. She liked to use the internet for her schoolwork, but I never saw her on anything like Facebook. I assume Anna wouldn’t have let her have an account. She’s quite strict, and rightly so.”

  “Good.” That means it’s unlikely she was being groomed online and then tricked into meeting up with a sex offender.

  “I just want to say that Detective Morgan has been respectful and polite,” Esme continues. “It’s only when he ran into a dead end that we stopped hearing from him. I know I’m supposed to let the man get on with his job, but it’s been two weeks, Mr. Monroe! Jenny’s been out there alone for fifteen nights now. How long are we supposed to wait to see her again?”

  She starts sobbing, and Nate thinks that’s a good place to leave things for now. Then he thinks of one last question he’s not asked her yet.

/>   “Mrs. Lucas? What do you think has happened to Jenny? What does your gut instinct tell you?”

  There’s a long pause while she finds a tissue and blows her nose. Nate doesn’t think she’s going to answer him at first. “I think she’s still alive. I’d feel it if she wasn’t, I know I would. I think someone from that camp has her tied up somewhere doing God knows what, and if you don’t find her soon, I’ll die of a broken heart. I just know it.”

  Nate feels for her. There’s nothing he can say that will make her feel better. She just wants action. “I’ll do my best.”

  He lets her hang up and runs a hand through his wet hair. He wonders again why he chose to do this job when he could easily retire and live a relaxing life by the ocean. But he knows why. Solving other people’s problems and seeking justice for them makes him feel better about not getting justice for Stacey. At least, not yet. Her uncle’s face pops into his head.

  He remembers the look Father Connor gave him as he was being led out to the police cruiser all those years ago. He’s still got to wipe the smirk off that asshole’s face.

  thirty-three

  November 2015—Polunsky Unit, Livingston, Texas

  Nate glances at the clock at exactly the same time the guard turns up to collect him. He’s about to meet an important stranger, and for the first time in fifteen years, he feels a tiny spark of hope fluttering through his chest. He mentally quashes it before it can grow. It’s best not to have hope where he is.

  “Rise and shine, committer of crime,” says Gus, the biggest asshole on the team of correctional officers. He opens Nate’s cell door. “You’re getting some time out of your own personal hell. Follow me, killer priest.”

  Nate has come to realize that the officers in this section are often more psychotic than the inmates. Gus likes to tell them all in minute detail what culinary delights he ate for dinner the night before, and brag about what his wife does to him in bed. Nate knows that much of it is lies, but he still hates him for it. Gus clearly gets off on the power he has over them.