Chapter 2 - The Camp That Burned Twice
Black Pine Church Camp had once appeared on postcards.
Families remembered its white chapel, painted cabins and summer lantern ceremonies. For nearly fifty years, children had attended weekend retreats beneath the tall pines surrounding Lake Briar.
Then, fifteen years earlier, a fire destroyed the administration building.
The camp director, Pastor Silas Vale, claimed faulty wiring had caused the blaze. No one died, but several records were lost, including financial files and attendance lists.
The camp closed soon afterward.
Seven years later, another fire damaged the dining hall even though the property was supposedly abandoned.
Daniel learned all of this while sitting across from Detective Cole at the sheriff’s station.
The tracker signal had disappeared.
“The battery didn’t die,” Daniel insisted. “It had seventy percent power.”
“They may have entered an area without service,” Cole said.
“Or Evelyn found it.”
Cole placed a folder on the table. The file had Rebecca’s name written across the front.
Daniel had seen it before, but not for years.
“You told me Rebecca visited Black Pine,” he said. “Why wasn’t that treated as important?”
“It was. We searched the property.”
“And?”
“We found nothing.”
“Nothing, or nothing you could use?”
Cole looked tired.
“When Rebecca disappeared, the camp was owned by a preservation trust. We needed warrants for several buildings. By the time we received them, someone had cleared out the property.”
“Who controlled the trust?”
“Pastor Vale.”
Daniel leaned back.
Silas Vale had spoken at Rebecca’s memorial gathering. He had stood beside Evelyn, placed a hand on her shoulder and told Daniel that grief could make people imagine enemies where none existed.
Daniel had almost believed him.
“What was Rebecca investigating?” he asked.
Cole opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of old guardianship forms, letters from parents and lists of children who had attended Black Pine.
“Rebecca believed the camp was connected to fraudulent custody cases.”
Daniel stared at the documents.
“What kind of fraud?”
“Parents were reported for neglect using claims that later proved false. Temporary guardians were recommended through a church program. Some children were moved between counties before their parents could challenge the orders.”
“Were children sold?”
“We never proved anything like that. What we found was influence, money and falsified testimony. Families were pressured. Records were altered. A few children disappeared from the system for months.”
“And Rebecca discovered it?”
“She discovered that her own mother had signed several witness statements.”
Daniel looked up sharply.
“Evelyn?”
“She claimed Pastor Vale had misled her. Rebecca didn’t believe that.”
A deputy entered the room carrying a printed map.
“We found the grandmother’s vehicle.”
Daniel stood.
“Where?”
“Abandoned near an old service road. No one inside.”
“Any sign of Luke?”
“A child’s jacket was on the back seat.”
Daniel recognized the blue jacket immediately. Luke had worn it that morning.
“Was there blood?” he asked.
“No. The jacket appears clean.”
Cole pointed to the map. “How far is the vehicle from Black Pine?”
“Less than two miles.”
Daniel opened the tracker application again.
Still offline.
Then an alert appeared.
Rex Footprint One connected.
The red dot flickered onto the screen for less than two seconds.
It was not near Evelyn’s car.
It was beneath the center of Black Pine Camp.
Cole ordered every available unit to move toward the property.
Daniel followed despite her command to remain at the station.
When the convoy reached the camp entrance, they found the gates chained shut. New tire tracks crossed the mud.
Someone had recently driven inside.
Officer Malik Reed cut the chain.
Beyond the gate stood a collection of dark cabins surrounded by wet trees. At the top of a hill, the white chapel leaned beneath the storm clouds.
Daniel tried calling the tracker’s emergency microphone.
Nothing.
The officers spread out.
Cole assigned teams to search the cabins, administration building and chapel. Daniel remained close to her as they crossed the camp.
A child’s shoe lay beside the path.
Daniel picked it up.
It was too large for Luke.
The inside was marked with the initials J.B.
“Another child,” Daniel said.
“Possibly old,” Cole replied, though the shoe was almost clean.
A radio message came from the dining hall team.
“Detective, we found recent food supplies. Canned goods, bottled water and children’s blankets.”
Cole’s face tightened.
Black Pine was not abandoned.
As they approached the chapel, Daniel saw something lying beside a stone wall.
A green stuffed dinosaur.
“Rex.”
He ran to it.
The toy was damp but undamaged. The rubber footprint was missing from beneath its tail.
Daniel opened the tracker application.
The red dot was moving below the chapel.
Reed examined the ground and found fresh footprints leading toward an outside cellar door.
The door was locked.
Then someone inside the chapel switched on a light.
May you like
A yellow glow appeared through the broken windows.
And a small hand pressed against the glass.
