“Then where is it?” asked Jed.
“I already told you the mayor had it moved…or buried…or burned…or something,” answered Caroline.
Bobby jumped at the sound of a bird flapping its wings overhead. Jed laughed. “You’ll have to excuse Indiana Jones. He had a pretty traumatic run-in with a squirrel last night. Almost nibbled him to death.”
“Very funny, jerk.” Bobby punched Jed hard in the left bicep and then turned his attention back to Caroline. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan is that we start walking away from town and see how far we get.”
“I’m not sure I like that plan,” Bobby said nervously.
Caroline shook her head and started walking, muttering adorable insults as she distanced herself from the two boys.
Jed put his two hands on Bobby’s shoulders and told his best friend to look him directly in the eyes. “Listen, Bobby, I know this is crazy. Odds are, there isn’t anything in these woods besides all the animals we’ve been harassing our whole lives. And we know how to handle them. So, let’s humor her, and when this is over, life can go back to normal.”
“Do you believe anything you just said, Jed?”
Jed’s pause gave away his uncertainty. “I have to believe it. And so do you. Until we learn differently, we have to keep our wits about us or we’re all in big trouble.”
“I got my dad’s huntin’ knife,” Bobby mumbled.
“Good,” Jed smiled. “But hopefully, we won’t need it.” He turned and saw Caroline’s shadow passing behind a grove of maple trees. “Wait up, Caroline,” he shouted, and the two boys jogged quietly to catch up with their adventurous partner.
* * * * * * * * * *
“This is where the boys found the elk,” whispered Sam.
Max squatted down, balanced himself on the balls of his feet, and inspected the ground. “Where is it now?” he asked without taking his eyes away from the crime scene.
“We buried it a couple hundred yards north of here. Didn’t want any snoops findin’ the body and panickin’."
“Yeah, who knows, maybe they’d think there was a wizard livin’ up in the mountains,” Max joked. “Well, you two didn’t leave me much evidence to go on.” Max made eye contact with Sam and then Larry. Both looked away. “But I will tell you this. Someone has been here recently. Three sets of fresh prints.” Max pointed to each set.
Larry and Sam followed his index finger and leaned in for a closer look. “Are you sure those aren’t our prints?” asked Sam. “Or left by the boys last night? Or someone last week?”
Max chuckled to himself, but he didn’t think anything was funny. “Mayor, you either trust my opinion and we keep workin’ together, or you don’t and I go home and get a good night’s sleep.”
“We trust you, Max,” Larry interjected. “But just humor us – how do you know they are fresh tracks?”
“The ground inhales and exhales, just like any livin’ organism. In muddy conditions, sure, a print can last weeks. But in relatively dry conditions, like these, the dirt and grass are pressed down when someone takes a step, but they eventually rise again. I step and the ground inhales, but eventually the ground exhales and any signs of the disturbance are erased like a chalkboard.”
“So any prints from last night would already be gone?”
“Exactly. And the prints are all gym shoes. We're all wearin’ boots. Plus, look at this one.” Max pointed to the smallest set of prints. “I’ve seen Jed and Bobby, and they don’t wear a size eight shoe. And look at how narrow the foot is. This was left by a girl. And judgin’ from the freshness of all three, we’re about two minutes behind them.”
“Caroline!” shouted Sam.
Max and Larry looked at the mayor with confusion showing on their faces.
“Jed and Bobby are always hangin’ around that Caroline girl. She is smart as a whip. And she did a class project on Bayberry Cove’s urban legends last year. I would bet anything they went to her with all this elk business and she dragged them out here to investigate.”
“Which direction did they go?” asked Larry.
Max took a few seconds to track their footprints, then turned back and shouted, “They went west.”
“They’re trying to make it out of the forest,” Larry said to Sam.
“Come on, let’s go!” Sam yelled. “We have to catch up to them before it’s too late.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The town of Bayberry Cove was only two square miles. Seventy-five men, women, and children founded the community back in 1628, but the town had only grown to a little under two thousand people almost four centuries later. Most of the colonial houses had been standing for hundreds of years, updated each time a new resident took ownership. At the very center of the town was Bayberry Square, surrounded by various shops and restaurants. Some of the younger men and women lived in apartments near the square, but almost all of Bayberry’s families lived in the surrounding subdivisions.
The base of Mt. Misery was located on the very northern tip of the town; dozens of houses shared their backyard with the mountain’s grassy basin. The shoreline was a few hundred yards away from the nearest subdivision of homes in order to avoid flooding, but the location was still considered prime real estate for Bayberry Cove’s movers and shakers. Harper’s Woods bordered the town to the south and west, and while the length of the trees stretched for almost two miles, the depth of the forest was quite shallow. Less than a mile. Three healthy teenagers could make the hike in less than fifteen minutes, and they already had a two-minute head start on Sam, Larry, and Max.
