Return to Hollow Inn

by Tara Ellis

  “You couldn’t have known what was really going on,” Beth answers as she moves around the room, refilling everyone’s coffee. “We understand why you took this job, Tori. You’ve been a wonderful employee, and you were only trying to get your sister back.”

  “I never got the care package,” Kat says to her sister. “After I found Bailey, Anthony wouldn’t let me leave the house. When you first came looking for me, he threatened to hurt you if I told you anything. By the time I’d realized what was really going on, I felt like I didn’t have a way out. I had no idea you were here at Hollow Inn.”

  “The important thing is you’re safe now,” Tori says. “Do you mind if I take her down to my cabin to get cleaned up?” she asks Beth.

  “Of course I don’t mind,” Beth answers. “I know you’re probably eager to get back home, Tori, but you’re both welcome to stay as long as you’d like. I need to get dinner started soon, but you’re welcome to join us. Our other guests arrived during all the excitement, and I’m afraid I’m already neglecting them.”

  It took over an hour for her uncle to reach them in the cave after Sam had managed to get him on the radio. It was another hour after that before the sheriff and two of his deputies arrived. Meanwhile, the rest of the county police force rounded up the remaining people at Anthony’s house.

  Their ordeal is finally over, but just like the storm’s passing, it’s going to take some time to clean up the mess it’s left behind.

  The sheriff tips his hat at Sam’s aunt and uncle. He follows Tori and Kat as they leave, and there’s a moment of awkward silence after the front door closes. Bill looks around the table at Kevin, Sam, Ally, and then finally at Mr. Appleton, who’s standing as far away as possible while still being in the same room. It’s been a very long afternoon of hiking through the storm, coping with the face-off in the cave, and then the endless interviews with the sheriff.

  Sighing deeply, Bill runs his hands over first his face and then through his damp hair. “I only have one question,” he finally says as he turns to Mr. Appleton. “How does an author come to be so adept at handling a firearm?”

  Mr. Appleton smiles in response and then starts to laugh. The tension broken, everyone joins in until he puts a hand up for silence. “It’s actually a rather boring explanation, I’m afraid. While researching one of my crime novels, I took a crash course on weaponry and investigative techniques used by crime-scene investigators. While it’s come in handy with several scenes in my books, I must say I never intended to put any of the skills to use.”

  “We’re just thankful you were also caught out in the same storm and heard the gunshot,” Beth says with sincerity.

  “I’ll admit there might have been more than luck involved,” Mr. Appleton confesses. “My curiosity was also piqued by your neighbors and the elusive ‘Kat.’ It wasn’t the first time my wanderings led me closer to the property line than I should have been.”

  “Speaking of which.” Bill clears his throat before settling a decidedly more serious gaze on the three teens. “I know you all well enough not to accept the simple version of your story. Your aunt and I are aware you knew about Tori’s connection to Kat,” he says to Sam. “And that your questions in town uncovered the history between our two properties and the mine. Please don’t tell me this wretched gold mine once again led you to put your lives in danger.”

  Sam swallows hard. “Honest, Uncle Bill, after Aunt Beth asked us to stop snooping, we didn’t plan on getting more involved. We decided to help Kevin find the hot springs, just for fun, and then tell you right away if we uncovered anything else about Anthony Stepson while we were looking. We had no idea that the gold mine was involved.”

  Kevin nods in affirmation. Pulling the two sheets of old journal paper from his jeans pocket, he spreads them out on the table.

  “That’s old Shawn Hollow’s will!” Beth exclaims.

  Kevin turns the paper over. “It’s hard to see, but there’s a map drawn on the back of it. That’s how we found Christopher’s Pool, the missing landmark.” Pushing the elusive journal entry toward his uncle, he grins. “I found this inside Christopher’s picture down in the cabin.”

  Bill reads the journal entry before handing it to Beth and then holds the map up to the light to study it. “Well, I’ll be. You’re right.”

  Sam is hopeful that they might not be in too much trouble after all. “After we were in the caves and realized what Anthony was doing there, it all made sense. Shawn Hollow was trying to hide the other entrance to the mine.”

  “Now that you know about it, maybe you can safely mine the gold and add the cave onto your tour,” Ally suggests. “Hot springs can be a huge tourist attraction.”

  Bill and Beth look at each solemnly before coming to a silent agreement. “We won’t be mining any gold,” Bill declares. “We’re going to honor Shawn’s wishes, as well as the final resting place of the unfortunate men who died there.”

  Beth nods. “Once we have those tunnels safely blocked off though, I don’t see why we can’t explore opening up the hot springs to visitors. It’s actually quite a good idea!”

  “Thank you, Kevin,” Bill says, turning to the young man seated beside him. “For discovering Christopher’s Pool and for acting so bravely in the cave. I hate to think what might have happened if you hadn’t been there.”

  Kevin blushes under the praise but then looks sideways at Sam. “Thanks, Uncle Bill, but it wasn’t just me. Sam’s the one who found the map and figured out what it meant. The three of us found the cave together.”

  Sam smiles at her cousin, surprised by his generosity. But her happiness doesn’t last long.

  “Come on, girls,” Aunt Beth huffs. Standing, she motions for them to follow her. “Time to call and explain all this to your parents.”

  20. ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

  “You’re never going to catch a fish if you don’t listen to me.”

  Sam continues baiting her hook and then casts the line without acknowledging Kevin’s statement. He’s way too much like her brother. “I know how to fish,” she mumbles.

  The sound of splashing behind the boat draws their attention, and Ally’s head appears above the bow. “Any luck?”

  “Not with you scaring the fish away,” Kevin complains before using one of the oars to splash her.

  Squealing, Ally drops back into the water. “Come on, Sam!” she calls while doing the backstroke. “It’s gorgeous out here.”

  Sam laughs as she watches Ally do some impromptu water ballet. Unlike the day before, the water is now as smooth as glass. If possible, the storm seemed to further cleanse the air, and the sky is such a bright blue that it’s almost blinding. An eagle circles slowly above the far shore, doing its own form of fishing.

  “Woo-hoo!” Kevin hoots while tugging on his taut line. After a brief struggle, he hauls up a decent-sized rainbow trout. “That’s how you do it!”

  Sam’s cheeks flush as she reels in her untouched bait. Who wants to waste time fishing when the water’s so nice anyway? Dropping her pole into the bottom of the boat, she stands on the wooden bench and does a perfect dive.

  “Seven point five,” Kevin calls when she surfaces. “With a point taken off for excessive splash at the end.”

  Ally swims over to where Sam is treading water. “He really ought to get wet,” she whispers.

  Sam grins crookedly in agreement. “It might be the only way we can finally get that red shirt washed.” Unlike the girls, who came prepared in their swimsuits, Kevin is still wearing his jeans and T-shirt.

  They wait until Kevin’s released the trout and then dive below the surface, quietly resurfacing as close to the boat as possible, one on either side. Much to Sam’s delight, Kevin leans over to wash his hands on the side Sam has chosen. Bracing her feet against the boat, she clamps onto his wrists while at the same time shouting, “Now, Ally!”

  While it’s an average-sized boat, it’s lightweight. It doesn’t take much for Ally to tip it a little.
That’s all Sam needs. After a brief struggle, Kevin ends up in the lake with a huge splash.

  “Five points!” Sam gurgles, choking on a mouthful of water. “Your form could use some work.”

  Ally swims around to regroup with Sam, and they laugh loudly at Kevin’s grand antics. Sputtering, he flails around for an exaggerated amount of time before setting his sights on Sam.

  Instead of humor however, his face is darkened by a scowl. “I have my phone in my pocket!”

  Sam’s heart drops into her stomach. Not again! “Oh my gosh, Kevin!” Sam is close to tears. “I’m sorry! We were just messing around. I didn’t think you’d have your phone out here!”

  Instead of the expected tirade, Kevin throws his head back and begins to howl with laughter. “You should see your face!” he sputters, close to tears now too. “Priceless! Of course I don’t have my phone!”

  Sam wants to be mad, but she’s always been someone who can take as much as she dishes out. Laughing along with her cousin, she’s thankful they aren’t actually reliving the past. Instead, they’re having fun together.

  “What did your dad say when you called him?” Ally asks Kevin when they begin to lazily tread water under the intense, afternoon sun.

  “Once Uncle Bill explained everything to him, we had a good conversation.” Kevin smiles with pride. “Especially after I told him I’m officially being hired as the new caretaker for the rest of the summer.”

  Sam and Ally exchange a knowing look. They’d suspected that might happen after Tori announced at dinner the night before that she and Kat would be going home as soon as a replacement could be found for her.

  “That’s great, Kevin!” Ally says. “It’ll be really good experience for your résumé.”

  “Yeah, and my dad even used words like ‘encouraged’ and ‘proud.’” Kevin’s smile wavers. “I didn’t think that would ever happen again.”

  “Why not?” Sam interjects, reaching out to push good-naturedly at his shoulder. “We would have never figured things out without you, and Anthony might have succeeded in getting the inn shut down.”

  Kevin meets Sam’s gaze and tilts his head slightly at her. “Cuz, are you giving me a compliment?”

  Sam promptly splashes him in the face. “Just be thankful your dad was so positive about our little adventure. I wish my mom was. It took Aunt’s Beth intervention to keep us here for the rest of the week, plus five minutes of my begging to allow me to go on our next camping trip.” Sam turns to Ally, who’s begun to swim circles around them. “The most frustrating part is that I really did try to stay out of trouble this time. How could we have known the two mysteries of the hot springs and gold mine were connected?”

  Ally pauses next to Kevin. “You should really go visit the Wolfs sometime this summer. Maybe we can work together again on another mystery!”

  Sam laughs at the suggestion but then smiles encouragingly at Kevin. “Ally’s right. I know Hunter would love to spend some time with you, and maybe our parents could get together too.”

  Looking first at Sam and then Ally, Kevin gives them both his infamous, lopsided grin. “I don’t know. Hanging out with you guys is kinda dangerous. Who knows what you’ll be up to next?”

  THE END

  Did you enjoy Return to Hollow Inn? Be sure to read ALL of The Samantha Wolf Mysteries!

  LINK TO SERIES PAGE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tara Ellis, an Amazon bestselling author, lives in a small rural town in Washington State set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She enjoys the quiet lifestyle with her two kids and several dogs. Tara was a firefighter/EMT, and worked in the medical field for many years, before committing herself to writing young adult and middle grade novels full-time.

  Visit her author page on Amazon to find all of her books!

  amazon.com/author/taraellis