Everywhere That Tommy Goes (18 page)

When he says that, it hits me like a punch in the gut. I literally stop breathing for a half a minute. Then I turn and run off toward this beat-up old place set in the woods just outside of camp. We were told to stay clear of this place because it was supposedly haunted. Of course, back then, we believed all that scary ghost shit.

The path to the shack is still here and easy to follow, even in the dark.

Just like when I was a kid, I stop five feet from the door and stare. My heart thumps against my chest. The place hasn’t changed one bit, and I’m still scared to death to even open the door.

Troyer slaps me across the back of my head. “Go ahead, mate. Open it. The worst is over now.”

I turn and look at him.

“Don’t be afraid, Tommy Boy,” he says to me grinning. “You’re all grown-up now. Whatever lurks behind that door can’t hurt you.”

Still hesitating, I step forward and reach for the knob.

“Go ahead, mate. She’s right on the other side. No need to fret about it.”

I look back at Troyer, turn the handle, and walk inside.

The room is vacant except for a broken wood chair lying haphazardly on its side, ropes sprawled out around it. An empty dinner plate looks out of place on the floor nearby.

CHAPTER 52

Parker and his men met Stone and Watts at the entrance to Camp Lakewood.

“The GPS tells us that the car is in here, Captain,” Stone said.

“So who are these guys anyway?” asked Parker.

“Guys? We only know about one, and his name is Sullivan—Thomas Sullivan. We’ve tracked him from Manhattan through New Jersey to Cape May and now up here. We believe he’s with a girl named Alice Storm. It’s actually her car that we’ve tracked.”

“And you think he’s responsible for this crime spree?”

“We believe so,” Watts said.

“You don’t sound so convinced,” Parker said.

“As convinced as we can be at this point, Captain.”

“Well, the girl who was kidnapped said there were two men.”

“Really?” said Stone. “Are you sure it was two men and not a man and a woman?”

“She heard men’s voices.”

“I see,” said Stone. “But our intel suggests it’s a man and a woman. Maybe she didn’t hear the voices clearly. After all, she must have been in shock.”

“True, she was very scared when I spoke with her. But she was clear that she heard two men speaking when she was locked in the trunk. Maybe they had a girl with them, too. Whatever it is, if they’re here we’ll find them. I’m very familiar with the camp layout. I can map out a plan of attack.”

“Sounds good, Captain. Just keep in mind that we’d like to take them without any violence. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt, and if the girl is with them we have to be extra careful.” Tanner looked out toward the grounds. “So what can you tell us about this place?”

Parker motioned with his hands as he spoke. “The bunks form a complete circle around the main center of the camp. Picture a clock with boy’s camp from one o’clock to five o’clock and girl’s camp from seven o’clock to eleven o’clock. The infirmary separates them at twelve o’clock, and the mess hall separates them at six o’clock. Let’s send out three groups, all starting at the mess hall. One group will move clockwise from bunk to bunk, one counter-clockwise. You and I will go straight up the middle.” Parker looked at Watts, “Detective, why don’t you join one of my crews?”

Watts looked at his partner, then back at Parker. “Captain, with all due respect, I think I’m better off on my own, maybe looking for the car or something.”

“Fine with me,” Parker said, nodding.

CHAPTER 53

I stand at the doorway staring at the empty room. “What the hell, man? It looks like she escaped.”

“What was your first clue, Tommy Boy?”

“We’ve got to find her.”

“No, mate—you’ve got to find her. Me, I’ll be on my way. I’ve served my purpose.”

With that, Troyer turns and runs out the door.

I shout after him, “Troyer! Wait!” But it’s useless; he’s gone. Ditched me again.

I run outside and look into the woods, but it’s totally dark out. With almost no moon, it’s hard to see. I’ve got to find Aurora.

I head back up the hill toward the camp. As I get closer, I see flashlights flickering through the bunk windows. I stop moving and hide behind a tree.
Holy shit, how’d they find us so fast?
My stomach twists up in a knot, and I double over in pain. My heart starts hammering, and my head starts pounding. I need my pills, but they’re in the car.

I’ve got to get out of here fast. I take a breath and try to relax. I can’t go back to the car, so the only way out is by the lake. I can grab a canoe and paddle across the lake to Camp Seneca.

The woods are all creepy when it’s dark, but I slowly make my way back down the hill toward the water. Then I start thinking about the stories they used to tell at camp about a guy they called the “Pillowcase Killer.” Supposedly, this guy wore a pillowcase over his head with
two holes cut out for his eyes and one cut out for his nose. There was nothing cut out for his mouth, though, because he couldn’t talk. The story was that his tongue had been sliced off in prison. Anyway, this guy would hide out in the woods around the lake, between the two camps, and if you wandered into the forest after dark, he’d grab you and that would be the end. Now that I think about it, after Ellen disappeared, the kids all said it was the Pillowcase Killer. No one was ever allowed in the woods after dark again.

The echo of a screeching bird cuts right through me, and I stop dead in my tracks. My whole body shivers, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

It’s chilly out, but I’m sweating something awful.

I get this metallic taste in my mouth and drop to my knees feeling like I’m gonna puke. I kneel there dry-heaving.

After a few minutes, the wave passes. I get up and continue slowly toward the lake. It’s almost pitch-black in the woods. The trees are blocking the moonlight, so I’m practically feeling my way from tree to tree, watching every step.

Finally, I break out of the woods, and the glow of the moon shines over the water. I ease over to the boathouse, take a paddle, and make my way over to the boat dock. The canoes are secured with lines tied to cleats. I untie one, climb in, and quietly set off across the lake. I keep close to the shore, near the shadows, because out in the middle, even the dim light from the moon still lights up the water.

CHAPTER 54

A shadow darted between two bunks on the boy’s side of camp. Stone saw it first. Pointing, she whispered, “Parker, over there. I saw something move.”

“Okay, follow me, and stay low.”

The pair quickly crossed the open area by the main field and made their way to the bunks. The flimsy cabins were set on cinderblock supports that elevated them above the ground. There was just enough room for an average-sized adult to crawl underneath, though few would have wanted to—for fear of meeting up with a snake, a rat, or some other unpleasant creature.

Reaching the front corner of the middle bunk, Parker put his finger to his lips in a gesture for silence. He motioned for Stone to move to the front of the next bunk while he went around back. The two separated.

Parker crept around to the rear and disappeared into the darkness. Stone slid stealthily, crouching along the wall as she advanced.

The night was eerily still, and little could be heard other than an odd squeak, chirp, or howl. Parker stopped behind the bunk near the edge of the trees and listened. Suddenly, he heard the snap of twigs a few yards into the woods. He cupped his ear with his hand and waited, trying to lock in the direction of the noise.

Again: a snap, further in.

Isolating it, Parker tiptoed toward the sound and squinted. It was so dark he could barely see five feet in front of him, but he didn’t want to use his flashlight, afraid it would alert whoever was ahead of him.

The soft crush of footsteps upon dead leaves was barely audible, but Parker heard it again and followed. Cautiously moving closer and closer, his eyes adjusting to the dark, he made out the silhouette of a body hunched over only yards ahead of him.

Covering the distance in seconds, he leapt at the figure and tackled hard.

CHAPTER 55

The lake is like a sheet of glass, so I don’t want to make any waves. I cut through it silently, forcing the paddle deep and pulling it back in a slow, even motion—the way I learned when I was a kid.

Floating out here, it’s so damn peaceful I have to stop and take it all in. So many thoughts and foggy memories keep flashing in front of me, and I finally have the time to process it. I start to drift, stare up at the sky, and force myself back to that night with Ellen. I still can’t wrap my head around that shit. For all these years, the only thing I remembered was having sex with her for the first time in my life. And the memory was a good one. I had completely blocked out her being killed or anything else about what had happened at camp after that. Now, it’s sort of coming back to me, but more like a dream. I kind of remember the cops searching everywhere for her, all us kids being scared, and lots of moms and dads coming to take their kids out of camp. But even though Troyer made me see it with my own eyes, it still doesn’t feel like I did it. I mean, I must’ve, but it still doesn’t seem real.

Now, here I am on this very same lake, chilling in a canoe, and it’s so quiet and incredibly beautiful with all the stars sparkling in the sky.

Some crazy shit, man. I just can’t figure it.

I start paddling again, slowly making my way closer to Camp Seneca.

CHAPTER 56

“Get off me, you animal!” Aurora screamed as she wrestled to break free of Parker’s grip.

Parker quickly released his hold on her and helped her up. “I’m sorry, miss! I thought you were someone else. I didn’t mean you any harm. I’m a police officer.”

“Yeah, well, you could have killed me.”

“Again, I’m so sorry, but what are you doing out here?”

“I was kidnapped by a lunatic. I just escaped, and I was running for my life when you tackled me.”

“Okay, slow down. You’re safe now. We’ve got a lot of backup looking for this guy . . . Thomas Sullivan, right?”

“Tommy! No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s not Tommy . . . it’s this guy Troyer— Troyer Savage.”

“Who?”

“Troyer Savage. I don’t know the guy; I just know his name.”

Stone raced over, shining a flashlight. “What’s going on here?”

“Stone, you need to hear this,” Parker said. “She says a guy named Troyer Savage kidnapped her.”

Stone shone the flashlight in Aurora’s face. “Troyer Savage! We thought you were abducted by Thomas Sullivan.”

“Well, you’re wrong,” Aurora shouted. “It was a wacko named Troyer Savage.”

“Okay calm down. Tell us all about it.”

“It’s like I said, I was taken by Troyer Savage. Tommy is a friend of mine. He had nothing to do with it.”

Stone reached out and took Aurora’s hand. “Look: we’re only here to help. If you say Tommy isn’t our guy and you have information that incriminates Savage, we’re good with that. But you have to tell us everything. It’s not just this crime we’re investigating.”

“Believe me: I know, but I need to be sure that you understand that Tommy is innocent.”

“I promise we’ll consider all the evidence,” Stone said. “Just give us something more to go on.”

Deep in thought, Aurora hesitated, looked at Parker, then back to Stone. “Okay, it’s like this.” Aurora took a breath and then began speaking rapidly. “Tommy and I met in Cape May, and he told me about this guy Troyer—supposedly a friend of his. As it turns out, Troyer was hardly his friend. He actually killed some girl up in New York and left Tommy to clean up his mess. Then he followed Tommy down to New Jersey and killed another girl, making it look like Tommy did it. I tried to get Tommy to go to the cops, but he was afraid to. We came up here to hide, while we figured out a way to prove that Tommy was innocent. Somehow Troyer must have tracked us down, and while Tommy was out, Troyer kidnapped me and brought me here. When he left me alone, I escaped.” She thumbed at Parker, “Then this guy jumped me, and here we are.”

“That’s quite a story,” said Stone, “but you seem to be handling the situation quite well.”

Aurora laughed uncomfortably. “Actually, I am totally freaked-out right now. But I’m not some petrified little schoolgirl. I don’t sit around all teary-eyed and helpless. That’s not my style. I’ve gone through a lot of shit in my life, and I can take care of myself. Been on my own
for some time and even learned a bit about handling guys. I mean, yeah, I was scared, but deep-down inside, I knew I’d be okay.”

“I’m impressed,” remarked Stone. “For the record, most victims—men included—would be sobbing and thanking us for saving them and unable to give us any useful information.”

“I don’t mean to disappoint you,” Aurora answered, “but I’m not like most people—
men included
.”

“I’m beginning to see that, Aurora, so may I continue?”

“Go right ahead.”

“Okay, then, how long have you known Thomas Sullivan?”

Aurora’s response was quick. “As I said, we met in Cape May.”

“You’ve known him for less than a week?”

“Not exactly. You see, we actually met a long time ago, when we were kids. But I hadn’t seen him in like twenty years. Then, just last week he walked into my store. It took a few minutes until we recognized each other.”

“I see. And so even though you haven’t seen him in all this time, you’re certain he didn’t commit these crimes?”

“Hey, I knew him then and I feel like I know him now. I can just tell. Tommy’s gentle and honest. And if Tommy did what you’re saying he did, why would Troyer kidnap me?”

“I don’t know,” Stone said, shaking her head. “That’s what I aim to find out.”

“Well, you better start looking for Troyer,” Aurora insisted. “He’s the one you should be after.”

“Okay, then—help us, here. What does he look like?”

“Umm . . . I don’t know. When he kidnapped me, I never saw his face. He brought me here blindfolded and tied me up.”

“So you have no idea at all?” Stone asked.

“No idea.”