Hunter, Sanchez, Fish, and Pete were already at the Outpost when Josh arrived. Hunter and Sanchez had just launched their patrol boats and were trying to get last-known-location information from the frantic parents, a couple in their forties. The wife wore a long cotton dress and twisted the ends of her braid in her hands. Her husband wore jeans and thick boots, face hidden under a ball cap like the one they’d found near Delilah’s camper.
Charlee, looking pale, hurried over and briefed him. “They were the first ones here when we opened this morning. Two adults and two teens, boy and a girl. They rented four kayaks.”
Josh looked around. “I thought the boy was missing. Where’s the girl?”
“Don’t know where either one is. Just the parents came back.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied the parents. “They say what happened?”
“Just that the teens got ahead of them, and when they came around the bend, they found the empty kayaks.”
“Hollywood! Let’s go!” Hunter called from his boat.
He hopped aboard, and Fish boarded Sanchez’s boat before they took off down the river, single file.
Nobody said much as they headed toward the area the parents had described, scanning every little cove and bend for any sign of the teens’ kayaks.
Once they reached the location, a large cypress tree someone had nailed pieces of wood to as a ladder, Hunter and Sanchez slowed to an idle. Just as the parents had said, they found the first kayak but not the second.
Josh pulled his FWC ball cap lower and squinted into the shadows as Hunter pulled alongside it.
Fish cupped her hands around her mouth. “Tommy! Alice! Where are you? We’re here to help!”
They waited, but there was no response.
“Sanchez, you guys go downriver, see if you can find that other kayak—and hopefully the kid who was paddling it. Hollywood and I will check this area more thoroughly.”
Hunter nosed his patrol boat into the banks next to the empty craft, and Josh tied both to a tree.
“Tommy! Alice! Let us know you’re okay!” Josh called.
Still nothing.
He scanned the shore but didn’t see footprints or any signs that anyone had been here recently. But then he glanced across the river, and his heart slammed into overdrive. “There!” He pointed. “Get me over there.”
Hunter didn’t hesitate. As soon as the line was clear and Josh hopped back into the boat, he motored in the direction Josh was pointing.
When they reached the opposite shore, Josh stripped off his utility belt and unbuttoned his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll dive down, just to make sure.”
They’d both spotted what looked like a length of rope extending from a cypress tree and disappearing under the water.
“Let me get the dive team out here.”
“You know we don’t have time.”
Hunter blew out a breath and accepted the phone Josh handed him. He tucked it in the front compartment along with Josh’s utility belt. “Be careful.”
Josh didn’t hesitate, just dove into the tea-colored water, dreading what he would find.
* * *
When Delilah left the clinic, she knew she’d go crazy if she didn’t find something to occupy her mind until the meeting. Her phone calendar chirped a reminder that she had a progress report due, so she parked the truck and went with her favorite distraction—time with Oscar—and hopefully the missing mamas.
There was no cell service, so she sent Josh a quick text with her whereabouts before she slung her backpack over her shoulder and set off.
Walking through the forest as she’d been taught, quietly, eyes on the ground to look for snakes, she kept her ears cocked but didn’t hear her furry friends. She didn’t find any sign of them where she’d last seen them, either.
She was hot and sweaty and her essential oil had worn off by the time she turned back. But then she heard it: the faintest chattering, a whisper of sound on the breeze. She paused to see if she could tell which direction it came from, then followed the rustling leaves north, surprised when she emerged in a clearing near Mooney’s Pond. The forest opened up around the oblong body of water, and she ducked behind a tree when she heard another sound. A voice, young and distinctly female.
Mary? Her heart pumped with hope, and she was ready to burst from her hiding place when the girl stepped from the shadows. She wore an old-fashioned, long cotton dress with flowers on a bright yellow background, her hair in a thick braid down her back. Mary was taller, more slender.
Disappointment slammed through her, and she eased out of sight. It wasn’t Mary. Who, then? She pulled out her camera and used her zoom lens to focus on the teenager’s face and snap a few pictures. Unless she missed her guess, this was the same girl she’d seen riding bikes with a boy the day she’d found Mary’s doll at her parents’ campsite. Did she know where Mary was?
Delilah was shoving her camera into her bag, prepared to confront her, when the girl aimed binoculars into the trees and started calling, “Come here, mamas. Don’t be shy. I brought food. You’ll like it.”
A stern lecture about feeding wildlife crowded Delilah’s tongue, but she stayed put when several monkeys swung down from the trees. Were these the missing mamas?
As the monkeys approached the girl, Delilah scanned their faces with her zoom lens, and a hot jolt of relief shot through her. Yes! Oh, thank goodness, they were back. But where had they been?
The girl tossed a handful of what looked like nuts to one of the mamas, but before she could come get it, the alpha male let out a screech as he leaped down from a nearby branch and scooped up the food, scolding the whole time. The mothers scampered back into the trees, chattering in protest.
Once the mamas had fallen back in line, the alpha male climbed back up the tree and sat on a branch while he chewed the nuts, eyes darting from one mama to the next, a stern warning in his gaze.
Delilah waited, eyes on the male, until suddenly, the babies appeared. They emerged from their hiding places behind limbs and leaves and climbed onto their mamas’ backs, jumping and playing without a care in the world. Where are you, Oscar? She couldn’t find him.
Once the male finished eating and quit scowling, the troop resumed their usual activities. While the adults groomed one another and ate, the babies leaped from tree to tree, cavorting like children.
When Oscar’s sweet face finally appeared in her viewfinder, unexpected tears threatened. There you are, sweet guy. The mamas were all there, too, and she let out a relieved sigh. They were all right.
She must have made some sound, because the girl’s head suddenly whipped in her direction. For one moment, their eyes met, held. The girl’s widened in fear just before she leaped up and disappeared into the forest.
“Wait! Don’t go!” Delilah ran after her, determined to catch up, but as before, the girl was quick. Delilah swerved around trees, and despite her best efforts, she came around a huge cypress and stopped, scanning the area. The girl had disappeared.
Frustrated and panting, Delilah searched the area for several more minutes before she gave up and headed back to her truck.
Thank goodness the mamas were all right. But why had the girl looked so scared?