Page 23 of Wilderness Search (Eagle Mountain: Unsolved Mysteries #2)

Mrs. Mason greeted Willa when she arrived at camp Friday morning. “Mr. Sprague is sorry he can’t be here,” she said. “The poor man is spending all his free time searching for Olivia. He’s running himself into the ground, he’s so worried about her.”

“It’s an awful situation,” Willa said.

“You’ll need to sign these.” Mrs. Mason handed her a sheaf of papers.

Willa read and signed the documents, which indicated she was not being paid for her services and agreed to comply with a long list of rules for interacting with the children and other camp policies, such as no smoking and no alcoholic beverages.

Paperwork complete, she followed the older woman to an open pavilion, where a dozen girls sat at picnic tables.

A counselor, Veronica, sat with the girls. “I can help with anything you need,” Veronica said. “I was a life guard in high school and had to take CPR and stuff.”

“Thanks.” Willa turned to face the children. She had suggested starting with the oldest children first, which meant Olivia’s group. She had learned that children older than thirteen attended a sister camp across the lake. “First, I want to learn all your names.”

The children took turns introducing themselves, each saying her name and where they were from and if there was anything in particular they wanted to learn. Most didn’t have much to say in this regard, though one girl—Kenya—announced that she wanted to learn how to bandage people like a mummy.

Juliet, in her purple cast, was there. And Stella, Olivia’s closest friend in the cabin, her ankle no longer wrapped, her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Stella wanted to learn how to stop people bleeding. Was this because of the wound of Olivia’s that had left blood on her shirt?

Willa began by passing out some basic first aid supplies and letting the girls examine them—bandages, slings, splints and ice packs.

They talked about the kinds of accidents they had encountered in camp—burns, cuts, sprains and breaks.

“Rodney Carpenter fell face-first on the rocks and knocked out three teeth,” one girl volunteered.

“Accidents can’t always be predicted,” Willa said. “But some can be prevented. The best first aid is the kind you never have to give. What are some of the things you can do to avoid being hurt?”

The girls shared their ideas, from watching where you were going to listening to adults when they told you not to touch things like hot stoves and knives.

“I think we can agree the best way to avoid being hurt is to stay out of dangerous situations,” Willa said.

“That includes things like wearing a seat belt, not crossing a busy street against the light and wearing a helmet when riding a bike. But it also includes learning to recognize people we should avoid.”

“Like people playing with fire and stuff,” Juliet said.

“My mother told me if I have a bad feeling about someone, I should stay away from them,” Stella said.

“Your mother is right,” Willa said. “Not everyone is a good person, so if someone makes you uncomfortable you should stay away from them. And tell an adult you trust.”

“If you tell, the bad person might hurt you,” Stella said.

“If you tell a person you trust—like your mom and dad—they’ll protect you,” Willa said. What had prompted Stella to say this? How could Willa find out?

“Can we practice with the bandages now?” a girl asked.

“Yes. I want to be the patient,” someone else shouted.

“I want to be the doctor,” another girl said.

Willa had to let the moment pass. But she kept a close watch on Stella as the girls took turns fastening slings or trying out the flexible metal splints. Was the girl speaking from personal experience, or remembering things Olivia had told her?

She didn’t have a chance to speak to Stella again before her time with this group was up.

Willa spent the rest of the morning repeating the experience with younger groups of girls, finishing up with a class of six- and seven-year-olds who had a loud discussion about how awful shots were and the importance of washing your hands after you touched boys because of cooties.

The last session ended at twelve thirty and Mrs. Mason presented Willa with her own green Mountain Kingdom T-shirt and thanked her for coming.

Willa headed back to her car. She was passing the mess hall when the back door opened and a small figure with a tail of brown hair darted out, then disappeared behind a tree.

Willa looked around. No one else appeared to have seen the girl, who she was sure was Stella. Moving cautiously, hiding behind trees as much as possible, Willa hurried after the girl, whose figure she could just make out ahead of her.

Willa ended up breaking into a run to keep up with the swift little girl. She leaned against a tree and tried to catch her breath, watching as Stella tucked something in the crotch of a tree. She made sure her offering was secure, then turned and raced back toward camp.

And collided with a waiting Willa. The little girl looked up, wide-eyed, then burst into tears.

Willa knelt and patted Stella’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re not in any trouble. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Stella continued to sob.

“What’s wrong?” Willa asked. “What has you so upset?”

“My friend is hurt and lost and I’m so worried about her.” The little girl leaned into Willa, sobs shaking her slight frame.

“Do you mean Olivia? Were you leaving something for her in the tree?”

“I put part of my lunch there.” She looked up, expression pleading. “Please don’t tell anyone. I’ll get in trouble. Mr. Sprague caught me coming out here one day and I had to miss afternoon swimming as punishment. He said I was wasting food and that was wrong.”

“Does Olivia come after you leave and get the food?” Willa asked.

“I don’t know.” Stella scrubbed at her wet eyes. “Sometimes when I come back the food is gone, but I don’t know if Olivia gets it or an animal. I hope she gets it. I don’t like to think about her hungry.”

“Do you know where Olivia is hiding?” Willa asked.

“No. I promise I don’t. If I knew, I would tell you. I’m worried about her.”

“Do you know why Olivia ran away?” Willa asked.

Stella toyed with the friendship bracelet on her left wrist. “She didn’t tell me. And I didn’t know she was going to run away, either. If I had, I would have told her not to.”

“But she said something? Something to let you know she was upset?”

“She said she saw something she shouldn’t have. And she said she was afraid.”

“What was she afraid of?”

“She said if she told me I might get hurt, too.”

Too. “Had someone hurt Olivia?” Willa asked.

“I don’t know.” Stella looked doubtful. “Maybe? I never saw her hurt. But then they found that shirt with her blood on it…” Her voice gave way to fresh sobs.

Willa waited for the sobs to subside. She searched for something to distract the girl. “Did you make your bracelet?” she asked. “It’s pretty.”

“Olivia made it.” She held out her wrist, the show off the chevron pattern of pink, purple and green threads.

“I made one for her.” Fresh tears welled in her eyes.

“A deputy showed me a bracelet they found in the mud. It looked like Olivia’s.

They wouldn’t say, but I think maybe they found it with the shirt. ”

“How did you know about the shirt?” Willa asked. Surely no one had told the children.

“Mr. Sprague told me. The day he caught me with half my lunch wrapped in a napkin. He said I needed to stay close to camp or the person who had done that to Willa would hurt me the way they had hurt her.”

She began to weep again. Willa held her tightly, and cursed Scott for frightening the child this way. “When did Olivia tell you these things?” she asked.

“The night before she left. The next day she seemed okay, and when I asked her how she was feeling, she said she was fine. But then, after dinner that night she was acting upset again. She didn’t want to talk about it and told me not to worry, but how can I not worry when I don’t even know where she is? ”

Willa nodded. Olivia clearly needed help, but so did Stella. “When do you see your parents again?” she asked.

“Not for another month. When camp is over.”

“Do you talk to them on the phone?”

“On Sunday afternoons. I told them last Sunday that I don’t like it here anymore and I want to go home, but they said I had made a commitment and it was important that I keep it.”

“Stella, look at me.” Willa studied the girl’s face. “Has anyone threatened to hurt you?”

She shook her head no.

“Has anyone done anything to make you uncomfortable?”

“No. Not how you mean.”

“What other way is there?”

“I didn’t like missing swimming that afternoon, but that was because I broke a rule.

Not because anyone was bullying me. We studied about bullying in school, so I learned about that.

” She pushed away. “I need to get back to camp before somebody misses me. You won’t tell anyone about the food, will you? ”

“No, I won’t. Not anyone at camp. I might tell another friend of mine, but he’s very good at keeping secrets.

And he’ll make certain you don’t get in any trouble.

And wait just a second.” She dug in her purse and pulled out a pen and a receipt.

She turned the receipt over to the blank side.

“What are your parents’ names and their phone number? ” she asked.

Stella’s eyes widened. “You’re going to call my parents?”

“Only if I need to. I might suggest they let you come home early, if that’s okay with you.”

Stella bit her lip, then nodded, and gave Willa the information. “Don’t make it sound like I’m in trouble,” she said.

“I won’t. I promise.”