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Alastair hissed and jumped down. No one could tell me that he didn’t understand English.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to adopt a dog. Not at this point in my life anyway. I really am much too busy to give a dog the attention he or she needs. I was just sharing facts about my day.”

Alastair trotted across the room and jumped up on my desk. He batted at the magazine I’d left there, which resulted in it being shoved off the desk onto the floor. I unfolded myself from the window seat and walked across the room. I picked the magazine up and then returned to the window where I settled in to check out the article on mining and caves in the area. Colorado had a rich mining history that dated back to the early eighteen hundreds. I knew there were all sorts of abandoned mines peppering the mountains surrounding Foxtail Lake. Maybe I would take the time to do the research and write a series of columns about the men and women who came from the east to strike it rich and ended up building settlements, many of which became the towns that still existed.

“Meow.” Alastair jumped up onto my lap. He batted at the magazine I’d been looking at.

“You seem antsy tonight,” I said, setting the magazine aside. “What’s going on? Do you feel okay?”

The sleek black cat jumped up onto a bookshelf that held books Gracie hadn’t wanted in her office but hadn’t wanted to get rid of either. He knocked several books to the floor and then came back over to where I was standing and did a circle eight between my legs. I bent down and picked him up. “Okay, let’s go to bed. Maybe you’re just tired. I want to get up early and get started on the articles Dex assigned to me, so an early night might be just the thing for me as well.”

On the way out, I picked up the books Alastair had knocked off the shelf. They were books on Colorado and its history. It was odd that I’d never spent any time looking into the place where I’d spent a good portion of my life. Perhaps Alastair was trying to tell me that there were answers to the questions of the present contained within the events of the past.

     

Chapter 4

Saturday

 

 

 

“Something was going on with the older kids on our campout,” Toby informed Cass and me during our video chat. “I’m not sure what exactly, but there were sly glances and whispered conversations I wasn’t invited to be a part of. I was pretty sure they didn’t want me there at all, but Josh’s mother had told him that if I couldn’t go, he couldn’t go. Josh’s mother babysat me when my mom was out of town, but Josh was often left doing the actual watching.”

“The police report said that the older kids made you go to bed early,” Cass said.

“That’s true. After we got to the lake, we set up camp. Once the camp was set up, we mostly broke up. Austin and Josh went in one direction, Colin in another, and I remember Bobby heading out with that camera of his.”

“Camera?” I asked.

“Bobby was the tenderhearted sort who didn’t like to fish, but he did like to hang out with the rest of us, so while we fished, he took photos of wildlife and stuff.”

“So, what did you and Larry do?” I asked.

“We both headed to the pond to fish. After a while, we all gathered back where we’d set up camp and ate the deli sandwiches we’d bought in town. After we ate, Josh told me I had to go to bed despite the fact it wasn’t even dark yet. I didn’t mind, though. We each had our own tent, so I had my privacy, and I’d brought a book to read and a flashlight to read it with.”

“And the other boys?” Cass asked.

“They built a fire and sat around telling ghost stories.” Toby paused. “Although, it does seem like Josh and Austin might have left for a while. I remember there were just a couple of kids by the fire for a while.”

“And did all the boys come back?” Cass asked.

He nodded. “By the time it got all the way dark, all five of the older boys were sitting by the fire.” He paused for a moment and then continued. “I remember they were drinking, and I’m pretty sure they were smoking weed. I was mad at all of them for dissing me the way they had, so I mostly ignored them.”

“Did you tell the investigating officer that weed and alcohol were involved at the time of the disappearance?” I asked.

“No,” he admitted. “The question was never directly asked, and I didn’t want Josh and the others to get into trouble because of something I said. I still had to go to Josh’s every other weekend while my mom was away. The last thing I needed was for him to be mad at me.”

I supposed that was understandable. “So walk me through the morning following your arrival at the lake,” Cass said. “You said you got up first.”

He nodded. “I did. When I got up, the fire had burned down, but there were still embers, so I stirred it up and tossed some new logs on the coals. I sat there by the fire by myself for a while, and then Colin got up. Colin was a bit of a jerk back then, and he wasn’t at all happy about the fact that Josh had been forced to bring me along, so he started talking smack. I got mad, grabbed my pole, and headed down to the lake. The spot I chose to fish was within sight distance of the camp, so I figured I’d keep an eye out for Josh, and once he’d gotten up, I’d go back and see if anyone had brought anything for breakfast.”

“And then?” Cass asked.

“And then everyone got up one by one. I don’t remember the order, but Josh was last except for Austin. When I returned to the group, everyone was talking about Austin. Colin knew I was the first one to get up, so he asked me if I’d seen him. I told the group that I hadn’t. One of the kids, I think Larry, made a comment about Austin being totally out of it the night before. Everyone seemed to assume he’d just wandered away and passed out. We looked for him for hours. After enough time had passed and we’d looked everywhere we thought to look, someone suggested we should go back into town and tell someone what happened. I stayed behind with Josh and Larry. Bobby and Colin hiked back into town to get help.”

“And then?” Cass asked.

“And then the cops came and took a look around. When they didn’t find anything, they brought in a bunch of other people. We were questioned separately and then together. It was total chaos.”

“Did it seem to you that the other boys were all telling the truth?” Cass asked.

“Well, everyone lied about getting wasted the night before,” he said. “And when asked what they talked about the previous night, they said they just told ghost stories, but I heard a lot of chatter from my spot in my tent about sex and bodily functions.”

“I meant, did you think anyone was lying about what they knew about Austin’s disappearance?” Cass clarified.

He frowned. “What do you mean? Do you think someone from the group did something to Austin?”

“I don’t know. I’m just asking if you thought anyone was keeping something to themselves rather than being totally honest,” Cass clarified.

Toby paused. I supposed to consider the question. “All the older kids were being careful about what they said. Heck, I was careful as well. We were all scared, and I think we all wanted to be sure we didn’t say anything to make it worse. I know I’d decided to keep quiet about the fact that the older boys had all gotten wasted, and I know none of the others mentioned it either.”

“Was anyone acting extra odd?” Cass asked.

He started to reply but then paused. He closed his mouth and started again. “Yeah. I guess I do remember thinking that Colin knew something he wasn’t saying. I don’t know why exactly. It was more of a vibe I was picking up. He was one of the ones who left the camp and the pond earlier in the day. Austin left as well, although they didn’t leave together. Still, maybe something happened while they were gone that Colin didn’t want to talk about.”