rest at a sharp angle, it didn’t fall over. She hugged her sleeping bag.
‘I’m… sorry,’ Helen gasped.
Abilene crouched and set down her load. Then she gently squeezed Helen’s shoulders. ‘It’s all right,’ she said.
Sure it is, she thought. Jesus. What if we can’t find them?
Cora let her wet bundle and sleeping bag drop to the pavement, then set down her suitcase. ‘When did you have the keys last?’ she asked.
‘When we… took out our… suitcases and stuff.’
‘That was just before we went down to the pool.’
Helen nodded.
‘And you’re sure you put them back into your pocket?’
‘Yes!’ She slapped her right front pocket three times hard as if to punish it - and her thigh.
‘Take it easy,’ Abilene said, and rubbed the girl’s heaving shoulders.
‘Are you sure you didn’t put them somewhere else? In your purse, maybe? Or your suitcase?’
‘I know where I put them.’
‘I saw Helen stick them in her pocket,’ Vivian said. ‘The right front. The first place she checked. ’
‘And you changed into your suit when we were down by the pool?’
‘We all did,’ Abilene pointed out, wishing Cora would quit the interrogation.
‘Those of us who wore ’em,’ Finley said. She had put down her own things, but still held her video camera.
‘Were the keys in your pocket when you put your shorts back on?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Obviously, they weren’t,’ Finley said. She sounded a little annoyed. ‘I’ve kept a sharp eye on Helen, and she didn’t do a single hand-stand after she got out of the water.’
Helen let out a choking snort, as if a sob had blocked the way of a laugh. Turning around, she snuffled and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands.
‘They must’ve fallen out in the pool,’ Abilene said. ‘Either when the guy threw…’
‘Maybe he took them as a souvenir,’ Finley suggested.
‘Or to keep us from leaving,’ Vivian muttered.
Helen moaned.
‘They probably just fell out of the pocket,’ Abilene said. ‘I’m the one who found Helen’s shorts. When I was way out toward the middle of the pool? The keys could’ve fallen out when I picked them up.’
‘I don’t know,’ Cora said.
‘The way I grabbed them… they came out upside-down.’
‘Good going, Hickok.’
‘How could the shorts get way out there with the keys in the pocket?’ Cora asked. ‘They would’ve sunk as soon as they hit the water.’ To Helen, she said, ‘You had your house keys and things in the same case, didn’t you?’
‘Yeah.’
‘They would’ve sunk the shorts.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Abilene said. ‘If some air got trapped in the pants, they might’ve floated for a while. Just like your T-shirt.’
‘Maybe the guy gave them a toss,’ Finley said.
‘We would’ve heard splashes,’ Cora told her, ‘if he’d thrown stuff.’
‘I don’t know why you’re arguing,’ Abilene said. ‘The fact is, I found the shorts in the middle of the pool and the keys were gone when Helen put them back on. So unless the bastard stole the keys, they’ve gotta be down at the bottom of the pool right now.’
Cora lowered her head. She let out a sigh that was louder than the hiss of the lantern.
‘Fun ’n games,’ Finley said.
Cora said, ‘Shit.’
Helen sniffed loudly, then said, ‘If someone’ll come with me, I’ll look for them.’
Vivian, still sitting on her suitcase, muttered, ‘We could’ve been gone by now.’
‘I mean it. I’ll find them. It was my fault. I just don’t want to go alone.’
‘You can’t go alone,’ Abilene said, but couldn’t force herself to volunteer. Stepping up the slope, she tried the handle of the car’s rear door. The latch released. She tugged the door open slightly, then let it drop shut. ‘Well, we’re not locked out of the car. Anybody know how to hot-wire one of these things?’
‘Television stuff,’ Cora said.
‘Like getting into locked rooms with credit cards,’ Finley added.
‘What are we gonna do?’ Vivian asked. She sounded as if she might start crying.
‘I already said I’d…’
‘We’re not going back in there,’ Cora snapped, stunning Abilene with her vehemence. ‘I’m not. You’re not. None of us are. Not tonight.’
‘Wow.’ From Finley.
‘What’s your problem?’
‘Nothing. Just… I’m surprised, that’s all. I figured you’d be all gung-ho to go for the keys.’
‘Well, I’m not. Okay? Do you have a problem with that?’
‘Me? No. Huh-uh. I don’t want to go down there, either.’
‘Neither do I,’ Abilene admitted. ‘But if we don’t, it means we’re stuck here.’
‘I’m aware of that.’
‘Calm down, will you? We’re all scared. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.’
‘I’m not ashamed of anything.’
‘Well, just calm down. ’
‘All the shit we’ve been through together,’ Finley said, ‘we shouldn’t let a little thing like this throw us. We heard a creepy story, and some rat-ass teenager fucked us over. That’s really all that’s happened, right? Nobody’s been hurt. We’re all just a bit spooked. So why don’t we just make the best of it?’
‘And do what?’ Cora asked.
‘Well, I don’t think any of us want to go back inside the lodge tonight. So why don’t we find a nice, hidden place in the woods somewhere? We’ll sack out till morning. Then, when it’s broad daylight, we’ll go back down to the pool and find the keys and get our asses out of here.’
‘Spend the night?’ Vivian didn’t sound thrilled by the idea.
‘Sounds good to me,’ Abilene said. ‘The only other choice, if we don’t go after the keys, is to hike out. I can’t see the point of that. We’re out in the middle of nowhere.’
‘Besides,’ Finley said, ‘we’d have to leave our stuff here. Which means we’d need to come back for it, sooner or later.’
‘Let’s stay,’ Cora said.
Helen nodded.
‘First thing in the morning, we’ll go back down to the pool.’
‘We can throw everything in the car,’ Abilene said, ‘and just take our sleeping bags. And whatever else we’ll need for the night. Toothbrushes, the water…’
‘Let’s do it,’ Cora said.
Spreading out behind the car, they opened their luggage. Abilene took out her toilet kit, then shut the case.
Cora climbed into the car and knelt on the back seat. Abilene kept the door open by leaning back against it, her legs braced.
The others passed suitcases to Cora, and she stowed them in the rear. She placed the wet, loaded towels on the floor in front of the seat. ‘Is that it? What about your camera, Fin?’
‘I’ll keep it, thanks. I’m not about to leave it in an unlocked car.’
‘You’ll leave your purse, but not your camera?’
‘Maybe we ought to take our purses,’ Abilene said.
