It would set off the anxiety in Kayla that she’s fought so hard to get under control. She was in a bad car accident as a kid, one that killed her nana. It took years of therapy for her to get to where she is now. That could all be undone if I’m not careful.
Never again do I want to see her sobbing hysterically on the floor because she can’t deal with the possibility that something bad might happen.
Kayla and I should leave. What would Lillian do if we tried? I think back to the CIT pamphlet both Kayla and I got. It said we’d regret it if we didn’t come back. What if that was Lillian making a threat? Would she make our lives even worse if we left?
Besides, how would we explain coming home weeks early to our parents?
They would call camp and boom, suddenly we’re having a lot of talks. Or rather an interrogation. Mom and Dad would not let it go lightly and they would absolutely not believe I was just homesick.
My dad is quite literally a human lie detector. He’s a polygraph examiner and conducts the test for hopefuls applying for a job with the FBI. That makes him sound a lot cooler than he is, like he’s in the FBI and could be an extra on Criminal Minds. It’s not like that at all.
He conducts the test and sends the results off.
“What are we going to do about this?” Jake asks.
“We?” Tia curls her top lip.
He scowls. “I’m not sitting here waiting for some creep in the forest to take another picture or stroke my hair while I sleep!”
“Let’s not go there,” I say.
“Whoever it is, they can’t get into the cabins,” Rebekah adds.
Untrue. Lillian carved her damn initials into the wall by my freaking pillow.
I bite my tongue. Rebekah doesn’t need to be worrying about the very real fact that our resident stalker can get inside the buildings we sleep in.
“You sure about that?” Olly says. “I don’t think it would take much.”
My jaw drops as I twist my head toward him. “Can we not? How would someone sneak into a cabin of twenty people? Also, the doors are locked at night.”
“If it was an ex-counselor, they might have a key,” he replies.
Groaning, I close my eyes. But then I’m hit with a thought…how did Lillian get a key?
Was she a CIT?
She must have been about a year or two older than us. She might have worked here last year in order to get a key, to learn the layout and routines of the camp.
My rapidly thudding heart is making my head spin.
Andy has staff files in his office. Which is a locked filing cabinet inside the staff cabin.
I have to get into the files and find out if Lillian was here in the past couple of years.
“Andy!” Tia calls, standing up.
Silence falls. A sea of heads whip her way, mine included.
Andy, frowning, says, “Yes?”
“Your theory about it being someone who worked here is right. Only, they might not have been a ‘bad’ one. Which means they could have a key to the cabins.”
“CITs aren’t given keys, Tia,” Andy says.
“That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have gotten one when he was working here!”
Andy chews his lip.
I glance at every member of cops and no-cops. They’re all thinking the same thing, that this person might be able to get to us. Even the doubters have frown lines.
“I think we should go to the police now!” Mary says. She stands and folds her arms, her pursed lips and darkening eyes a warning to Andy: You go, or I will.
“Shh! We don’t actually know anything for sure,” I say. “All we have is a lot of speculation.”
“And we should let the cops find out if there’s anything behind this threat!” Mary throws her hands up in the air, exasperated with all of us. “What’s wrong with you people?”
“Mary,” Andy says softly, “let’s calm down so we don’t wake the campers. I understand you’re worried, but there is nothing to suggest that we’re in danger.”
“This guy tried to get a group lost, graffitied a cabin, watched us from the forest and left threatening notes stabbed and axed into doors. What more do you need, Andy?”
Well, when you put it that way…
No one actually moves, but a few on the no-cops side nod. The balance is shifting. We were about even, but Mary’s little speech has them spooked.
“There has been nothing that’s an actual threat to our safety,” Andy says.
“All right,” Jake says. “What if a few of us go into the forest and check it out, see if there’s anything suspicious? Would that make you feel better, Mary?”
“Are you crazy?” Kayla snaps. “You can’t go out there in the dark.”
“I’ll take a flashlight,” he says. “A group of us guys will have a look.”
“I’ll go,” Olly says. Marcus and Lorenzo offer too.
“In a world of evolving equality, I’ll be going with you,” I tell them.
Olly shakes his head, but I raise my hand.
“I’m not a damsel in distress. I’m going. We have kids here and I won’t figure anything out just sitting around.” And if Lillian is out there, I need to get to her before they do.
Andy nods. “All right. I want you to have radios…and pepper spray. Actually, I’m going to come; I should be with you. Cora, I need you in charge here. Have your radio on and we’ll keep in constant contact.”
“What about weapons?” Mary asks.
I side-eye her. “We’re not taking weapons!”
“We don’t need any,” Jake says.
“Pepper spray is all we’ll take,” Andy says sternly. “All right, everyone who is coming wait by the staff cabin. I’ll get the supplies.”
Cora walks with Andy and they chat in hushed tones.
I start to follow Olly, Jake, Marcus and Lorenzo, when Kayla catches my wrist.
Her eyes are wild, freaked. “You can’t go out there, Esme.”
“Yes, I can. I’ll be fine.”
“What if she’s out there?” Kayla whispers, her eyes wide.
“Maybe that’s a good thing. If I can talk to her, find out what she wants and apologize for not making sure she was okay that night, maybe this will all be over,” I reply in a hushed voice.