The Murder At Summer Camp (Clara Young Series Book 4)

by Renee Marski

  "She told me that we weren't kids anymore and needed to grow up. She was already thinking about that deputy. I tried to tell her that I was talking about real Wicca, not the stuff we'd been playing at, but she brushed me off." She sniffed, like it was a painful memory. "Neither of them had time for me anymore."

  Clara shook her head. "But Savannah and you spent most of this summer together."

  Maddy looked up at Clara, the sadness gone from her eyes. "That's because she feels guilty that she's leaving me at the end of the summer." Clara's eyes narrowed. Maddy smirked. "Oh, you didn't think I know about that? Of course I knew. Savannah was acting so guilty, it was obvious what she was planning on doing. I called her out on it. She admitted it to me."

  "Change is always hard." Clara paused before asking her next question. “Is that what you two were fighting about the day of the crash?”

  Maddy scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What would you know about change?” Clara didn’t miss that Maddy had ignored her question, but answered anyway.

  Clara shrugged and set down her brush. "Enough. We moved my senior year of high school to a completely new state. I left all my friends behind and had to start all over again. It wasn't easy but I did it."

  Maddy shook her head. "You may be able to do it, but not everyone is like you, Clara. Some of us struggle to fit in anywhere. That's why I like Wicca. I don't have to fit in to belong." Maddy turned and walked out, leaving Clara to think over what she'd said. So, Maddy's conversion was newer, fresh. Maybe Patricia mentored her. Clara wasn't sure what it meant, but it felt like this was important information to keep on hand. She went down to the tents, unsure where to turn next. She itched to write in her journal, but decided to hold off until she had more information to record. No sense in wasting pages on things she didn't know.

  19. LOOKING FOR THE MURDER WEAPON

  C lara sat in the passenger seat of the van, feeling guilty for crashing Tracy's date. She and the deputy were going bowling but Clara had tagged along, wanting to ask him about the murder weapon. Tracy didn't seem to mind, tapping the steering wheel and singing with the music, perfectly content with Clara's silence. Maddy had avoided Clara since their talk and walked in the opposite direction when she saw Clara coming. Clara had tried to follow her to no avail.

  At the bowling alley, the deputy had a lane already rented and ready to go. Bowling shoes for Tracy sat on a seat, waiting for her. The lights were dimmed so that everything that glowed in the dark could shine in the black lights. Clara's white shirt shone brightly in the room. The deputy looked surprised to see her but said nothing. Clara didn't get shoes, as she wasn't planning to stay. She'd ask her questions and leave, letting the deputy bring Tracy back to camp once their night was over. Clara tucked her hands into the back pocket of her jeans and waited until Tracy was tossing her first ball to say anything. "I just wanted to ask if you had any idea what the murder weapon might be. If I knew what I was looking for, I might be able to find it."

  The deputy watched Tracy grab her ball as it reappeared. She prepared for her next shot. His jaw clenched, the only sign he was annoyed. "The ME said it was something hard, like a pipe. Shaped like a pipe or crowbar. Honestly, without the actual weapon, we won't know what killed them."

  "Them? It was the same weapon for both?"

  He nodded and gave Tracy a small smile as she walked toward them. "Yeah, both girls had matching blunt force traumas." He gave Clara a nod, then joined Tracy, picking up his ball to take his turn. Clara headed out of the bowling alley, thinking over what he'd said. If the same weapon was used on both girls, then it had to be the same person.

  Instead of heading back to camp, Clara headed to the hospital. She wanted to see Savannah. No one had been by since Katy's funeral, and Clara felt bad that they'd all been neglecting her. The nurses seemed wary of letting her in, but when she explained that they worked together at the camp, they relented. When she stepped into the room, she stopped, her mouth falling open. The room smelled heavily of cinnamon. The smell nearly made Clara gag. Lined up on the windowsill behind Savannah's bandaged head were crystals of all kinds. Clara noted clear quartz and obsidian, among ones she didn't recognize. Savannah lay on the bed, still bandaged, though her bruises were healing, having gone from an angry purple to a faded yellow. A nurse stepped in behind Clara and gave her a tight smile. She was shorter than Clara, plump and graying, with laugh wrinkles around her brown eyes. "Please tell me you aren't here to light more of that stuff."

  Clara snorted. "What stuff?"

  The nurse pointed to a table near the bed, where a pack of incense sticks lay. Clara walked over and picked them up. "A girl comes in almost every evening to light them. Tried to get us to light them too, but we can't. Technically she can't either, but we've been looking the other way."

  "A girl. What girl?"

  "A young brunette. Shorter than you. Kinda cute." She glanced at Savannah. "Seems to really care. Keeps begging her to wake up."

  Sadness tugged at Clara's heart. It had to be Maddy. Maybe she was slipping over here after bedtime, visiting Savannah alone. Clara wished she'd told them. They would've come with her. But Maddy probably thought they'd laugh at her lighting the incense. Clara set down the pack and stepped up next to Savannah, then took her hand. Machines beeped and hummed, recording everything they could about her. The nurse slipped out of the room and gave Clara some alone time. "Hey, Savannah, it's Clara." She swallowed, feeling silly for talking to someone who looked like she was sleeping. Well, except for the tube in her mouth. "I hope you aren't in any pain. We miss you. The campers miss you. They ask about you all the time."

  She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I guess Maddy's been here every day. I don't know what she's told you but I wanted you to know that Katy died. Someone killed her. And we found Gretchen. She was killed too. I just feel like there's a connection with the clearing but I don't know how to prove it or what I'd even need to prove it. A pipe of some sort was used to kill them. I just know that if I found it, we could figure out who did it."

  She smiled and reached out a hand to touch the hair poking out of Savannah's bandage. "I thought you should know. I don't want you waking up not knowing anything. But don't worry, we'll be here when you wake up. Do it soon, okay?" She squeezed Savannah's hand. Clara was ready to pull hers out when she got a squeeze in response. Glancing down at their entwined hands, she smiled. "You can hear me, can't you?" Another squeeze signaled an answer. Clara grabbed the nurse call button and jammed it with her free hand. The nurse from earlier came huffing into the room, worry in her eyes.

  "What's wrong?"

  "She squeezed my hand." Clara pointed at their hands, excitement coursing through her limbs.

  The nurse stepped forward and glanced at the monitors. "You must've imagined it. Nothing has changed."

  "But I know she did. She did it twice. Watch." She looked at Savannah, steadying her voice. "Savannah, can you hear me? Squeeze if you can." Savannah's hand twitched as she squeezed. Clara glanced at the nurse, seeing her look of shock mirrored on the woman's face. "See?"

  "Interesting. She may be moving out of the coma and into normal sleep, in which case she's starting to wake up. This is good news." The nurse smiled at Clara and patted her on the back before making a note in the chart and leaving the room. Clara smiled down at Savannah.

  "You're gonna be just fine." She pulled her hand away and headed out of the room. Savannah waking up would definitely make the campers feel better. Not everything would end badly this summer, Clara was sure of it. She decided that she'd spend most of the next afternoon searching for the murder weapon. She'd start in the clearing.

  ***

  The following day dawned grey and wet. Clara sighed as she looked out the window, knowing that searching in a storm wasn't a good idea. But she also knew that she was running out of time. If camp ended before she found the murder weapon, they wouldn't be able to figure out who'd killed Gretchen and Katy. It didn't sit right with Clara to leave things as they
were.

  They gathered all the campers in the big house, deciding that today was perfect for a movie day. They let the campers pick the movie and then set them up with popcorn and snacks. They also suggested an ice cream bar later, which got cheers from the campers. The girls sat around the island, the sounds of the movie drifting in to them. Maddy had gone upstairs, claiming a headache. The girls all glanced at Clara as Maddy left the room. "She's avoiding me."

  "We can tell." Hannah wiggled her eyebrows at Clara. "She runs from you like you have the plague."

  Clara sighed and leaned on the island. "I just don't know why. All I did was ask her about her beliefs."

  "Maybe she's embarrassed." Denise took a sip from her glass and glanced at Clara over the rim of the cup.

  "But why? She wasn't embarrassed when she was telling me about it."

  Denise waved her hand at Clara. "That's different from knowing that someone knows something about you that may be perceived as strange. In her mind, you're judging her, even if you really aren't."

  Clara blew out a breath. "Well, crap." She shook her head. "She's been visiting Savannah every day, probably after lights out. Lights incense in the room, has lined up crystals for healing. She really wants Savannah to get better."

  "And will she?" The concern in Stacy's voice touched Clara.

  "I think so. She squeezed my hand multiple times. She's in there, ready to come out."

  "That's one good thing, at least." Tracy mumbled the words as she looked down at her phone. Hannah nudged her.

  "Talking to your man?" Hannah tried to peer over Tracy's shoulder, but Tracy pulled the phone close to her chest.

  "Yes, if you must know, Ms. Nosey."

  Hannah stuck out her tongue at Tracy. "You wanna marry him, don't you?"

  The room went quiet as the girls waited for her answer. Clara realized she was the only one who knew what Tracy was planning to do. The others had no clue yet. By the look on Tracy's face, she wasn't prepared to tell them, either. Clara cleared her throat and pulled the attention back to her. "I'm going to do some scavenging today. That murder weapon is out there. I just have to find it."

  Denise glanced out the window at the rain pattering on the ground. "In that?"

  Clara shrugged. "I don't have much time left. I have to search while I still can, storm or no storm." She gave the girls a reassuring smile, then grabbed a rain parka from the coat closet and shrugged it on, zipping it to her chin. After pulling up the hood, she took a sniff. It smelled slightly musty. She wrinkled her nose, hoping the smell would wash away in the rain. Waving to the girls, she headed out the door, her head lowered against the downpour.

  She trudged around the lake, knowing her destination ahead of time. She wanted to check the clearing first. Maybe something was there-a clue, perhaps. Or maybe the murder weapon was hidden there. She'd never really searched it very well. She was going to take the time to do that now. She pulled a flashlight out of her pocket, glad she'd grabbed it on her way out. The woods were dark during the storm, with barely any visibility. Clara flicked on the light and headed to the clearing.

  She stepped out to find the grass higher than before, meaning it hadn't been tended to since she'd last been there, the day they found Katy. To her, that was a good sign. It meant that if the murder weapon was stashed there, no one had been by recently to move it. Clara started at the perimeter and used her flashlight to scan the ground, inspecting anything that may have been a good place to hide a pipe, like a log or under a bush. Not finding anything, she moved to the stone. The bowls were gone. Clara saw them on the ground, where the water had pushed them. Whatever had been inside them was gone, washed away by the rain. Clara searched around the stone, but again found nothing. She turned to the tree at her back and noticed a hollow in the center, at waist level. Bracing herself for any creepy crawlies, she reached into the tree and held her breath. The hole wasn't very big, so she didn't have to reach very far. She came up empty, finding nothing.

  Sighing, she trudged back to the lake, her head down. When she broke free of the woods, she glanced at the dock and watched as the rain hit the water. Unsure where to go next, she walked to the dock, deciding that was a good place to look too. What if the killer had thrown the pipe into the water? Maybe it was still there. Clara searched all around the dock but didn't see anything. Then she hopped into the water. Her pants stuck to her legs and her shoes sank into the mud. Bending down to see underneath the dock, she walked up and around it, checking every crevice she could find. Again, she came up empty-handed. No pipes or pipe-shaped objects were hiding under there. She glanced up at the house, frowning. Where should she look next? Her eyes fell on the barn-the next logical place to hide something. Clara trudged there, her hopes sinking, her shoes squelching. She'd really thought that she'd find something in the clearing. Now she was just grasping at straws.

  In the barn, Clara unzipped and took off the parka, breathing a sigh of relief as it slipped off. She shook out her hair, annoyed as it plastered itself against her chilled skin. At least she was dry in the barn. As she walked, her shoes squeaked, the water leaking out of them. The horses nickered in their stalls, tails slapping. She started with the shelves by the feed, pulling out everything and looking at it, then placing it back. Next, she went through the stalls, looking through all the tack and anything related to the horses. Not finding anything, she turned to the loft. She'd never been up there, so she was unsure of what she'd find. She put the flashlight in her mouth and climbed the rickety ladder. Pulling herself over the side, she stood, dusting off her pants. Hay lay scattered across the floor, clumps of it pushed around. Clara scanned the flashlight along the wall and took in the boards. Most matched, but several looked different, out of place, almost new compared to the rest. Clara moved closer to examine them, feeling along their surface. One moved under her touch, making her suck in a breath. She pushed it again. The board moved easily under her hand.

  Again placing the flashlight into her mouth, Clara used both hands to pull the board out of her way. Her gloves made feeling for anything tricky, but she didn't want to contaminate evidence. A hole appeared, dark and ominous, like the hole in the tree. Clara reached in, searching for anything that might be inside. Her hands landed on something hard and circular, and she pulled them back for a split second in surprise. Taking another breath, she reached back in and pulled out a metal baseball bat. Not a pipe, but so far the closest thing at the camp she could find. Setting it next to her, she reached back in, feeling around some more. Her hands landed on what felt like a book. She pulled it out and was surprised to find Gretchen's writing on the cover. Had Gretchen kept two journals? One that she wanted people to find and one that she didn't? Clara tucked it into the back of her pants, then stood and picked up the bat. She bounced on her heels, excited that she'd found something. Looking out the barn door at the rain, she realized she couldn't take the bat out there, not with it pouring like it was. She glanced around, looking for a place to stash it until she could come back to get it. She decided to stick it with some tack in one of the horse's stalls, as no one was going to go riding today. She replaced the board, not wanting anyone to get suspicious. Then she climbed down the ladder, the bat tucked under her arm. She placed it with the tack, tucking a blanket around it just in case. Then she donned the parka again and headed back to the big house, excited to tell her friends about her find.

  20. PATRICIA’S CONFESSION

  C lara waited until she could get her friends alone to tell them, as she didn't want the campers to overhear them talking. Someone had hidden that bat and Gretchen's other diary. Someone here at camp was responsible. Why else would they hide those things like they did? Clara didn't want to think it could be one of the campers but at this point, she didn't know. So, she erred on the side of caution and waited until free time, when the campers were distracted and wouldn't notice them talking. Clara and her friends sat around the table, cards in hand, so they wouldn't look suspicious. Clara had placed Gretchen's second
book upstairs under her pillow with the other one, not even attempting to read it yet.

  Hannah leaned close to her, barely breathing. "What did you find?"

  The others glanced around before leaning in, the cards in their hands forgotten. Clara absently shuffled hers, licking her lips. "A metal baseball bat. Wouldn't the handle end be about the size of a metal pipe?"

  Hannah nodded, her eyes bright. "It could be mistaken for a metal pipe. Where was it?"

  "A hole in the wall in the barn. One of the boards is loose and just moves."

  Denise raised an eyebrow. "In the wall? That means there must be a crawl space or something back there."

  Clara grimaced, that thought not having occurred to her. "How big of a crawl space?"

  Denise shrugged. "The barn is huge. Who knows what secrets it's hiding? But you need to get that bat to the deputy ASAP."

  Tracy held up her phone. "I could have him here in twenty minutes."

  Clara nodded. "Do it. We need to get him that bat." Tracy tapped away at her phone and smiled at Clara as it buzzed a few minutes later.

  "He's on his way."

  Stacy glanced over at Maddy and the campers before looking down at her cards. "What about the other notebook? You haven't had time to copy it yet, have you?"

  Clara shook her head. "I don't even know what's in it."

  "If you gave it to him, would he share it with you?" This from Denise, who spoke to the table, keeping her head down.

  Clara shrugged. "I don't know. He may not be allowed to. I want to keep it, just for a day or two so I can read it before handing it over. I promise I'll hand it over once I'm done with it."

  Hannah's face pinched with worry. Both she and Clara knew that withholding evidence could get Clara into serious trouble-trouble that could affect her future career in law enforcement. Hannah opened her mouth to say something, then stopped, her eyes looking past Clara.

  Clara turned to find Maddy walking toward them, a worried look on her face. She stopped beside Clara and looked at their cards. "Who's winning?"