We spend an hour looking for Warner. Really, we’re looking for the map. If we found that lying in the dirt somewhere, we would probably call off the search immediately.
I stay near Noah the whole time. The thought of getting lost on my own is too horrible to comprehend. Jack goes off on his own, but all three of us stay close to the camp we made.
“Warner!” Noah yells. He’s called out his name so many times, his voice is getting hoarse. The lack of water doesn’t help. “Warner!”
No answer.
“Jesus,” Noah mutters as he drops into a sitting position on a large rock. He wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. “It’s getting hot, isn’t it? I don’t think he’s out there. We should find Jack and get going.”
“Yeah.”
The sun has risen in the sky, telling us which way is east. We can figure out north and start moving in the direction of the inn. We may not have the map, but we’re bound to hit something.
“Noah?” I say.
“Uh-huh?”
“Do you…” I clear my throat and cough. “Do you think Jack is telling the truth about shooting at the coyote?”
Noah blinks up at me. “Are you asking me if I think Jack killed Warner?”
“No…”
He’s quiet for a moment, looking up at the sky. “Listen, I know Jack and Michelle were acting lovey-dovey the other day, but he wanted out of that marriage. Badly.”
I cough into my hand. “He did?”
Noah nods solemnly. “He was miserable. He kept telling me he didn’t know what she was like when he married her. He knew he made a mistake.
Also, he was… you know, cheating on her. And not just once.” I avert my eyes. “Oh, I… I didn’t realize.”
“Yeah.” He lets out a sigh. “But what could he do? She’s the best divorce lawyer in the state. He didn’t want to lose everything.”
I cover my mouth. “What are you saying, Noah?”
He glances around us. “I’m not saying anything. I just think this whole setup was sort of convenient. He packs this rifle. Michelle gets lost in the woods, even though she had a sprained ankle. I mean, if Michelle disappeared forever, it’s not like it would be a bad thing for him.”
“But what about Warner?”
Noah takes a deep breath and lowers his voice. “Warner told me something yesterday. I think you should know.”
My legs suddenly feel like jello. Whatever he’s about to say, I’m not sure I want to hear it.
“The night Michelle disappeared,” Noah says, “Warner saw him go into the forest with Michelle.”
“What?”
I think I’m choking. I lower myself onto my knees on the ground. I feel dizzy. What Noah is saying couldn’t possibly be true. Yet…
Jack did want out of his marriage. That’s a fact. Despite our conversation yesterday, I don’t believe he was lying about that. He told me once he felt sick at the thought of being married to “that woman” for the next thirty years.
Sometimes I think it would be worth it. To lose everything just to get rid of her.
Maybe this trip was his clever way of doing exactly that. And maybe he knew Warner saw him, and he had to get rid of him too. And it is all awfully convenient for him. Here we are, lost in the woods thanks to Jack’s faulty compass. It would be so easy for an animal to do away with one of us. Or more than one of us.
And what about Lindsay? She ate those berries, and it seemed like an act of God at the time. But Jack knows the woods more than anyone. Maybe he was hoping Michelle might eat the poison berries.
We started this trip with six of us. Now only three are left.
Maybe Noah or I will be next…
“Do you really think Jack killed them?” I whisper.
Noah rubs at the back of his neck. “I… I don’t know. I’ve known Jack since we were eighteen, and… No, I don’t think he would do that. He’s not a bad person.”
Would Noah say Jack wasn’t a bad person if he knew Jack slept with his wife?
If Noah suggested taking off now, just the two of us, I would be very tempted. But it seems cruel at this point to leave Jack behind. Of course, he’s the one with the rifle.
“Anyway.” Noah shakes his head. “We better get going. I’m sure we’re just letting our imaginations run wild.”
Noah gets up off the rock and I follow him. But as I walk back to the campsite, I can’t shake the horrible feeling that I might not make it home from this trip alive.
