Finding Hannah (9 page)

“What do you think Wiz is doing right now?” Molly asked.

“He’s either reading a computer magazine or having an argument with Rosella.”

Molly laughed. “Is he your best friend?”

“Yeah.”

Molly rested her head back on the rocks.

“Do you have a best friend?” I asked.

Molly looked at me. She opened her mouth to talk, then stopped herself.

“I mean, one back in Boston?” I asked.

The frown on her face made me wish I’d never asked.

Molly looked at the shoreline.

I was left in silence, wondering if she was going to say anything. I tried to come up with something to say, but then she said, “Dylan, do you remember how Tony called me an arsonist?”

I nodded.

Her head rolled forward and her shoulders dropped as she looked down at the water flowing past us.

“If you want to talk about it,” I said, “that’s fine. You don’t have to explain anything to me if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want you to think I—it’s just … I want you to know. I want you to hear it from me.”

“Okay.”

Molly sat up. “I told you my dad died two years ago. He was on his way home one night when he was hit by a drunk driver who’d run a red light.

The drunk driver was charged with vehicular manslaughter. Since it was the man’s first offense, they allowed him to plead guilty to a lesser charge. I was in the courtroom when the man told the judge he was sorry and he’d never drink again. The judge gave him a fine, four months of house arrest, and some community service.

“About six months later I was biking home from school when I saw the man’s truck parked outside a local sports bar. He owned one of those hideous jacked-up trucks. It was the same truck that killed my dad. I saw him up on a balcony, drinking and laughing with his buddies.

“I snapped. I knew he lived a few miles from us. I biked to a local gas station and bought a gas can and filled it up. I went to his house, dumped the gas into the mail slot on his front door, and lit his house on fire. I rode away feeling justice had finally been served.

“When I got home I could see the black smoke from the fire. I thought about what my dad would think. I heard sirens and thought about the firemen and the danger I had put them in. I got really scared. The fire department found the gas can I’d left on the man’s front lawn with the price tag still on it. The gas station had footage of me buying it and filling it up.”

She picked up a stone from the river bottom and stared at it. “It wasn’t the smartest crime ever committed.

“I was arrested. I pled guilty and was sentenced to twelve months in juvenile detention. We were hit with a $50,000 fine, which cleaned out what was left of my dad’s life insurance policy. We were ordered to pay to fix the man’s house, which basically meant we lost our house and any savings.

“After my dad died, my mom was in rough shape. They’d loved each other very much and, without my dad, my mom was lost. When I was sentenced, I didn’t hear from her for four months. I sat in the juvenile detention center wondering if she’d just left and I’d never see her again. Those were the hardest four months of my life. That was when I began writing those letters to my dad. I know now that that is when she turned to drugs.

“When my mom finally came to see me, she cried her eyes out, apologizing for not contacting me, but I could tell she was still furious. After my year was up and I got out, everything had changed. My mom was already dating Tony. Dating really isn’t the right word. She was completely dependent on him. She had no money and no job and Tony took her in and … the mom I knew was gone. I don’t know who she is anymore. She’s an addict, and it’s my fault.”

Molly threw the stone.

“When my dad died, I stopped spending time around friends. After the fire, I didn’t have any friends left.”

We sat in silence for a moment, and then Molly said, “I really screwed up my life.” She dropped her head into her hands.

“I don’t care about your past,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. “I care about who you are. You’re an amazing person who I love being around. I’ve only known you for such a short time, but I know we’re going to be good friends.”

“Thank you.” Molly wiped her eyes and gave me a hug.

Chapter 7

Molly and I spent the rest of the evening searching and returned to camp at sundown. We were beyond tired as we ate two MREs that tasted like burnt oatmeal, then climbed into the tent to get ready for sleep.

Even though it was cooler than before, it was still warm enough that Molly and I lay on top of our sleeping bags. Crickets and cicadas buzzed away, making the forest seem alive. Molly wore shorts and a tank top as she lay on her stomach, writing her dad another letter. I was shirtless in shorts as I fiddled with the GPS unit.

Molly and I jumped when the satellite phone rang in the same obnoxious tone.

“I have to do something about that ring,” I said. “Hello.”

“Dylan,” Dad said, “how is the search going?”

“It’s been hot, but we’ve covered a lot of ground.”

“How is Molly doing?”

“She’s good. How are Mom and Amy holding up?”

“Your mother is at Aunt Jackie’s tonight. She’s still mad at me for letting you search for Hannah. Amy is the same. She continues to struggle with all this. It’d be a good idea if you’re home for her birthday.”

“It’s in three days. I know. I’ll be there.”

“Any problems?”

“Nope, just your satellite phone has the most obnoxious ring ever.”

He laughed. “How is your food holding up?”

“We’re good on food,” I looked at Molly and then added, “unless the bears come and take it.”

Molly shot me a look that showed she didn’t think I was funny.

“Is your Internet tracking working?” I asked.

“Yes, it is. I’m looking at your location right now. We also got called to a residence yesterday about two miles from your camp. A dad and his daughter were outside when they heard someone trespassing on their property run off while a phone was ringing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Did they describe the ringing phone as loud and obnoxious?”

“I didn’t take the call. The report didn’t use the word obnoxious.”

“Then it wasn’t us. Trust me. They would have described it as loud and obnoxious.”

“Hmmm …” he said. I wondered if I was about to get a lecture. “All right, I’ll let you go. I love you. Have a good night.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

Molly continued writing in her notebook. I powered down the GPS and put the phone away. Then I pulled out the picture of Hannah and me. It had been taken in Washington, D.C., on a family vacation after we climbed to the top of the Washington Monument.

“I’m finished,” Molly said. “Do you want to hear what I wrote?”

“Sure.”

“Here you go.” She held the note near the flashlight. “Hey Dad, Dylan and I are on day two of our second expedition searching for Hannah. Today was really hot. We swam again and I showed Dylan the dead man’s float. Now I don’t have to worry about him drowning. He’s getting the hang of swimming and he’s my best student ever. Okay, he’s my only student, but he’s still my best. I told Dylan about what I did to earn my stay at the juvenile detention center. I’m nervous he might be gone in the morning after he makes a run for it. I wouldn’t blame him, especially after I introduced him to the biggest loser in the state of New Hampshire.” Molly looked at me and smiled. “I’ll write you again soon! I love you, Dad! Molly.”

I thanked her for reading it.

She put her pencil and her notebook away and rolled on her side facing me. “Do you ever wonder what your life will be like when you leave home?”

I thought about it and said, “Maybe a little.”

“I think about it a lot.”

“What do you think it’ll be like?” I asked.

“It’ll be great,” Molly said. “I’ll live in my own house and have friends over all the time. I’ll have pets, maybe a cat or at least an aquarium full of tropical fish. Best of all, Tony won’t live there.”

“I just can’t wait until I can drive,” I said. “Then I could come over and hang out at your house.”

“You can come over anytime you want.” Molly rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling of our tent.

I realized how good I had it compared to Molly. The reason I hadn’t thought much about life after living in my parents’ house was because I really liked living with my family. Hannah and I didn’t always get along, but I couldn’t ask for a better older sister. I remembered her sitting on the couch showing me her tattoo, and I felt another pang of guilt for not waking up while someone forced her out of her bed at gunpoint.

I wished I could introduce Molly to Hannah. I thought about Molly and her mom, and what it must have been like to go to the detention center. I couldn’t imagine four months of silence from my mom. I looked at Molly and remembered what she said while we sat in the river, about how it was her fault her mom was an addict.

“I have an idea.” I turned to face her, sitting cross-legged.

“What is it?”

“I want to make a deal with you,” I said. “You should know this deal is huge.”

“What is it?” Molly sat up and faced me.

“I’ve never done anything like this before. This is really big for both of us.”

“Tell me.”

“A deal like this between friends is a once-a-decade kind of thing.”

She pushed me lightly on the shoulder. “Would you tell me already?”

“Here we go. I told you I blame myself for allowing Hannah to be taken. You told me you blame yourself for what has happened to your mom. Here’s my deal. I will agree to stop blaming myself for Hannah being taken if you agree to stop blaming yourself for what has happened to your mom.”

I watched Molly consider this. It was as if she was searching my face for a loophole or a trick.

“Dylan, you didn’t kidnap Hannah, but I set that house on fire.”

“It may be true you set the fire, but it was your mom who chose to date Tony. It was your mom who chose to do drugs, and it was your mom who chose not to be the person you remember.”

Molly looked me in the eyes as she considered this.

“So, do we have a deal?” I asked.

Molly seemed deep in thought. “I don’t know.”

“A deal like this doesn’t come around often,” I said. “Do you think your dad would want you blaming yourself for what has happened to your mom? Do you think he’d want you to make this deal?”

Molly looked at me and slowly smiled. “Okay, but the same goes for you,” Molly said. “We’re going to have to help each other out to make sure we stick to this deal.”

“I will help you make sure you don’t blame yourself about your mom.”

“And I’ll do the same for you about Hannah being taken.”

“Good,” I said. “Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal,” she said.

“We have to spit-shake on it,” I said.

“Spit-shake?”

“You know, spit-shake.”

I cleared my throat with a rumble and then spit into my hand. “Oh, that’s a good one, too. Hurry up, it’s sliding off.” I held out my hand.

Molly looked at me like I was crazy, but then she spit into her hand.

Our combined saliva was squishy on our palms as we shook hands. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to have someone like Molly as a friend.

* * *

Molly and I awoke to a perfectly still morning. A light fog surrounded our camp. The fog lifted by the time we finished our dried bananas and berry granola bars. We left our packs in the tent and carried just a small pack with the GPS, satellite phone, and our lunch. Hiking was easy as it was cool under the overcast skies until midafternoon.

“Do you hear that?” Molly asked.

We stopped as we looked out over a green canopied valley spotted with rock outcroppings. It took a moment. I recognized what sounded like an engine in the distance. Whatever was making the muffled sound seemed to be moving. The whir of the engine would grow in volume, become quiet for a moment, then return.

“It sounds like an ATV,” I said. “Come on, let’s check it out.”

We hiked down toward the bottom of the valley, and the noise grew louder. We made our way down the hill and hid behind a large maple tree. A trail big enough for a vehicle crossed a small stream and continued on up another hill. A black ATV appeared pulling a small, two-wheel enclosed trailer. The driver wore a helmet, and a barrel-sized plastic tank was mounted behind him on the back of the ATV. I could see liquid in the plastic tank sloshing around as the driver navigated a corner at slow speed.

I stared at the trailer and thought about how it would be big enough to haul a person. I pulled out my GPS and marked our location.

“Let’s follow him,” I said.

We made our way to the trail and jogged as we followed the ATV. The noise of the engine continued into the distance ahead of us. Soon we couldn’t hear it anymore.

We hiked in silence. The trail wound up a hill through a few switchbacks. It had been about fifteen minutes since we’d last heard the ATV.

We reached the top of the hill and could see the trail continue with rock cliffs about two stories tall on both sides of it. Large boulders forced the trail to wind around them.

The growing whir of the engine returned. It sounded like it was on the other side of the hill. Molly and I dropped down behind the nearest boulder. I kept my head down as the ATV maneuvered around a slow turn. I looked up as it accelerated away from us. The trailer it had been towing was gone and the tank mounted on the back appeared to be empty.

“That was close,” Molly said.

“Come on. Let’s see where he came from.”

We hiked down the trail, winding our way through the trees. The trail became narrow and covered by the trees, then it abruptly opened up to a large plot of land filled with tall, stringy plants that looked way too green compared to how brown everything else was. There was a sweet odor in the still air, and then I knew. This was a large patch of tall marijuana plants.

I hid behind a large tree and motioned for Molly to join me.

“Do you see anyone?” I asked softly.

She shook her head. “Look at that.” She pointed to the cliff across the field from us. A vertical crack formed at the top and opened up near the bottom to form what looked like the entrance to a cave. The small trailer was parked next to it.