The Secrets of Lake Road

Johnny and his friends stormed onto the beach. Chris ran straight for the lake, shouting at the hysterical woman, “How old?”


“Seven,” Sara’s mother cried out. “She’s seven.”

Caroline watched as Chris dove under. Johnny bumped into her arm as he pushed past her through the crowd. He ran into the lake, diving into the water near Chris. The hair on her arms stood up, and a chill climbed up her spine even as moisture gathered on her forehead in the hot sun.

“Johnny!” she yelled, suddenly terrified for her brother’s safety.

A woman in the crowd asked, “What’s the girl’s name?”

“Sara,” another man said.

Someone called out, “I’ll check the Pavilion. Maybe she wandered off inside.”

Other men in the crowd began peeling off their shirts and rushing into the lake. Some did a surface sweep, looking for signs of the girl above the water. Others dove like seals, plunging into the murky depths, popping up to the surface, only to plummet once again. Bystanders collectively held their breath. When either Johnny’s or Chris’s head emerged from the dark ripples, Caroline allowed herself to breathe with them.

Heil joined the group on the beach. “Help is on the way,” he said to the few adults nearby. His face was grim. Sweat stained the navy blue T-shirt pulled tight across his expansive stomach. He wiped his brow.

Caroline stared at the lake and laced her arm through Megan’s, needing to hold onto something, someone. The sun glared, scorching the top of her head. Sweat trickled down her back. She made a promise to herself that if Sara was found, she would play with her, swim with her, watch over her, and never let her out of her sight for the rest of the summer.

“Pavilion’s empty,” a woman said.

Caroline recognized the woman as one of the cabin owners in the colony. She had two boys, four and six years old. Caroline had watched them learn to swim in the shallow end of the lake last summer. Now their mother wrapped her arms around their shoulders and pulled them close. She kissed the tops of their heads, and Caroline imagined she was grateful they were safe by her side.

Several long minutes passed.

Some of the men who had started out strong in their search slowly swam toward the beach. Their breathing was heavy, and their faces lined with defeat. Johnny and Chris were still out there, diving down, trying to reach bottom. Searching. But too much time had gone by. Sara had been under too long. The crowd had grown quiet. Caroline’s entire body shook from the inside out.

A siren cut the silence. The sheriff’s vehicle pulled into the parking lot. In the next few seconds an underwater rescue and recovery truck pulled into the lot, towing a boat. The spectators parted as Heil opened the gate for the sheriff and the recovery team to enter the beach area. A diving crew worked hard to unload the watercraft. More sirens shattered the air, and an ambulance pulled alongside the truck. Medics jumped out carrying first aid gear.

The man from the snack stand grabbed ahold of Sara’s mother and led her to shore. Medics rushed to her side. She rocked back and forth, back and forth. A shrill moan escaped from her lips. One of the medics guided her to sit in the sand and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. A man from the recovery team, the one who looked to be in charge, asked her questions about Sara, trying to determine the last time she had seen her, the possible location in the water where she could have disappeared.

Two other members on the recovery team asked the crowd to back up. Johnny emerged from the water and dropped onto the beach. Chris followed a few seconds later and collapsed next to Johnny. Some of Johnny and Chris’s friends joined them. “Man, that was brave,” one of them said. Tank-top girl hugged Johnny.

A part of Caroline wanted to hug him too, tell him he was stupid and brave and how proud she was to be his little sister. The other part knew he’d only blow her off in front of his friends. And still, another part, a deep down unreasonable part, felt as if he had somehow failed her for not finding Sara alive.

*

The sheriff and the underwater recovery team talked with parents and potential witnesses. A man stood at the top of the high dive, surveying the lake. Four men on the recovery team, two in dry suits, loaded the boat and began searching the swimming area around the pier and diving boards. The process was slow, methodical. Caroline knew they had to search with zero visibility. And Sara was small, so small.

She had told the man from underwater recovery, the one who appeared to be in charge, she had last seen Sara on the pier. What she had wanted to tell him but somehow couldn’t, was to search deep where the diving boards were located, where Sara had overheard the boys daring each other to try to touch the bottom of the lake. But how could she tell him what she was afraid had happened without sounding guilty? When had adults ever listened to kids?