“I guess this mask thing is a possibility, but we can't get hung up on it and miss something else. Shouldn't we go to the lodge and see if we can find out where Sam says he was?"
“Right. But we have another stop to make first. We need to go look at the place where we found him," Shelley said.
“For clues?"
“For our own peace of mind.”
Jane opened the drapes before they left the cabin. "Wow! Look at that! You can see the creek now, it's risen so much. But at least the sun's trying to struggle out and it's not raining."
“Come on, Jane. I'm getting hungry and it's time for breakfast. We need to look over the campsite before all the good food is gone.”
There were no clues in evidence.
In daylight, they weren't sure precisely where they'd seen the body. The whole site looked different. Rain had washed gullies and created weird little dams out of leaves here and there. The fire had not only gone out, but was a pool of nasty gray water.
But there was a spot just beyond the clearing that looked as if the wet leaves were a little bit more squashed down.
“He either got up and walked away or somebody picked him up," Jane said.
“How do you figure that?"
“Because there are no drag marks. Look." Jane put her foot on the leaves and pulled it back. It left a groove in the leaves and a muddy streak on the ground.
Shelley nodded. "But it rained all night, I think. Other leaves could have gotten washed out over such marks.”
They examined the area thoroughly, even turning over leaves to see if there were any objects or signs of blood, but discovered nothing.
“What now, Sherlock?" Jane asked.
“Breakfast. We could move around a lot, sitting by different people, and see if anybody smells of latex.”
Jane looked at her sharply. "You are kidding, right?”
Shelley drew herself up. "The rest of them might think we're crazy, Jane, but I expected you to know better.”
Eleven
Jane and Shelley felt awkward and embarrassed, and the others seemed to be feeling the same. Benson welcomed them with a vague smile, not quite able to look right straight at them. Edna, who was tidying up the magazines in the lobby, undoing Liz's arrangements, suddenly had to rush away on another errand after saying a quick "Good morning, ladies."
“I feel like we forgot to get dressed and nobody wants to notice or mention that we're in our underwear," Jane whispered to Shelley.
“Remember that time the PTA board had the meeting at your house and it wasn't until the meeting was over that we noticed one of your cats had horked up a hairball under the coffee table?" Shelley said.
“Oh, God! I'll never live it down. Yes, that's the exact same feeling. We should have thought this out a little better before we got here. How about pretending last night never happened?"
“Nope. You're the one who said we're taking the line that we were mistaken and are vaguely sorry.”
Breakfast today was a little more modest. Cereals, fruits, scrambled eggs, and toast were the primary choices. The room was also a good deal more crowded. Several more strangers had been added to the mix — young, athletic-looking people for the most part. Jane noticed that three of them at one table were talking quietly and looking at her and Shelley. Word must have gotten around about the batty pair who imagined dead bodies in the woods.
Everyone else ignored them. Nobody signaled them to join a table.
“Let's sit with Liz," Shelley said, fixing herself a bowl of cereal. "She'll either defend us or tear us into little scraps. Either way, we'll be done with the best or worst.”
Liz and Al were sitting with Eileen Claypool and one of the new people. Jane and Shelley took their plates over and sat down.
“Good morning, everybody," Shelley said with shrill cheerfulness.
There was a mumble of greeting and the young man at the table was introduced as the boating instructor. Liz had been grilling him and went back to it. "What I'm getting at," she said to him, "is why lessons in driving around in a boat is educational? I'll grant that it may be fun, but the school district isn't in the business of providing fun.”
Eileen saved the young man by responding, "But aren't school plays and concerts mainly for fun? And you offer driver's education, don't you?”
Liz wasn't impressed by the reasoning, though she wasn't quite as curt and accusatory toward Eileen as she'd been with the young man. "Plays and concerts,like most sports, emphasize team play, taking a specific role in society, and doing your best for the group. Although, to be honest, I believe far too much effort and budget are spent on both. As for driver's ed, almost everyone these days must learn to drive a car skillfully and lawfully."
“But aren't all those things also fun for the students?" Eileen asked.
“Yes, but the emphasis should be on 'also.' Learning valuable life skills can be fun," Liz said. "What I'm questioning is whether lessons in boating aren't just for fun. Very few of our young people are going to become professionals in boating.”
Eileen was digging her heels in, whether out of genuine philosophy or irritation with Liz, it was impossible to tell. "How many are going to become professional actors, or singers, or sports players?”
Liz backed off a little. "I'm sorry. I'm making you angry and I didn't mean to. But I am here as a representative of the school district and I have to look at the camp in that light. Are the activities primarily educational?"
“I understand that," Eileen said with a forced smile. "But what's wrong with having fun?"
“Nothing at all! So long as the tax monies that support the school district aren't paying for it," Liz said.
Then, in an obvious effort to change the subject, she said, "Quite an exciting night, wasn't it?" studying Jane and Shelley intently.
“Yes, it was," Shelley said blandly.
Jane started to get up. "Oh, dear. I forgot the cream for my coffee.”
Without even looking, Shelley caught her sleeve and said, "You don't take cream in your coffee, Jane, dear. Sit down."
“Not even this once?" Jane asked. So much for escaping.
“No." Shelley looked straight at Liz. "Jane and I have realized that we were tragically mistaken in what we thought we saw last night. Although it would have been far more tragic if we had been correct in our perception. We are very. . sorry to have upset everyone needlessly.”
She said the words as if she were reading a press release.
Liz's eyes narrowed. "I see. And have you any idea how you made this mistake?"
“None whatsoever," Shelley said.
“Well, it certainly was upsetting," Eileen said. "Thinking Sam was dead. I guess that's why I'm feeling a bit cranky today."
“We really are sorry," Jane said. "We were only doing what we thought necessary considering what we sa — thought we saw. What did happen to him? Where was he all that time he was missing?"