Chapter 5

FIVE

Panic rose up the back of Josie Campbell’s throat, cramping her belly and taking her breath away as the news came over the radio. It had been twelve long years since that Halloween night in the forest with her friends. Twelve long years of keeping a secret, unable to utter a word or even mention the names of the friends they’d buried inside the cave. The terrible nightmare had faded from her memory but now it was front and center. Every excruciating, vivid, and horrifying detail of that night flashed across her mind. As the newsreader requested information about anyone going missing approximately twelve years ago in Black Rock Falls, it was obvious that they’d found the bodies. With trembling fingers, she lifted her phone and called Marissa Kendrick. Many things had happened since that night in the forest. A few of the group of friends had married. All had careers and a life. Everything would be ruined if the truth came out. The phone rang and when the voice of her friend came through the speaker it was evident that Marissa had heard the news as well. “I’m guessing you’ve heard the news, Marissa?”

“Yeah. It was quite a shock, but think about it. It’s been twelve years and there wouldn’t be any evidence left to point to us. Only our small group of friends knows the truth and I’m not guessing that any one of them plans on speaking to the cops. We all have lives now and what happened was a stupid mistake. I figure we should just go about as normal and deny everything if anyone asks us any questions. If we all stick together like we did before, no one is ever going to find out what happened.”

Sick to the stomach, Josie hugged her belly. “We need to have a meeting so we can discuss what to do. We can’t use the phone because I don’t call the others very often, maybe once or twice every few years. It will look suspicious if the cops check out our phones and suddenly we’re calling each other the moment the media releases the information. I can walk into town and use a payphone to speak to Jess. Maybe he’ll be able to contact one of the others.”

“Lily Jones is my hairstylist, so I’ll drop by the beauty parlor and speak to her.” Marissa sounded calm and in control, but she’d always been the strong one . “We’ll have to meet somewhere where no one will see us. What about the Old Mitcham Ranch , where we used to hang out at Halloween when we were in high school? I doubt it will be flooded on that side of town. We’ll see if we can arrange to be there at seven tomorrow night. No one will see us there. It’s very isolated.” She heaved in a deep breath. “I’ll drop by different stores and purchase a few burner phones. You do the same. Don’t purchase two in the same place and use cash. We’ll be able to keep in touch then and no one will know.”

Nodding, Josie sucked in a deep breath. “Yeah, that would work. I’ll tell Bob I’m going to the store. He’ll be watching TV and will never miss me.” She let out her breath in relief. “We can exchange phone numbers of the burners when we meet up at the Old Mitcham Ranch.”

“Okay.” Marissa sighed. “ Don’t stress. We’ve been doing this for twelve years and we can hold our tongues for as long as it takes. I’ll see you tomorrow at seven. Bring a flashlight.” She disconnected.

As Josie’s heart rate slowly returned to normal, she stared at her reflection in the glass-fronted cabinet. The young college girl who had kept a deadly secret no longer existed. She’d worked from home as a teleworker. Her husband, Bob Campbell, was in construction and they had no kids by choice. She gathered her things together, pulled on her coat, and headed for the door. She needed to speak to Jess Hallon. She’d dated him in college, but after what happened, they’d drifted apart and he’d married and now had a son. As he was the manager of his parents’ ranch, his phone number was all over town on advertisements for prime beef. Contacting him would be easy.