A Cat in the Attic Mystery: The Secret of Logan Pond

by Kathi Daley

  “So I was assigned a new dog today,” I said to Alastair as we sat together in the window seat. “I’m sure you’d hate her if you ever met since she’s the rowdy sort, and you aren’t all that fond of dogs, but she’s really cute. She’s exactly the sort of dog I’ve been thinking about getting. Smart, energetic, friendly.”

  Alastair hissed and jumped down. No one could tell me that he didn’t understand English.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going to adopt a dog. Not at this point in my life anyway. I really am much too busy to give a dog the attention he or she needs. I was just sharing facts about my day.”

  Alastair trotted across the room and jumped up on my desk. He batted at the magazine I’d left there, which resulted in it being shoved off the desk onto the floor. I unfolded myself from the window seat and walked across the room. I picked the magazine up and then returned to the window where I settled in to check out the article on mining and caves in the area. Colorado had a rich mining history that dated back to the early eighteen hundreds. I knew there were all sorts of abandoned mines peppering the mountains surrounding Foxtail Lake. Maybe I would take the time to do the research and write a series of columns about the men and women who came from the east to strike it rich and ended up building settlements, many of which became the towns that still existed.

  “Meow.” Alastair jumped up onto my lap. He batted at the magazine I’d been looking at.

  “You seem antsy tonight,” I said, setting the magazine aside. “What’s going on? Do you feel okay?”

  The sleek black cat jumped up onto a bookshelf that held books Gracie hadn’t wanted in her office but hadn’t wanted to get rid of either. He knocked several books to the floor and then came back over to where I was standing and did a circle eight between my legs. I bent down and picked him up. “Okay, let’s go to bed. Maybe you’re just tired. I want to get up early and get started on the articles Dex assigned to me, so an early night might be just the thing for me as well.”

  On the way out, I picked up the books Alastair had knocked off the shelf. They were books on Colorado and its history. It was odd that I’d never spent any time looking into the place where I’d spent a good portion of my life. Perhaps Alastair was trying to tell me that there were answers to the questions of the present contained within the events of the past.

  Chapter 4

  Saturday

  “Something was going on with the older kids on our campout,” Toby informed Cass and me during our video chat. “I’m not sure what exactly, but there were sly glances and whispered conversations I wasn’t invited to be a part of. I was pretty sure they didn’t want me there at all, but Josh’s mother had told him that if I couldn’t go, he couldn’t go. Josh’s mother babysat me when my mom was out of town, but Josh was often left doing the actual watching.”

  “The police report said that the older kids made you go to bed early,” Cass said.

  “That’s true. After we got to the lake, we set up camp. Once the camp was set up, we mostly broke up. Austin and Josh went in one direction, Colin in another, and I remember Bobby heading out with that camera of his.”

  “Camera?” I asked.

  “Bobby was the tenderhearted sort who didn’t like to fish, but he did like to hang out with the rest of us, so while we fished, he took photos of wildlife and stuff.”

  “So, what did you and Larry do?” I asked.

  “We both headed to the pond to fish. After a while, we all gathered back where we’d set up camp and ate the deli sandwiches we’d bought in town. After we ate, Josh told me I had to go to bed despite the fact it wasn’t even dark yet. I didn’t mind, though. We each had our own tent, so I had my privacy, and I’d brought a book to read and a flashlight to read it with.”

  “And the other boys?” Cass asked.

  “They built a fire and sat around telling ghost stories.” Toby paused. “Although, it does seem like Josh and Austin might have left for a while. I remember there were just a couple of kids by the fire for a while.”

  “And did all the boys come back?” Cass asked.

  He nodded. “By the time it got all the way dark, all five of the older boys were sitting by the fire.” He paused for a moment and then continued. “I remember they were drinking, and I’m pretty sure they were smoking weed. I was mad at all of them for dissing me the way they had, so I mostly ignored them.”

  “Did you tell the investigating officer that weed and alcohol were involved at the time of the disappearance?” I asked.

  “No,” he admitted. “The question was never directly asked, and I didn’t want Josh and the others to get into trouble because of something I said. I still had to go to Josh’s every other weekend while my mom was away. The last thing I needed was for him to be mad at me.”

  I supposed that was understandable. “So walk me through the morning following your arrival at the lake,” Cass said. “You said you got up first.”

  He nodded. “I did. When I got up, the fire had burned down, but there were still embers, so I stirred it up and tossed some new logs on the coals. I sat there by the fire by myself for a while, and then Colin got up. Colin was a bit of a jerk back then, and he wasn’t at all happy about the fact that Josh had been forced to bring me along, so he started talking smack. I got mad, grabbed my pole, and headed down to the lake. The spot I chose to fish was within sight distance of the camp, so I figured I’d keep an eye out for Josh, and once he’d gotten up, I’d go back and see if anyone had brought anything for breakfast.”

  “And then?” Cass asked.

  “And then everyone got up one by one. I don’t remember the order, but Josh was last except for Austin. When I returned to the group, everyone was talking about Austin. Colin knew I was the first one to get up, so he asked me if I’d seen him. I told the group that I hadn’t. One of the kids, I think Larry, made a comment about Austin being totally out of it the night before. Everyone seemed to assume he’d just wandered away and passed out. We looked for him for hours. After enough time had passed and we’d looked everywhere we thought to look, someone suggested we should go back into town and tell someone what happened. I stayed behind with Josh and Larry. Bobby and Colin hiked back into town to get help.”

  “And then?” Cass asked.

  “And then the cops came and took a look around. When they didn’t find anything, they brought in a bunch of other people. We were questioned separately and then together. It was total chaos.”

  “Did it seem to you that the other boys were all telling the truth?” Cass asked.

  “Well, everyone lied about getting wasted the night before,” he said. “And when asked what they talked about the previous night, they said they just told ghost stories, but I heard a lot of chatter from my spot in my tent about sex and bodily functions.”

  “I meant, did you think anyone was lying about what they knew about Austin’s disappearance?” Cass clarified.

  He frowned. “What do you mean? Do you think someone from the group did something to Austin?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just asking if you thought anyone was keeping something to themselves rather than being totally honest,” Cass clarified.

  Toby paused. I supposed to consider the question. “All the older kids were being careful about what they said. Heck, I was careful as well. We were all scared, and I think we all wanted to be sure we didn’t say anything to make it worse. I know I’d decided to keep quiet about the fact that the older boys had all gotten wasted, and I know none of the others mentioned it either.”

  “Was anyone acting extra odd?” Cass asked.

  He started to reply but then paused. He closed his mouth and started again. “Yeah. I guess I do remember thinking that Colin knew something he wasn’t saying. I don’t know why exactly. It was more of a vibe I was picking up. He was one of the ones who left the camp and the pond earlier in the day. Austin left as well, although they didn’t leave together. Still, maybe something happened while they were gone that Colin didn’t want to talk a
bout.”

  “But Austin came back to the camp after he left that afternoon.” I knew he’d already asked this question, so I assumed he was just verifying Toby’s answer.

  “Yes. He came back and was sitting at the campfire with the others the last time I peeked out to see what was going on. Whatever happened, happened late that night or early the following morning before I got up.”

  “So you think it’s possible that Austin slept in his tent and got up early. Even earlier than you?” I asked.

  “Yes, it’s possible. It had been light for at least an hour by the time I got up. If Austin did get up early that morning, he left the camp without so much as tossing a log on the fire, but I suppose if he had a destination in mind, he might have simply rolled out of his sleeping bag and headed out.”

  “Any idea where he might have gone?” I asked.

  “No. I really can’t think where he would have gone. I suppose he might have headed down to the lake to fish. None of us had had much luck the previous day.”

  “Was Austin’s pole missing?” Cass asked.

  Toby frowned. “I have no idea. I don’t remember seeing it, but I didn’t specifically look for it either.”

  “Did anyone else show up at any point during the campout? A seventh person?” I asked, remembering the sandwich.

  “I didn’t see anyone else show up at the camp. Why do you ask?”

  I explained about the seventh sandwich.

  “I don’t know why we would have bought the seventh sandwich. I don’t even remember doing that.”

  “There was a deserted campsite found along the river about half a mile from where your group was camped,” Cass informed Toby. “Do you remember hearing about that?”

  He nodded. “Yes. The man who investigated asked me if anyone from our campsite had gone to that campsite or if anyone from that camp had come to ours. I told him that no one came to our campsite other than those of us who hiked out there together, but that I wasn’t sure where some of the other boys might have gone.”

  “You said you went to bed early, but do you remember who went to bed last?” Cass asked.

  “I have no idea. I guess you can ask the others.”

  Cass held up the police report. “According to the official report, everyone was asked that question at the time Austin went missing. You answered that you went to bed first, which the others verified, but the answers to the question of who went to bed next are inconsistent.”

  “Inconsistent?” Toby asked.

  “Colin said he went to bed next after you, and Josh said it was him. Bobby said he didn’t remember, and Larry said that he didn’t remember specifically, but that when he went to bed, it was only Colin and Austin who were still up.”

  Toby frowned. “Like I said, everyone was wasted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they honestly didn’t remember.”

  Cass nodded. He set the report down and then looked back toward the screen. “Austin knew the area well. Do you think it’s possible that he either took a stroll that night before turning in or he got up early, and simply got lost and couldn’t find his way back?”

  “No. I never believed that theory. If Austin took a stroll the night before we realized he was missing, he would have been drunk or stoned. If that occurred, then yes, he could have gotten turned around. But even if he’d gotten lost, he was wearing a heavy sweatshirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, and jeans, and would have been fine in the woods until the next morning, at which point he would have sobered up and could have found his way back. If he took off that morning, then I really don’t have any idea what could have happened. I do know he knew the area too well to simply get lost.”

  “There are some who say he drowned,” I added.

  “Can’t see why he would have gone swimming either in the early morning or the middle of the night. It wasn’t cold enough to freeze to death, but it wasn’t warm either.”

  “What do you think happened to him?” Cass asked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve gone through the events of that night thousands of times in my mind, and I really can’t imagine what could have happened to him. I don’t buy the fact that Austin just wandered off, though. I suspect something bad happened to him. I figured he must have been dead since no one found him. I suppose he could have fallen and broken his neck or something, but there were a lot of people scouring every inch of those woods. If something like that happened, his body would have been found. The only thing that makes sense is that someone killed him and buried him in a place where no one thought to look.”

  “If you had to choose one of the other boys who you felt had the best chance of knowing what happened to Austin, who would you choose?” Cass asked.

  “I’m not sure. I guess either Colin or Bobby. Colin seemed to have a secret, but Bobby seemed to be the most frightened.”

  “Frightened?” Cass asked.

  “Once everyone realized Austin was missing, I guess we all figured we’d find him fishing or exploring or passed out somewhere in the woods. As time went by and he wasn’t found, everyone began to get tense, but Bobby looked downright terrified. Colin was the one who was trying to convince us that Austin was fine, and he’d show up, but Bobby didn’t seem convinced of that even in the beginning. Like I said before, after several hours of looking for Austin, Josh suggested that someone should hike back into town for help while the rest of us continued to look for Austin. Colin volunteered and suggested that Bobby should go with him. It seemed like Bobby didn’t want to go, but he did.”

  “And you, Josh, and Larry stayed at the camp?” Cass confirmed.

  He nodded. “The three of us talked about what might have happened, we hiked around the woods, calling his name and we walked all the way around Logan Pond, looking for footprints. Of course, there were a bunch since we’d all been there fishing the day before, but nothing really jumped out as being relevant.”

  “Did Austin make any comments about wanting to do something or check something out?” I asked. “Could he have gotten up early and decided to head over to the river and try his luck catching breakfast there, or did he express interest in checking out the old abandoned barn at the pond, or perhaps one of the other little ponds or lakes in the area?”

  “He never said anything to me about anything like that. Like I said before, Austin didn’t really hang out with me. None of the older boys did. They were mad that I was there, and mostly ignored me.”

  Chapter 5

  After we talked to Toby, we spent some time going over our notes and trying to come up with what we felt were the two or three most important takeaways from the conversation.

  “I think the fact that the older kids had been drinking and smoking weed might be important,” I started off. “It would certainly explain how Austin might have become disoriented and gotten lost, but I agree with Toby, that if he’d simply been lost, he would have found his way back once he sobered up, and if he’d been hurt, it seems that one of the search and rescue volunteers would have found him.”

  “I was interested in the fact that some of the kids, including Colin and Austin, left the rest of the group for a while after the boys arrived. They all made it back to the camp, so I don’t necessarily think anything occurred while they were away, but something could have happened that led to Austin’s disappearance later that night,” Cass said.

  “Based on what Toby said, it sounds like Austin and Josh left the campsite together, but Colin and Bobby left individually. No one said where they were going, which seems a bit odd to me. I wonder if one of the boys met up with someone else who might have been in the area. Perhaps whoever was at the campsite that was by the river. If the older boys were drinking and smoking weed, maybe that’s where they got it.”

  “Perhaps. It’s a theory that’s certainly worth exploring.”

  “Toby said that of all the older boys, Colin was acting the most oddly,” I pointed out. “I guess he mentioned both Colin and Bobby. Colin was acting the most secretive, and Bobby was the most afra
id. I think we need to play those angles when we talk to each of them.”

  “It’s going to be a tricky conversation. It has been almost twenty-five years since any of this happened,” Cass reminded me.

  I blew out a breath. “I know. This second look is a longshot, but it’s the job I’ve been assigned, so I plan to do it to the best of my ability. And who knows, maybe after all these years, someone will slip up and say something that will lead to a clue which will provide an explanation as to what happened to Austin Brady.”

  “Maybe.”

  My phone buzzed, and I looked at the caller ID. “It’s Hope,” I clicked the answer button. “Hey, Hope. What’s up?”

  “Something came up, and I can’t do lunch tomorrow. I was hoping you and Cass could meet me after work today. The library closes at five, and Naomi has already said that she can meet us then.”

  “Hang on, and I’ll check with Cass.”

  I asked Cass about meeting this afternoon, and he said it was fine with him. We arranged to meet at the library at five o’clock. Once our plans were firmed up, Cass and I returned to our conversation.

  “I’m not sure how much of this, if anything, I should include in my column,” I said. “The point of my investigation is to get the information needed to write a series of articles about Austin Brady’s disappearance, but I don’t want to spill the beans and print something we might end up wishing hadn’t been made public.”

  “Why don’t you let me look at each column as you write it. Between the two of us, we can figure out what sorts of things should be kept private and which are okay to share.”

  “It’s sort of odd to be researching this so far ahead of writing the articles,” I commented. “If by some miracle we actually find out what happened to Austin and identify the killer, assuming there is one, he or she will be arrested before I even get to the point in the series where I sum things up. It will be anticlimactic to give away the ending before the history relating to the event is published, but if we do stumble onto the answer, there is no way I will be able to keep it quiet.”