The Secrets of Lake Road - Karen Katchur Page 0,52
in him, how something so sweet could taste like poison.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Caroline looked over her shoulder not once but continuously. The light of the moon cut through the trees, distorting the shadows of branches on the ground. The lake water looked as dark as pitch, like a sharp, shimmering black hole. She had never been out this late at night, and as if she wasn’t paranoid enough, even the Pavilion looked ominous, old and abandoned.
She wound her way to the water’s edge, creeping past lakefront cabins, pausing to listen for any sounds. The horse and the legend lurked in the corners of her mind, making the hairs on the back of her neck bristle. She reached Adam’s place and slipped around back, stopping in front of his bedroom window. She tried not to think about what would happen if she got caught and tapped on the glass.
“Adam,” she whispered. Tap. Tap. Tap. “Wake up.” She strained to listen for any sounds coming from inside. Nothing. “Adam,” she said a little louder. Tap. Tap. Tap. A rustling came from in the room. The curtains parted, and Adam pressed his nose against the glass, trying to see outside. She stood back a few inches and waved.
“Caroline? Is that you?”
“Yeah, open up.”
He pushed the window up. She could just make out his big ears.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Get dressed. I need your help,” she whispered. “And be quiet.”
He didn’t ask for an explanation. She knew he wouldn’t. Adam might be only ten years old, but she knew how to spot a team player when she saw one. He’d help her without question. He’d want to help Sara. Caroline learned in the last few days that Megan was a different sort of friend, although which kind of friend Caroline couldn’t say.
Adam was who she trusted with her plan. She stepped into a shadow to hide and give him privacy. He came back to the window. It was a struggle, but they managed to pop the screen off without making too much noise. He climbed out. They stood quietly and listened for any sounds of his parents stirring.
When she thought it was safe to move, she crept back along the water’s edge. Adam followed behind.
“What are we doing?” he whispered.
“We’re releasing the snappers,” she said. She had counted at least half a dozen traps and guessed each one held two or more snappers apiece. The job was too big for one person.
He grabbed her arm so she’d stop walking. She turned to face him. His eyes were open wide. “Why?” he asked.
“So they don’t get Sara.”
“But don’t you want her found?”
She furrowed her brow. It was a complicated question and one with no easy answer. But he had crawled out of his window in the middle of the night, he could get into serious trouble, she could get into serious trouble. It was against the law to mess with a fisherman’s traps, and yet he was standing here. She owed him an explanation.
“Yes and no,” she said. “I want her found but not this way.” It was the best she could do. She didn’t know how to explain her dream, how Sara asked not to be found, how she wanted her mommy. The dream had felt real. And the least Caroline could do was not let Sara be found by the snappers. She had formulated a plan earlier that evening, lying in bed, too afraid to close her eyes. “She’s one of us,” she told him. A kid. It was personal. “And we owe it to her.”
Adam nodded. On some level, it was personal for him, too. Maybe it was his subtle way of getting back at Heil and the other adults for taking his treasured horse’s bit, for not speaking about the dangers of swimming in the lake, its history, what lies at the bottom.
“Are you in?” she asked, giving him one last chance to change his mind.
“I’m in.”
They continued to follow the water’s edge. Caroline’s sneakers sunk in the mud. Behind her, Adam was having the same difficulty. His feet made a sucking sound with each step. And then it stopped. She didn’t hear him anymore. She turned around. He was standing still, looking out at the lake. “Adam,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought I heard, like, a neighing sound or something.” He pointed to the sky. “But I couldn’t have. The moon isn’t full. You can only hear the horse during a full moon.”