CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Grant pushed his way through the crowd, skirting the edge of the campfire. Aubrey sat still, afraid he was coming to tell her she might as well go home now that she had no team.

“Honey, we have an open slot,” he said. “Want to be a Wapiti?”

“Yes!” Aubrey leapt from the log bench and threw her arms around Grant’s neck.

Grant extracted himself from her embrace. “I don’t remember you getting this excited when I proposed marriage.”

“The alternative then wasn’t sleeping in a leaky tent.” Or facing public humiliation, junior high gym class style. “I’ll meet you at the cabin in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

In the musty tent, the ladies chattered about how great it would be to have four solid walls, a real bed, and heat. They had already pulled down the blanket wall. Rankin slammed gear into his duffle bag, cursing under his breath.

“Simmer down,” Berdie told him. “We’ve only got three more days.”

Rankin seemed startled to realize the ladies were staring at him. “Bender’s story,” he said. “It’s a lie.”

“None of us believed him,” Berdie said.

“What really happened?” Madison asked.

“There were never any fish. And Bender didn’t crawl out of that mine on his own. I hauled him out.”

“Did he really sound like a sheep?” Madison grinned.

“Just like. Meeeh. Meeeh.” Rankin smirked, but his expression quickly reverted to a scowl. “If he’d have told the truth, I could have won a key for rescuing him.” Rankin jammed a shirt into his duffle bag with so much force, a side seam tore. “I could kill that bastard.”

“Don’t say that, Rankin.” Sotheara placed a hand on his arm.

“I don’t really mean it. I guess.”

“If Bender ends up dead,” Madison said, “and people know you threatened him—”

“Half the people in this Camp of the Damned have admitted they wouldn’t mind seeing Bender dead,” Berdie said. “Threatening to kill him puts you on a long list.”

Rankin jerked the ties to the duffle bag. Clothing oozed out the tear in the side. “I’d better get over to Brown Bear cabin. Sounds like he needs a bodyguard.” He hefted the bag. “Well, ladies. It’s been fun.”

He headed toward the front door. The real one, not the one Berdie had sliced open with her knife. Before he could escape, Berdie grabbed him for a quick hug. Then the rest of the women piled on. Rankin’s face turned as red as his hair.

Berdie looked up at him. “Promise me something.”

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

“Then I’ll just ask,” Berdie said. “Please don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Rankin didn’t answer. When he was gone, Madison slumped down on her cot.

“We made a good team.”

“I only joined the Wild Cats because you were all leaving,” Sotheara said.

“Berdie, I was totally shocked,” Aubrey said.

“I defected for a reason.” Berdie spoke in a low voice, then looked over her shoulder like she expected someone to be listening in. “We need to split up to continue our investigation. Bender said he was pushed. That he didn’t see who it was.”

“I vote for Rankin,” Madison said. “You saw how angry he was.”

“Then why would he pull Bender out of the pit?” Berdie asked.

“Regret?” Sotheara asked. “Okay, how about Squirrel Boy?”

“Jeremiah confessed he wrote the note,” Aubrey said. “And that he went looking for Bender’s Defenders, but he claimed he didn’t find them until they were almost back to camp.”

“No witness,” Berdie said. “Convenient.”

“Don’t be so quick to accuse Jeremiah,” Madison said. “Doug told Ellen his father fell in the mine shaft because he’d been sucking on his pocket flask all morning. Jack was drunk, and he’s too proud or too stupid to admit it.”

“Those don’t sound like the words of a devoted son,” Aubrey said. “Do you think he’d push his own father into a mine?”

“Maybe,” Madison said. “He’s an only child. He’s sure to inherit Bender Clips.”

“We’ve got a person on each team now,” Berdie said.

“Except Bender’s Defenders,” Madison said.

“Don’t count Rankin out,” Sotheara said. “I think we reached him, on some level.”

“People want Bender dead,” Berdie said. “Stewart’s death is suspicious. Add in Jessie’s assault, and Harv’s accident—”

“That was meant for Aubrey,” Madison chimed in.

“And someone drugging Madison’s drink,” Sotheara added.

“Once we leave Survive or Die camp,” Berdie said, “we’ll lose the chance to solve this.”

After delivering their luggage to their new cabins, Stockton’s Revenge agreed to meet at the campfire circle. They needed one last evening on their log bench together, Berdie insisted. On her way, Aubrey ran into Madison.

“I need to make a side trip,” Madison said. “Chipmunk cabin doesn’t have a restroom, but I’m still happy to be out of that leaky tent.”

“Amen, sister. I’ll wait for you.”

Aubrey leaned against the side of the bathhouse, shaded from the bright crescent moon by the roof’s overhang. The night air smelled faintly of pine, flowering bushes, and lemony cleaner. An owl hooted. Two bats flitted over the roof. Knowing she was spending the night with her husband had mellowed Aubrey’s attitude. She could forgive Grant his subterfuge.

She heard people talking, but the ladies’ side of the bathhouse had been empty when Madison went inside. A male and a female voice drifted from the woods.

“—were supposed to be helping me.” It was Candace.

“I did help you,” Rowdy said. “I told you the best spot on the river to catch a fish. Besides, your boss claimed he caught a half a dozen.”

“You know that idiot was lying.”

There was a pause. Aubrey tried not to imagine what was going on in the dark woods.

“I thought we had a deal.” Candace’s voice went from bitchy to sultry.

“I said I’d help you, but helping you means Bender wins, and I can’t stand that jerk.”

The toilet flushed inside the bathhouse.

“I’ll switch teams,” Candace said, “if it makes you happy.”

“Doesn’t much matter, darlin’. You’ll be leaving in a couple days.”

“I don’t have to leave.”

“Well, I kind of think you do.”

Aubrey heard water running. Madison was washing her hands.

“What are you saying?” Candace asked, her voice harsh again. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“You’ll go back to your job in the city,” Rowdy said. “You’re welcome to stay the rest of weekend, but—”

Aubrey heard a loud smack and a yelp from Rowdy.

“How dare you!” Candace’s voice sounded teary. “You took advantage of me. You’re nothing but a fat old has-been.”

Madison exited the bathhouse, preceded by a bright shaft of light.

“Let’s go.”

Aubrey held a finger to her lips, but it was too late.

“What?” Madison asked.

Candace rushed out of the darkness, as fast as one could rush with a poison ivy chapped posterior. She pushed past Madison to enter the bathhouse, slamming the door closed. A moment later, Rowdy sauntered out of the woods. He noticed Aubrey and Madison, then changed his direction, whistling the tune to one of Bud’s dreary old cowboy ballads.

As they headed back to the campfire circle, Madison asked, “What did I miss?”

“The demise of Candace’s summer romance.”