Dead of Summer - Page 112

Please, God, don’t let her have killed someone and convinced Kayde to help her hide the body. He hadn’t been in my cabin last night, so he really could’ve been anywhere.

Like hiding a body with Melody.

“It’s not me. Not…all me,” she admits hesitantly. “Some boys were acting weird this morning. They were acting all nasty and trying to start fights. When it started to affect Redtail, I asked one of them what his problem was. He wouldn’t tell me. But he kept mentioning…I don’t know. Something about a knife.”

A knife?

My heart hammers in my throat, and I stare at her, partly horrified. “Who? And where’s the knife, Mel?” I ask softly, hoping that she’s wrong or that there’s at least nothing to worry about.

“I don’t know if there is a knife. I don’t know—I didn’t want Redtail around that. Even if they were just being full of shit.” God, I really can’t blame her for that. “And it wasn’t too long ago. Just before we got our harnesses.”

“Who was it?” I force myself to ask the question calmly, even as my eyes rove around the clearing as if I can pinpoint who’s missing.

“Two of Shawn’s boys. I don’t know their names, I’m sorry. They didn’t want anyone to tell. They?—”

“Thank you.” I lunge to my feet, one hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to go find them, okay? Thank you for telling me. You’re not in trouble.” I toss the words over my shoulder as I bolt back into the clearing, eyes on Kinsley and Liza.

It only takes a few seconds and words to convey my worries to them, and the two of them bolt off in opposite directions just as fingers close around my wrist. “What’s wrong?” Kayde’s voice is sharp, and I only falter for a moment at how quickly he’d realized something was off.

But then again, by his own admission, Kayde is always watching me. So why the hell should I be shocked? “We think one of Shawn’s boys got a hold of a knife,” I tell him quickly. “Melody told me. I have no idea which kid, but Shawn’s cabin is definitely missing a few boys.” I point over in their general direction, where five boys mill around, looking bored.

“Yeah,” Kayde agrees. “Okay.” Without another word, he takes off as well, heading into the woods in a direction that neither Kins nor Liza had gone.

Before I can follow them, however, my wrist is grabbed again, and Melody glares up at me with determination. “Come on,” she tells me, like she’s the one in charge of making sure this doesn’t end badly.

“Melody, I have to look for?—”

“Come on!” she demands, and proceeds to drag me over to the place where Shawn’s cabin, Bobcat, is still hanging out after their run on the obstacle course. “Hey!” Her voice is loud enough that they hear her, and two of the boys look absolutely petrified of my little monster. “Where’s your friend?” she demands, finally dropping my wrist. “The one talking about the knife?”

Two of the boys trade looks, and as one opens his mouth with an unfriendly smirk on his face, I step between him and Melody. “Tell me or you’re all going home today with letters to your parents that you aren’t allowed back,” I inform all of them quietly. “Tell me now if this was a prank, or a lie, or what?—”

“Shawn doesn’t know.” The small, dark-haired boy stares up at me with wide eyes and two of his peers turn to scoff at him. “I can’t get sent home,” he snaps at them, shaking his head. “They were snooping around in Shawn’s room before breakfast. They found a knife. It-it’s one of those Swiss Army Knives, you know? With all the tools?”

Why in the world was Shawn leaving shit like that around for kids to find?

“Where and who?” I ask, eyes still on them. “Now.” I don’t have time to be nice right now. Not with my body vibrating with nerves.

“Alec. Umm, he has brown hair and glasses,” the boy tells me, glancing around at his friends. “We don’t know where he is, though.”

“Wouldn’t tell you if we did,” a blond boy sneers, and that prompts Melody into lunging forward, her hand going out to grip his shirt.

“Listen, fuck-face—” she hisses, right before I cut her off.

“Whoa, whoa Mel. Language.” Though, the words only get me three withering looks and Melody dragging the boy forward.

“Where is he?” she demands, eyes boring into his.

I’m about to tell her to stop. I’m about to say that he clearly doesn’t know when all of a sudden, under the weight of her gaze that holds the same kind of threat as Kayde’s, the boy visibly wilts. “He went back to the cabin with Nolan,” he whispers at last. “They were going to see what else they could find in?—”

I don’t let him finish. I set off at a run, meeting Daniel’s eyes and signaling for him to take charge of the kids. Between him and Darcy, I’m sure they can handle everyone for a bit. His surprise is clear, but he nods when he sees the urgency in my face.

I’m halfway to Bobcat before I realize Melody is still with me, the clips on her harness jingling with every step. “Go back!” I pant to her, tearing down the path. “Melody?—”

“I’ll go back once you find them,” she interrupts, meeting my eyes with her own stubborn gaze. God, I hate this kid sometimes. But I can recognize a fight I’ll struggle to win, so I shake my head and stop protesting.

I don’t have the mental bandwidth to worry about something else, anyway. Bobcat looms in front of me, and just as my feet hit the boards of the deck, I hear a yelp from inside, followed by a shriek.

Oh fuck.