Cass went to the supply room to get the balls and ropes, while I let the dogs that had been selected for playtime into the fenced-in yard. During the winter, we played with the dogs in the indoor playroom, but the snow had melted, and the grass was dry enough to play with the dogs without getting wet, so we decided that outdoors was the superior option.
“I received an email from Toby today,” Cass informed me. “We’re all set for a video conference at ten a.m. tomorrow. If you want to come to my office at nine-thirty, that will give us time to get set up and get our questions in order.”
“I can do that.” I tossed a ball across the lawn. “I’m not holding out a lot of hope that Toby will know anything, but it would be nice to pick up even a small clue. So far, this particular cold case is a regular iceberg.”
“If it was an easily solvable case, someone would have solved it years ago. I was just a kid when Austin went missing, same as you, but I do remember the overall atmosphere in town was one of terror and panic. I really believe everyone involved gave it a hundred and ten percent at the time he went missing. The fact that no trace was found wasn’t from lack of trying.”
“Yeah, Dex said he looked into things himself at one point and came up empty. I’m not sure why he thought I’d have any more luck than he did, but he asked me to try, so I intend to do just that.”
Cass bent down and ruffed the terrier who’d jumped up on his leg behind the ears. “You have had an uncanny success rate since you’ve been in the amateur sleuth game. I imagine that Dex is hoping your lucky streak will continue, and you’ll notice something no one else has.”
“I hope so. For Dex’s sake, if nothing else.” I picked up a frightened beagle mix and cuddled her to my chest. “It’s okay, sweet thing. I’m not sure how you ended up here, but Naomi is going to take good care of you.”
The poor dog was shaking, so I held her tightly and began to rock slightly as I whispered into her ear. She eventually began to relax. Before I left, I’d tell Naomi how frightened the poor thing was. Knowing Naomi, she’d bring her into her home for a day or two until she adjusted to her new circumstances.
“I did learn one thing today that you might find interesting. I know I did,” Cass said.
“Oh? And what’s that?” I asked.
“There’s a footpath at the south end of Logan Pond. If you follow that footpath, it will lead to the river that feeds into Logan Pond. There is a large flat meadow about a quarter of a mile up the river where people who don’t camp at the pond often set up. On the day it was realized Austin was missing, a wide range search was conducted. The lead investigator noted in his report that there was evidence of a recent camp in this meadow.”
“How recent?” I asked.
“Very recent. Not only was there a spot on the grass that was still flattened out from the tent that had been set up near the river, but there was evidence of a very recent fire in the homemade fire pit. The investigator noted that there were still warm coals beneath the layer of dirt someone had used to cover the fire before abandoning the campsite.”
“So it seems likely that there were other campers in the area on the night Austin disappeared.”
Cass nodded. “Yes, it does seem likely. Unfortunately, the individual or individuals who camped there were never identified. A search was conducted for any sort of physical evidence that would identify the campers, but none was found. There were heartfelt pleas published in the newspaper for information relating to whoever might have camped there, but no useful information was obtained.”
“So maybe the second set of campers was responsible for whatever happened to Austin.”
“Maybe.” Cass tossed several balls in rapid succession, causing most of the dogs to take off in different directions. “Without any physical evidence, it was impossible to know who’d camped there. Initially, the police hoped someone would come forward and admit to being in the area, or perhaps someone who knew who’d been in the area would say something, but no one ever did.”
“And the person or persons who camped there didn’t leave anything behind? Trash maybe. Something with a fingerprint or DNA.”
Cass shook his head. “The only thing that was found was a few specs of dried tobacco.”
“So, the person or persons who camped there probably smoked.”
“The investigator believed that the person or persons who camped there rolled their own cigarettes. The tobacco left behind looked to have been dropped as someone poured tobacco onto a paper for rolling. There wasn’t enough tobacco to identify the brand or any other distinguishing feature, but it was something I suppose. Something that never led anywhere, but still, it was something.”
“If the camp was only half a mile from where the boys were camping, it stands to reason that those individuals might have seen or heard something.”
“Perhaps,” Cass agreed, “but that was a long time ago. The campers were never identified back then, and it seems near impossible to identify them now.”
I supposed Cass had a point. The second campsite probably was a dead end at this point, but I still had to wonder if the person or persons camping by the river weren’t actually the bad guys in our little drama.
“Do you want to get dinner tonight?” Cass asked.
“I do. I need to run over to the main house and talk to Naomi about the change in my training schedule first.”
“Why don’t you do that while Milo and I put the dogs in their pens and clean-up.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “I won’t be long.” I handed Cass the balls I was holding and headed toward the main house.
Naomi’s shelter housed animals in addition to dogs and cats. In fact, she seemed to be willing to take in any animal in need. I looked for her in her small house near the river but ended up finding her in the llama barn.
“I hoped you’d stop by before you left,” Naomi greeted.
“I wanted to ask you about Nala’s training. Should I plan to attend the Tuesday class with her, or do you have other plans?”
“The Tuesday class is fine. I’m going to have both you and Sherry work with her individually during the week. She’s such a sweet young thing. I’d really like to get her placed in the perfect home.”
“Okay. Tuesdays and Fridays still work for me.”
“I noticed that she is really good at playing hide and seek,” Naomi added. “If we can get her on board with the behaviors taught in the basic training class, and she isn’t adopted right away, I may try her with the search and rescue group. I was told she was a pit bull mix when she was dropped off, so I know she has terrier in the mix, but I think her mother might have been bred with a dog from the hound family. I like the way she naturally sniffs out her environment.”
“She’s really energetic, and I can tell that even though she has issues, she wants to please, so maybe she would make a good scent dog. I’ll throw in a game or two of hide and seek while I’m working with her.”
“Sounds good. I appreciate all the time you put in around here.”
“I’ve been pretty busy with my job at the newspaper, but my work here is important, so I want to be sure to make time for it.”
“How is your investigation into Austin’s disappearance going?” she asked.
“Slowly,” I answered with a definite hint of frustration in my voice. “But I’m not giving up. Cass has been helping a lot, and between the two of us, we’ve managed to gather a few random facts that didn’t seem to come up during the first investigation, but in the end, we’re both totally lost. Unless we can find someone who actually knows something and was too scared to come forward back then but is willing to now, I really think this might end up being nothing more than a wild goose chase.”