Chapter Eleven

Kate felt numb as she listened to Sam. Paul was missing? She couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around those words.

“We’ve looked for them, Kate, but it’s getting dark, and we’ll risk losing others in the group if we keep looking.”

“Sam, I don’t understand,” Kate said. She glanced at Rebecca, whose eyes were filled with terror. “What do you mean missing?”

“I mean that Marcus took off, and Paul went to go find him. That was two hours ago. We hiked up to where Paul told us he was heading, but there was no sign of them. I don’t want to alarm you, but we already called search and rescue.”

“Search and rescue?” Kate repeated. Rebecca came alongside her.

“They’ll start looking at first light tomorrow. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s not your fault, Sam.”

Paul was missing. It couldn’t be her Paul, she thought. He was an Eagle Scout. He knew everything there was to know about survival. Surely he wouldn’t have gotten lost or intentionally deserted the group. It didn’t make any sense.

Fear filled her along with the realization that this was all too real. She reached for her daughter’s hand, glad that Rebecca was here with her at that moment. She took a deep breath and asked God to keep Paul safe.

“We’ll come right away,” she said.

“They’re setting up search headquarters outside of Gatlinburg,” Sam said. “We’ll meet you at the Sugarlands Visitor Center.”

“I’LL COME WITH YOU,” Livvy said once Kate had told everyone the news. “Do you want me to drive?”

“Uh...I don’t know...” Her words trailed away with her thoughts.

There were so many things that could have happened, none of them good, especially if the strangers had anything to do with Paul and Marcus’ disappearance. But Sam had said that Marcus took off, so he hadn’t necessarily been abducted. Maybe he’d just wanted some time alone and wandered away from the campsite, and Paul had gone after him. It had to be a coincidence, right? She kept telling herself that, yet the queasy feeling in her stomach told her not to believe a word of it.

The truth was that even if foul play wasn’t involved, there were plenty of dangers in the wilderness.

Paul or Marcus could be injured; a wild animal could have attacked them. She’d heard stories about black bears that came from miles away, enticed by the scent of a backpack full of goodies. If the group had already stopped searching because of darkness, it meant that Paul and Marcus would be spending the night in the cold. Even in the fall, temperatures in the mountains could dip below freezing. She glanced at Rebecca, her expression troubled.

“Both of them are missing,” she said, almost in a daze.

Kate nodded.

“Kate,” Livvy broke in, “I’m going to drive you and Rebecca to Gatlinburg.” She left no room for argument. “But we’re going to have to take your car because mine is a disaster. No time to clean it out and make room. I’ll run home to pack a few things, then I’ll be back here in half an hour to pick you up, okay?”

“Okay,” Kate said numbly.

She glanced around at the other women in the room, their faces lined with shock and worry.

“Oh, I’m so sorry—” she began.

“Don’t you dare apologize!” Betty Anderson interrupted. She reached for Kate’s hand. “We’ll let the others at the church know to pray.” She exchanged a look with Renee, who nodded.

“Search and rescue’ll find ’em,” Renee assured them.

“Thank you,” Kate said, grateful for Renee’s encouraging words.

“You go pack. We’ll stay here until you leave, just in case you need anything,” Betty said.

“Thank you so much,” Kate said.

She rushed to her bedroom, pulled out a suitcase, and tossed in several warm outfits. Then she thought to get her laptop. Rebecca had gone to pack a few things as well.

Kate had just set her small bag next to the front door when Rebecca joined her, carrying her bags.

“Renee and I have been thinking, Kate. Maybe we should come too,” Betty suggested. She glanced over at Renee.

“You have work tomorrow,” Kate reminded her, “and there will be a full search-and-rescue team out looking first thing in the morning. But it’s so sweet of y’all to offer.” Betty sighed and looked deep into Kate’s eyes. Renee sniffed and fluttered her fingers.

“All right,” Betty said. “But you call us if there’s any news, okay?”

“I’ll try,” Kate promised.

Then Betty and Renee said their farewells, and Kate checked for any sign of Livvy. She was due back any minute.

“I have a map around here somewhere,” Kate said to herself, pausing in the entryway. She headed for Paul’s study and returned with the map.

“What is that?” She pointed to the extra black suitcase at Rebecca’s feet.

“I thought we should bring Marcus’ stuff just in case,” Rebecca said. “He might need it.”

Kate nodded absently and drew a ragged breath.

“Daddy’s going to be okay,” Rebecca said as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her mother’s ear. It was the kind of thing Kate would have done for Rebecca when she was little.

“I hope so. He’s getting older,” Kate said. “I don’t know if he can handle something like this.”

“He’s strong,” Rebecca said. “Unfortunately, I’m not so sure about Marcus. He doesn’t know a thing about camping or surviving in the wilderness.”

Thoughts of Paul or Marcus face-to-face with a bear or a rattler played in Technicolor through Kate’s mind, edging her worry up several notches, but she kept her thoughts to herself and sent another prayer heavenward.

“Did Sam say what Marcus and Dad were doing? How did they get separated from everyone else?”

“He didn’t give many details, sweetheart. I’m sure we’ll find out when we get there.”

Kate walked through the house turning out lights and checking the locks on all the doors. She rifled through her handbag twice to see if she had her credit card as well as her cell phone and charger. Finally Rebecca pulled Kate to a chair in the living room and forced her to sit for a moment and take a breath.

Moments later, Livvy’s headlights shone through the entryway windows, and they went to meet her on the sidewalk.

Livvy parked her car behind the convertible in the driveway.

“I called Sheriff Roberts to fill him in,” Livvy said. “He’s going to take time away from the office so he can come help with the search. I spoke with Joe Tucker too, since he’s familiar with the park. His Uncle Warren was part of the Civilian Conservation Corps that built the park.”

Tears filled Kate’s eyes. Livvy’s kindness humbled her.

Rebecca lightly touched her mother’s arm. “Let’s go find our boys,” she said.

THE LIGHTS WERE ON in the back offices at the Sugarlands Visitor Center when the women arrived at 11:00 PM. Eli Weston and Sam Gorman were holding vigil around a map that lay open on a long table in the conference room that adjoined the head ranger’s office. Kate, Livvy, and an exhausted-looking Rebecca joined them. Sam and Eli came over to offer hugs.

“I’m so sorry about this, Kate,” Sam said. “I feel responsible.”

“You had no way of knowing,” Kate said. “Besides, we’re going to find them.” She lifted her eyes to Eli, who looked at her tentatively.

“Kate...,” he said, then just shook his head.

“You look exhausted,” Kate said, giving him a hug and squeezing his arm.

“I’m okay,” he said. “We wanted to be here when you arrived.”

He glanced at Rebecca and gave her a nod. Kate noted the blush that crept up his neck and onto his cheeks.

“And we needed to talk about search strategy for tomorrow,” Sam added.

They each took seats around the conference table. Sam pointed at the map that was a crisscross of trails and streams, ridges and valleys.

A man in a ranger’s uniform approached the group carrying a tray laden with steaming cups of coffee.

“This is Ranger Morton.” Sam introduced the tall, good-looking man who looked to be in his late forties. “He’s coordinating our efforts with search and rescue.”

“Ranger Morton.” Kate shook his hand after he set down the tray. “Thank you so much for your help.”

“You’d be surprised how many adventures”—he sniffed at the word—“like this I get to participate in every year. I know this park as well as my own house. We’ll find them...if the bears don’t first.”

Kate looked anxiously at Sam, who shook his head at her and smiled kindly.

“We have a picture of the men for the rescuers.” Sam showed the women a photo of Marcus and Paul kneeling in front of the group under a stone arch of some kind.

“I took that today,” Eli said, “under Arch Rock. The ranger cropped it, enlarged it, and printed it.”

Kate touched Paul’s likeness. He was smiling, looking happy to be there.

“You need to know that you ladies can’t be part of the official search and rescue,” the ranger informed them. “Too complicated for us to try to babysit civilians.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t search on our own, right?” Kate asked.

“I guess there isn’t much I can do about that. As long as you have a park pass, you have every right to hike in the woods.”

“And if we happen to be hiking in close proximity to where search and rescue is looking?”

The ranger smirked in response. “I guess I can understand why you’d want to do that, but I have to warn you, it’s dangerous out there. The weather can change at a moment’s notice, you can encounter wild animals...And if you get in the way, I have the authority to send you back to your motel.”

“I understand,” Kate said. She appreciated that the man had a job to do, and she in no way wanted to interfere with that. But she also knew she had to help look for Paul and Marcus. She would go crazy sitting in a motel room or at the ranger station.

“So, tell us what happened, Sam,” Livvy said from across the table, drawing Kate’s attention.

Kate glanced at her and wondered why Danny and the boys hadn’t waited up with Eli and Sam. Then she realized that Danny had no idea Livvy had decided to come along.

“Everything was going great,” Sam began. “We’d had a nice hike yesterday after we set up camp, and the group really seemed to be bonding. Marcus seemed to be enjoying himself too. Even had his first s’more last night.” Sam shook his head and smiled. “I’ve never known anyone his age who hasn’t tasted s’mores. Anyway, he was fitting right in, enjoying everyone’s company, having good talks with your dad.” He looked at Rebecca. “Those two seemed to be hitting it off from what I could tell.”

Kate saw Rebecca bite her lower lip. She gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.

Eli picked up the story from there. He glanced kindly at Rebecca as he spoke. “Then we had a good climb to Alum Cave Bluffs today. We ate some lunch and went on to Mount LeConte. No big deal, right? But on our way back to camp, we had some trouble with an old coot who had taken up residence in one of the abandoned cabins in the woods. When we got back to camp, it was like someone threw a switch inside Marcus. He got real nervous and paranoid.”

“What kind of trouble?” Rebecca asked. She straightened in her chair to look at Eli while she folded and unfolded a piece of scratch paper that was on the table.

Eli ran a hand through his blond hair, sat down in the chair next to Rebecca, then glanced up at Kate. “This squatter was a crazy old guy. Looked like he’d been living quite a while in that ramshackle cabin not far from the trail. He accused us of trespassing and held a shotgun on Marcus. That really flipped Marcus out. But nothing happened, really. The old man told us to get out, and we did.”

“He held a gun on Marcus?” Kate said. “Did you call the police?”

“We were in the middle of nowhere. Couldn’t exactly call for help...It was scary, for sure,” Eli said, “but Marcus really lost it when we got back to camp. It was weird, like he was expecting the guy to come track us down. Kept referring to him as ‘Sacco,’ but the guy never told us his name.”

Kate made a mental note of the name.

“Paul tried to reason with Marcus,” Sam added, “but Marcus was really jumpy. Said he needed to take a walk to clear his head.”

“We didn’t think anything of it, even though we should have because he carried his backpack with him,” Eli said to Rebecca. “If we’d known that he’d take off like that, we would’ve never let him go. I’m really sorry.”

“You think Marcus did this on purpose?” Rebecca asked.

Kate could hear the disbelief in her tone.

“No. I don’t think he got lost on purpose, but he didn’t stay nearby, and he wasn’t on any of the trails.” Eli shrugged. “It’s hard to know what to make of it.”

“What time was that?” Livvy asked. “What time did Marcus leave the campsite?”

Sam thought for a moment, then looked at Eli to see if he remembered.

“It was five thirty, maybe five forty,” Eli said. “I remember I’d just finished washing up the supper dishes, and I looked at my watch. The sun was just setting. Paul said he’d go check on Marcus. After a while, we all went to look for him, and then we realized that they were both missing.”

Kate shook her head, still disbelieving what had happened.

“When Paul left the campsite, he told us he was going to head south toward the Jakes Creek Trail,” Sam said. “And when we got there, we found his bandanna.” Sam held up the red cloth, then pointed at a spot on the map. “But who knows where he went after that. I just pray that he found Marcus.” He glanced at Rebecca. “That city boy would have a rough night out there alone.”

“It’s obvious where we need to start,” Kate said. “We need to find that squatter.”

KATE COULDN’T SLEEP. She kept going over the details of the briefing in her head. There had been no mention of two strangers poking around the campsite looking for Marcus. Had Marcus simply wandered off and gotten lost, or was it more than that? Had the two men given up and gone home? Was all of this an odd coincidence? Were the men connected in some way to that squatter? When Eli described the man, he sounded nothing like either of the strangers in Copper Mill, but maybe Marcus knew him. Kate remembered that Marcus had called the man ‘Sacco.’ Maybe the man had been following the hikers, waiting for a chance to get Marcus alone. But that seemed unlikely, since Eli had said it looked as though the man had been living in the cabin where they’d found him. She at least had to talk to the man and see for herself.

She sent up a prayer for Paul and Marcus, then finally let herself drift off.

THE OFFICIAL SEARCH-AND-RESCUE team gathered at the Sugarlands Visitor Center at the crack of dawn the following morning. Sheriff Roberts and Joe Tucker had arrived sometime during the night, along with a handful of reporters who jotted notes as they listened in on the search officials’ instructions.

The barrel-chested sheriff stood at the back of the conference room, arms crossed in front of his ample belly. Sam and Eli were at the other end of the room with several strangers in blaze-orange and black garb gathered round. Joe Tucker walked over to Kate.

“Kate, I want you to know that I’m here to help you look for Paul,” he said with a nod. White tufts of hair stood out at odd angles around the crown of his head, testifying to his lack of sleep. Kate knew exactly how he felt.

“Joe, I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “You’d do the same. Now,”—he tugged on his angular chin and cleared his throat—“like I said, I’m pretty familiar with the park, as you mighta heard. My Uncle Warren was in the Civilian Conservation Corps when the park was being developed.”

“Really?”

“Of course, Uncle Warren was based at Cades Cove, but he worked all throughout the park. Showed me a lot of it in my younger days, so I know trails that aren’t on those fancy park-service maps.”

Kate reached to squeeze Joe’s hand, and the older man stiffened. But Kate could tell by the shimmer in his eyes that he was deeply concerned.

Rebecca came over to them, with Eli and Sam at her side.

“Search and rescue’s going to look along the Jakes Creek Trail and the Cucumber Gap Trail, heading south from there,” Eli said.

He pulled three walkie-talkies and fresh batteries out of a shopping bag and handed one each to Joe and Livvy before tucking his own into his backpack. “I picked these up last night in Gatlinburg. They have a pretty good range, so we can keep in contact if we need to. The ranger told me what channel they use so we can keep informed of what the officials are doing.”

“I’m glad you thought of that,” Kate said.

“I figured we’d split up for now,” Eli went on. “Joe and Kate can come along with me and Sam to talk to that man I told you about last night. Rebecca and Livvy can trail the search-and-rescue team with Sheriff Roberts and the rest of the men from our group.” He handed each person a map and a bottle of water. “Did you get something to eat?” he asked Kate and Rebecca. His eyes lingered on Rebecca.

Kate nodded, breaking his stare. “We had some cereal at the motel.”

“Good. We’re going to need our energy.” His gaze shifted to Joe. “Are you up for this, Joe?”

Joe rose to his feet and picked up the walking stick he always carried. “If you are, young’un.”

“So, I’m going with Sheriff Roberts, Mom?” Rebecca asked, then looked at Eli.

“If that’s all right,” he said.

Rebecca nodded. Kate could see disappointment in her eyes.

“They’re going to be okay.” Kate said the words to encourage herself as much as Rebecca.

“I’ve been so angry with Marcus,” Rebecca said, “but now that he’s really missing, I just want him back.”

“I know,” Kate whispered.

“I have to believe that he and Daddy will be okay. That by this time next week, Daddy will be back at the church, and Marcus and I will be auditioning for another play—” Then she caught her breath.

“What is it?” Kate asked.

“I need to call my boss and let her know what’s going on. Maybe she can notify Marcus’ family.”

“Isn’t it too early to call?” Kate asked.

“They’re already open for breakfast.” Rebecca reached into her handbag for her cell phone. “Only two bars! I’m glad I thought of it now, or I’d never have been able to call later.” She dialed the number.

“Hey, Connie. This is Rebecca.” She told the woman the whole story, then she paused, a frown on her face. “Are you sure?” She paused again as Connie talked. “When did that happen?” Another pause. She turned to face the wall and pressed the phone closer to her ear. “Why wouldn’t Marcus have told me? No, I know you wouldn’t know that. I just—” Then she turned back toward her mother, and Kate could see the cloud that had settled in her gaze. Finally Rebecca hit the END button and looked at her mother.

“What is it?” Kate asked.

“Marcus was fired right before we left New York...” Her sentence fell away. Then tears filled her eyes. “He lied to me about that too.”

The hurt in her expression was unmistakable. Kate pulled her close.

“He might’ve been too embarrassed to tell you,” Kate offered. “Maybe he—”

“No.” Rebecca shook her head and pulled away. “He hasn’t opened up to me once, not really. He’s told me so many lies. He doesn’t trust me with the truth.” Then her gaze shifted around the room as she realized that the others had heard her conversation. She looked out the window and whispered, “How many other things has he lied about?”

KATE AND THE OTHERS made their way outside to begin their search for Paul and Marcus. Kate saw Livvy standing nearby and noticed the terse look on her face. She was talking to James, who towered over his mother. His arms were crossed over his chest and his jaw muscle flexed.

“I said this isn’t the time for this,” Kate overheard Livvy telling her son.

“Hi, James!” Kate knew how tired Livvy was of this argument, so she thought that maybe if she interrupted the conversation, it would simmer down. She placed a calming hand on Livvy’s back.

“I have other commitments, Mom,” James said, ignoring Kate. “I made a promise to the guys. You act like that doesn’t matter!”

“I didn’t say your promise doesn’t matter.” Livvy shook her head and glanced at Kate.

Kate felt uncomfortable standing in the middle of their discussion, but she wanted to provide moral support to her friend.

“And don’t twist my words,” Livvy continued. “You knew you wouldn’t be back to Copper Mill until later today anyway. So I don’t understand why you have to do this. Kate’s husband is missing! You need to think about someone other than yourself.”

“I am thinking about someone else. The band—”

Livvy held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear another word about the band. Maybe you need to drop out of the band until you can get your priorities straight.” She leaned toward her son in a way that said “You had better listen to me, or else!”

“Whatever!” he said, then stomped off toward the van, where his younger brother and father were waiting.

Livvy turned to Kate, a look of exasperation on her face. “I am so sorry, Kate.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. Believe me, I understand completely.”

“I hate that he’s being so selfish. Paul and Marcus are missing, and he’s still pushing the band thing. It’s just not right.”

Kate looked kindly into Livvy’s eyes. “There are a lot of things that aren’t right about today.”