The Secrets of Lake Road - Karen Katchur Page 0,29

She braced herself against the post and tugged harder. The trap lifted from the bottom. She kept pulling, leaning back to use more of her weight. “Anyone coming?” she asked.

Adam looked around. “No. Let me help you.” He grabbed farther down on the line and yanked.

Slowly, the trap rose to the surface.

“I see two snappers.” Adam’s voice lifted with excitement.

It was the second time today she was doing something she shouldn’t be. And it was thrilling. “I see them,” she said in a voice just as excited as Adam’s.

The trap could just about hold the two snappers. One looked to be the size of a Frisbee and the other was much larger, almost twice the size of the first. The big one stretched its neck and snapped. She and Adam jumped and dropped the line. They both watched as the trap sank to the bottom. The water was shallow enough for the turtles to come up through the holes in the trap to get air, to keep them alive.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said, and picked up the jug.

They jogged along the path beside the dock, dodging fresh droppings left by the ducks. The sun burned the tops of their shoulders and backs as the morning wore on. Adam’s face was flushed. Caroline’s T-shirt was wet under her arms. She had caught a whiff of her own body odor when she had pulled on the fishing line. She had started shaving under her arms a few months back, but sometimes she plain forgot to put on deodorant.

Once they were a safe distance from Stimpy’s pier, they slowed to a steady walk.

“What are they going to do with those snappers anyway? Eat them?” Adam scrunched up his face as though he had bitten down on something tart.

“No, I don’t think they want to eat them.” She switched the full jug to her other hand. “I think they want to tie lines to them and see where they lead.” She was giving him a roundabout answer. The dreams from the night before were still fresh in her mind, and the idea of the snappers feasting on little Sara’s body made her shiver.

“Oh.” He kept his head down. After a few moments he said, “You mean, they think they can find that little girl’s body by following the snappers.”

She paused, thinking about how to answer. She hated when adults held back the truth because they thought she was too young to hear it. Like the time she had overheard her father and mother talking about a procedure, a V-something or other. Her mother had been the one pressing for him to get one, and Caroline believed her mother was trying to hurt him. She had been worried and imagined all kinds of horrible outcomes of what this V-thing would do to her father, when she finally broke down and asked. Her mother had said it was none of her business and she wouldn’t understand anyway. So Caroline turned to Johnny. He had laughed at her, of course, but he had explained what a vasectomy was and why their father was getting one. She endured Johnny’s relentless ribbing and teasing for weeks after, and she chastised herself for always thinking the worst when it came to her mother. For once, she had been on her mother’s side, not wanting a baby brother or sister. Johnny was enough.

Adam looked up at her, his eyes round and innocent, but in them Caroline could see he wanted the truth, as all kids do. “Yes,” she said. “They’re hoping the snappers will lead them to Sara.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “That’s what I figured.”

A few more steps and they reached the parking lot where the recovery team gathered in what appeared to be a break in the search. Their watercraft was docked. They drank soda pop and ate sandwiches. Caroline looked toward the Pavilion and, sure enough, one of the doors was flung open. Maybe the snack stand had opened to feed the men. Sara’s parents were positioned on the hood of the car in the same position Caroline had found them hours earlier. A man dressed in recovery gear was talking with them. But other than the team and Sara’s parents, there wasn’t anyone else around.

“I better get home,” Adam said. “See you later.” He walked on the outer rim of the parking lot, staying far away from the scene.

Caroline took the same path through the woods to avoid the recovery team as well. Cougar announced her presence