The Samantha Wolf Mysteries Box Set: Books 1-3

by Tara Ellis

  “Well, I really hope you do have a good plan,” Sam responds, pulling her long, brown hair back from her face, and scooting to the edge of the seat in anticipation. “Because we’ve only been back home for a week, and I’m already going crazy. It’s nearly impossible to go anywhere without fighting our way through the crowds!”

  While nice and peaceful for most of the year, Oceanside erupts with tourists during the summer. The girls’ normal hangouts are overrun with small kids dripping ice cream. Parks and beaches are crowded with hikers and sunbathers. The business owners love it, but for the local kids without anywhere to go that can’t be reached by walking or biking…it’s a pain.

  “Not to mention,” Sam continues, “that Hunter is on a roll this week. I think he’s pranked me five times already.”

  Hunter is Sam’s older, fourteen-year-old brother. He has seemingly dedicated his life to tormenting her.

  “Come over now, and I’ll explain everything,” Ally says, a bit mysterious. “I can’t wait to tell you!”

  They live just three houses apart, so it’s easy enough to go back and forth, but Sam isn’t known for her patience. “Then don’t wait. Tell me now! I have to watch the twins in less than an hour.”

  While Hunter might be Sam’s torturer, the ‘Tigger twins,’ aptly named for their constant need to be bouncing, are the loves of her life. The two little girls adore Sam. Even though they are a constant challenge, she doesn’t mind. Her mom quit her job as a teacher when they were born two years ago, so she could stay home and raise them. Although her dad makes good money as a commercial fisherman, it’s seasonal work, so money is always tight.

  Saturday night is bowling night, and Sam’s parents are on a league with her aunt and uncle. They made an arrangement last year that, in exchange for Sam watching the twins and her two small cousins every Saturday, they would pay the monthly fee for Sam’s cell phone. Her aunt and uncle would be showing up soon to drop off their kids and pick up her parents. She doesn’t have much time.

  Huffing good-naturedly at her best friend, Ally seems to relish the opportunity to draw out the drama. “It’ll be easier for me to explain in person,” she insists. “Besides, I’ve got a flyer I need to show you. It’ll just take a few minutes, but I’m already babysitting Cora…so you have to come here!” Cora is a little girl that lives across the street. Ally often watches her on the weekends while her parents work.

  A flyer? Now Sam is really curious, but rather than press for more information, she slams the phone back into its station and leaps from the chair.

  “I’m going over to Ally’s!” she hollers, as she runs through the kitchen, where her mom is preparing an early supper. “I promise to be right back!” she hastily adds, before her mom has a chance to protest.

  Her mom’s response is muffled as Sam slams the door behind her, but she knows that it was just an acknowledgement. Going to Ally’s is such a common occurrence, it would be rare for her parents to say no. Her mom knows she can count on her to be back on time.

  Skipping down a rough, cobblestone path, Sam veers off across the manicured front lawn and weaves through evergreens scattered along its edge, marking the property boundary. They have just under three acres, and the backyard is much less tidy. Her favorite spot is an old barn nestled up against thick woods in the far corner. She’s spent many hours reading up in the loft, where the old hay still smells sweet. She’s been begging her parents for years to get a horse, but although they have the space, they claim not to have the time or money to take care of one properly. She hasn’t given up on the dream.

  It takes less than a minute to cut through the neighbors’ yards and race up to Ally’s grand estate. Although Sam’s house is modest by comparison, Ally’s has a smaller yard, just under an acre. The inside is a starker contrast. Where Sam’s is filled with children’s laughter, bickering, and warm smells of homemade cooking, Ally’s is quiet and expensively designed, with everything in its proper place.

  Both of Ally’s parents work full-time jobs. Her dad is an administrator at a nearby Boeing plant (where they make airplanes,) and her mom is an intensive care nurse at a large hospital a half-hour away. She has a sixteen-year-old brother, but ever since John got his driver’s license, the girls haven’t seen much of him. He’s either gone somewhere with friends, at football practice, or holed up in his room.

  Ally is often at home alone. While they usually hang out there because it’s quiet and they have more privacy, Sam feels a certain sense of relief when she returns to her family and all of the chaos. Ally claims not to mind being alone, but Sam doesn’t always believe her.

  It’s close to five o’clock when Sam raps twice on the door before letting herself in. Ally’s mom insists that she doesn’t need to knock, but it’s a habit she hasn’t been able to break.

  “We’re in here!” Ally calls from the media room, located at the back of the massive house.

  Kicking her shoes off in the foyer, Sam then scurries through the granite-heavy kitchen, and into a space that any teenager would think was heaven. It’s also the only room where food and playing is allowed. A pool table sits at one end, where there is a mini kitchen/bar and dartboard. At the other end is an 80-inch flat screen TV, facing an overstuffed, U-shaped leather couch. The walls are lined with custom-made shelves, full of various games and other supplies.

  Ally and Cora are in the middle of the room, surrounded by toys. The three-year-old is currently playing with a large pink pony, making it gallop across the floor with a doll flopping around on its back.

  Jumping up, her not quite shoulder-length, wavy red hair bounces as Ally shakes a piece of paper at Sam. “You’ve got to see this!” she gasps, her blue eyes flashing.

  Intrigued, Sam rushes forward to snatch the flyer from her. The first thing to catch her attention is the image of a horse. Camp Whispering Pines is scrawled across the top. Pictures below it show groups of girls engaged in various outdoor activities, including hiking, swimming, archery, and horseback riding. Her excitement growing, Sam’s smile suddenly turns into a frown when she sees the dates and cost of the camp at the bottom.

  “Ally, you know I can’t afford this!” she cries, slumping down, dejected, on the large couch. “There’s no way my parents could come up with five-hundred dollars on such short notice. The camp starts next Saturday! Anyway, I doubt Mom and Dad would let me go, even if we did have the money. I’m still suffering from nightly lectures about our last outing in Montana.”

  Although she and Ally had basically saved her relatives at the inn this summer from bankruptcy, they were lucky to have achieved it without getting seriously hurt. Sam’s parents called it lying to an adult, but she likes to think of it as more of…withholding certain information until it was necessary to share it. Sam knows she made some poor choices, and endures the criticism with the right amount of shame…but she doesn’t regret it. Now she wishes her parents had let her accept the reward money her aunt had offered, so she could afford the camp. Her parents flat out refused, but instead agreed to an open invitation to visit the resort for free whenever they wanted. She has to admit that it really wouldn’t matter.

  Taking the pamphlet back from her, Ally joins her on the couch. Sam doesn’t understand why Ally is still smiling.

  “Of course I know all of that!” Ally says, tucking her legs up underneath her. “You know that my aunt is a troop leader for the Scouts, right?”

  Sam nods silently. Ally’s aunt has been trying to recruit them for the past two years. Both of her younger daughters are in the organization. After seeing the camp, Sam’s wishing now that they had gone ahead and joined.

  “Well, every year, each troop gets a certain number of scholarships donated, so that kids who can’t afford it still get to go. She just came by a bit ago, dropped this off, and told me that she still has one available. The scholarship is yours if you want it, Sam!”

  Digesting this information, Sam’s hopes swell slightly, but then dim again. “That’s great, Ally
, but I’m not sure that will convince my parents to allow me to go.”

  “I know. I’ve got that covered, too.”

  Looking closely at her best friend now, Sam is almost convinced. Ally seems so positive!

  “I already talked to my mom about it,” Ally explains. “She said that she’ll call your mom and explain what a good influence this camp will have on us. They teach leadership skills there, and reinforce responsibility and stuff.”

  Transfixed by the picture of the girl riding the horse through the woods, Sam allows her smile to widen. “Ally, I think you’d better ask your mom to make that call!”

  2

  WHISPERING PINES

  Sam finds it hard to believe that just a week after their conversation, she and Ally are now on their way to Camp Whispering Pines. Their mothers had spoken at length about it, but it was the promise of good character building and supervision that finally won Sam’s mom over. Well…that, and several unfair promises to Hunter. In exchange, he’s babysitting the twins for her.

  There was a mad rush to get their applications filled out and turned in on time, but Ally’s aunt helped them get it done. The scholarship was approved for Sam, and everything fell into place.

  Now they’re in the back of an extremely noisy suburban, along with Ally’s two younger cousins and three other girls from their troop. It’s a three-hour ride deep into the Cascade Mountains. Sam is sitting on top of her pillow, with a sleeping bag on her lap. She’s quite certain that their bags will explode out the doors when they’re opened.

  In spite of the cramped space and hectic atmosphere, she can’t help but be caught up in all of the excitement. A week filled with hiking in the woods, swimming, boating, and of course horseback riding. It’s pretty much a dream come true. Sam would have been happy riding in the back of a cow trailer.

  They leave the ocean behind them and quickly climb up into the rugged mountains, scattered with volcanos. They get a glimpse of Mount Rainier, looking like a surreal mirage against the skyline, before its view is blocked by the lower hills.

  The Cascades run north and south, dividing Washington State in half. There are several active volcanos within them, but the most well-known is Mount Saint Helens, which erupted over thirty years ago, in 1980. Obviously, Sam and Ally weren’t born yet, but their parents experienced it as kids and shared their stories with them. Because of this, the girls know that the beautiful, snow covered peaks might look peaceful, but giants lurk within.

  It always amazes Sam how fast the woods thicken and close around the car as they drive up the mountain pass. Her dad likes to take them up to the ski resort sometimes and go sledding, so she’s familiar with this part of the trek. Craning her neck, she tries to look out the window at the towering rock face rising before them. Although it’s a hot summer day in the 80s, there is still snow and ice at the higher elevations, far above.

  Just before they reach the ski resort, a popular summer location for hiking, they turn off the main highway. A large, brown sign designates the paved road as a national park access route. After what seems like several miles, they turn onto a smaller, unpaved road.

  “Almost there!” Ally’s Aunt Cathy calls out happily.

  Her excitement building, Sam strains against her seatbelt as she leans forward and tries to see out the front window. However, between her own sleeping bag and the other girls’ heads and pillows, she can see very little.

  “I think I’m going to burst!” she finally gasps to Ally, who is sitting quietly beside her. Looking at her best friend curiously when she doesn’t respond, Sam notices that Ally doesn’t look so hot. She forgot how much Ally hates long drives. The cramped quarters probably isn’t helping.

  “I need air,” Ally finally groans, “and a bathroom.”

  Not to be deterred by her friend’s mood, Sam starts to bounce eagerly in the seat. Well, as much as she can with the limited space that’s available. “We’ll be there soon!” she says happily. “We’ll find you a bathroom first thing!”

  The vehicle pulls into a large, graveled parking lot. They circle around other cars, vans, and busses, before finally coming to a stop. When both backseat doors open at once, several backpacks and pillows immediately fall out onto the ground. Sam smiles. This is exactly what she expected.

  “Come on!” she urges Ally, when her friend moves too slowly.

  Once they’re out in the fresh, pine-scented air, Ally’s color and mood improve rapidly. It would be hard not to be happy in the middle of such a beautiful place.

  Sam turns in a complete circle, trying to take it all in. Even with the parking lot full of vehicles and noisy kids running around, the vastness of the woods and mountains dwarfs them. I’m going to like it here! Sam thinks, smiling broadly.

  “Come on!” she says aloud to Ally. “Let’s go find you a bathroom.”

  After donning their backpacks and gathering up the pillows and sleeping bags, their small group follows the other campers along a well-worn trail. The trailhead is marked with a small, discreet wooden sign that simply says, ‘Whispering Pines.’

  “It’s a half-mile to the main lodge,” Aunt Cathy explains. “I’ll make sure you get to the right spot and are signed in before I leave.”

  Distracted by a small, gurgling stream that parallels the trail, Sam absently nods in acknowledgement to Cathy, before leaping over it and then back again. Giggling, Ally’s younger cousin follows suit, but her shorter legs don’t take her quite far enough, and she ends up with a wet tennis shoe.

  Slightly embarrassed by Cathy’s disapproving scowl, Sam can almost hear her mom’s voice lecturing her about being responsible and setting a good example. “Sorry,” she mumbles before scrambling to catch up with Ally, who is trying to set some sort of speed-walking record.

  “Wait up!” Sam chirps, coming alongside her friend.

  “I can’t!” Ally breaks off the conversation upon spotting a small building around the next bend. Running now, she dashes for the bathroom, throwing her pillow and sleeping bag at Sam as she goes. Squealing, Sam juggles the items, ultimately losing the battle and dropping both of their beddings on the ground.

  When Ally reappears, Sam has brushed most of the pine needles off their stuff and devised a way to hold everything.

  “Much better!” Ally breathes, wiping her damp hands on her jeans. “I never should have had all that juice before we left!” Tucking her unruly red hair behind her ears, Ally seems to notice their surroundings for the first time. “Oh my goodness! This place is amazing!”

  The sun is directly overhead, highlighting the beauty of the woods. Butterflies float through the beams of light, landing briefly on wildflowers before coasting to the next small splashes of color. Ferns nearly as tall as the girls nestle at the bases of huge evergreens, blending into the bright, green moss that hugs the bark.

  Breathing deeply while trying to distinguish the different smells, Sam closes her eyes and listens to the assortment of birds calling to each other. She’s brought out of her trance abruptly when someone grabs her arm. Opening her eyes, she finds Ally staring at her with a crooked smile.

  “Come on, Pocahontas, we need to catch up with everyone. If we want to be in a cabin together, we need to sign in as fast as possible.”

  Laughing, Sam starts singing their favorite song from an animated Pocahontas movie as they run towards the large lodge just visible in the distance.

  3

  CABIN NAVAHO

  It turns out that Ally’s cousins hadn’t been exaggerating during the car ride when describing Camp Whispering Pines. If anything, they had understated its size and impressive buildings.

  Sam has never seen anything like it. The main lodge is a massive, A-frame log building with a huge front porch and sweeping steps. As they approach from the trail, the towering trees all around it make it appear smaller, but as they get closer, Sam’s mouth hangs open.

  A large open space in front of the lodge is filled with campers and their parents. Scattered around the
clearing are other, more discreet buildings. Turning to study them, Sam walks towards the nearest one.

  “Commissary.” She reads the wooden sign hanging over a closed window.

  “That’s where you can buy extra supplies, like a toothbrush or bathing suit,” Cathy explains. “You know, stuff you might have forgotten.”

  “They also have lots of candy!” her daughter adds happily. “That’s why we bring spending money. The rope licorice is the best!”

  Sam sticks her hand absently in her back pocket, confirming that the five-dollar bill she brought along is still there. How much licorice will that get her?

  “Come on!” Ally urges, pulling her away from the little store.

  On their trek across the courtyard, they also pass an office, a first-aid stand, and more bathrooms.

  “Where’s the swimming pool?”

  Sam directs her question to Ally’s cousin, who is walking beside her. Melissa is a year younger than they are, but this will be her second year at camp. Sam notices that she’s still leaving behind one wet footprint in the dirt.

  “Oh, that’s over there!” Melissa points somewhere behind and to the left of the lodge. “You have to take another trail. But it isn’t too far. We’ll get to go swimming this afternoon! They have a required swimming test on the first day, to make sure everyone can swim. If you can’t, you aren’t allowed in the pool during free time, but only designated pool time, when there are extra lifeguards on duty.”

  Sam’s not worried about a swim test; she and Ally are both excellent swimmers. Nodding to acknowledge that she understands, Sam then follows the crowd towards an area right below the steps of the lodge. Several tables have been set up so this must be where the sign-in is happening.