She looked sharply at me. “People have come with injuries, diseases, as I am sure you can guess. You were out there. You know what it was like. Unfortunately, some guests have not made it.”
She motioned to the men to take Pastor Frank. “We’ll see to him,” she said.
They left then, taking the body with them.
I went to the older woman who was standing with the other bystanders. She had teared up. “Such bad luck,” she said, setting her hand on my arm. “He was a priest, wasn’t he? That is so unfortunate. We didn’t have any men of the holy cloth here until he arrived.”
The holy cloth. “You said, another accident?”
She nodded. “I was here on vacation when the outbreak began. I’ve seen so many newcomers found—it’s wonderful—but there have been a few unfortunate accidents. It’s so sad, to endure so much and then die in a fall or the like. Truly a shame. I’m sorry for your loss,” she told me and patted my arm. She turned, and with a small group of others, headed back to the hotel.
I joined Tom, Jamie, and Dusty. Buddie joined us a moment later. “He definitely did not slip and fall,” Buddie told us.
I gazed out at the lake. Beautiful pink and purple clouds, the last of the shimmering sunrise, were just dissipating.
“What do you mean?” Tom asked Buddie.
“I mean, however he died, it wasn’t like they said it was.”
They looked at me. I shook my head, not knowing what to say. I guess Rumor got her payback after all.
Jamie looked worried. “I need to check on Ian.”
I nodded. “Let’s make sure everyone else is accounted for,” I said, pulling the list of room numbers from my pocket.
“We’ll get it,” Dusty said, nodding to Buddie and taking the list from my hands.
“Who is with Frenchie? Tom, can you go check on her and the girls? I’m going after Pastor Frank’s body,” I said.
Tom nodded, and he, Buddie, and Dusty headed back to the hotel.
Jamie took me by the arm. “Wait for me.”
“Ian is so vulnerable. He needs you with him,” I replied. “I’ll be fine. I’ll come as soon as I get some answers. Besides, it’s daytime,” I said.
Jamie pulled me into a quick kiss, and we headed off in opposite directions. I went east, following the direction they had taken Pastor Frank. They’d went around the side of the hotel toward the back.
As I rounded the side of the island, I kept one watchful eye on the HarpWind and another on the nearby grounds. It was still very early, and the mist was just clearing. In some places it was still quite foggy. I had been walking past rows of small ponds when the mist got thick. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I felt the familiar buzz of the supernatural in the air. Carefully, I sought for the cliff-side to orient myself. As I neared it, the mist cleared. I could see very thick vegetation growing in a sloping angle toward the water, not a drop-off like the front of the hotel. And then, in the distance, for just a moment, I spotted tall trees that seemed to emerge from the misty side of the lake. Then, the brush rustled.
I pulled my sword.
A moment later a red fox appeared before me. She sat and looked expectantly at me. I knew at once the creature was not what she seemed. “Go ahead. I’ll follow,” I told her.
She trotted into the brush. At first it looked like I would need to slash a path through the thicket, but then I noticed some very old, eroded wooden stairs embedded in the slopping earth.
Pushing the thicket aside, I followed her.
Low to the ground, the fox bolted easily through the thickets. I, on the other hand, pushed my way through. Scratched from head to toe and covered in cobwebs, I finally emerged in a swampy area. High cattails grew there. I looked back. Only the roof of the HarpWind was visible.
Sitting on a grassy tuft, the fox waited. Once I’d turned to her, she led me across the wet terrain. Moments later we emerged on the rocky shoreline. In the distance were the tall trees I had spotted. They were on a small island that was, perhaps, fifty feet from the shore of Enita Island.
The fox bounced across the rocky shoreline to an old row-boat that sat on the rocks. She crawled inside and sat on the bench.
I walked over to the boat. There were oars inside.
“Are you sure?” I asked her.
She laid down.
I pushed the boat into the water and hopped in, expecting the old thing to sink at any minute. It didn’t. I pulled out the oars and rowed toward the neighboring island.
Within ten minutes, the prow of the row boat slid onto the gravel shoreline.
The fox hopped out and waited for me.
I jumped out and dragged the boat ashore. The island was very small but was dotted with exceptionally tall pine trees. The shoreline where we had landed was pebble, slopping upward to a very high bank.