But I can’t fault Skye for missing that, when I’ve missed so many other things.Okay. How does knowing all of this change what I need to do next?I don’t know yet.
“And did you see the way she looked at me a minute ago?” Skye asks. She looked like she wanted to kill me.”
I do, I think.I really do.
Ty’s walking from the parking lot, his arms full of boxes. Probably food for the food truck. He’s like me; he comes to work sometimes even when it’s supposed to be his day off. He lifts his chin at me in greeting. Before he can ask me what I’m doing or offer to get me some food again, I head down the gravel road toward the drive.
I’ve done the best I can for Colby. He was due back today. The situation was supposed to be handled by now. I haven’t heard from him yet, but I’m out of time. I have to go.
Everything is hell. But I’m laughing to myself as I cross the staff parking lot to find my Blazer because I’m so, so tired, and because Skye is so right about some things and so wrong about others. And the staff, the people I spend the most time with, don’t know me the way they think they do.
What would they do if I told them that I’ve seen Hope Hanover?
What if I told them I’d identified the body?
Would they believe me?
45
CARO
“YOU LOOK LIKE HELL,”Ash says as Caro walks up to her. A hiker going past looks over at them in surprise. They’re at the trailhead at Seraph’s Perch, one of the most famous hikes in Eden—deep in the park, miles away from the Underground and less affected by the flash flooding.
“Thanks a lot,” Caro says, but she and Ash both crack up. “You do, too.”
“I know.” Ash takes a deep breath, and Caro feels like she can read her mind.Enough small talk.“So,” Ash says. “Do you think it’s her?”
They’re here at this trailhead—weary, stressed out, missing Hope, worried about their families, everything unraveling all around them—because of the mystery text last night.
Caro had been with her dad and Dan, finishing up at the hospital and deciding whether she should take Henry back to Lookout Pointe or stay with Dan in his hotel room for the night, when the text came through.
Surprise!
It’s me again.
There’s one more thing I need you to do.
Caro had almost dropped her phone.
Great news—I got you guys a permit for Seraph’s Perch!! The catch is that the permits are timed. You have to arrive at Scout Lookout, the point right before the final ascent, at the right time. Or they’ll turn you back and you won’t get to hike all the way to the viewpoint at the top. TRUST ME, YOU WANT TO SEE THAT VIEW! That means you’ll need to arrive at the trailhead at around 6:30 a.m. and LEAVE ON TIME. Don’t wait for me if I’m not there on the dot.
“I don’t know,” Caro says. “But if it’s not—”
“I know,” Ash says. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Between Hope vanishing and her dad going missing and seeing Dan at the hospital last night (he was wonderful, of course he was wonderful, and shestilldidn’t tell him what he deserves to know), Caro is worn out. She closes her eyes. “Everything’s falling apart.” When she opens them, she sees that Ash is looking at her with a worried expression. “I feel horrible when I’m with my dad because I’m not with you trying to figure out how to find Hope,” Caro says. “And I feel horrible when I’m here because I’m not with him.”
“Disappointing everyone,” Ash says, and Caro nods. They’ve talked about this before with Hope—how if you’re a friend or a parent or a wife or a sister or an employee or a boss or a caregiver or, really, a woman in the world at all, you feel like you’re constantly failing everyone all the time.
Another hiker walking past looks over at them in concern, and Caro sees recognition dawn on their face.They know who we are. Damn it.They don’t need anyone knowing that Hope Hanover’s friends are on this hike.
Caro checks her watch. It’s 6:35. They need to get going. They should have left by now. They’re both in good shape, but this is a steep climb—they’ll gain roughly two thousand feet in elevation over a couple of miles, and then they’ll need to hike back.
She glances down at the text.
The park rangers WILL ASK to see your hard copy of the permit. They can ask for it at any time during the hike and they’ll for sure ask to see it at Scout Lookout. I left your permit at the Sonnet front desk. Ask for it there. The permit is in Ash’s name in case I can’t make it. I hope you don’t mind, Ash. Make sure you bring your ID. You’ll need that too.
PLEASE do this for me! xx
