woman.”
“I swear to god, if you start talking about
aliens and shit I’m going to FLIP out.”
Austin splashed in the ravine and hadn’t
sniffed anything else out since they stopped him from digging.
Wendy had a feeling that whoever there was to be discovered lay
under the tree. She grabbed a stick, making sure first that it was,
in fact, a stick, and scratched at the dirt under the tree.
“I don’t think you should be doing that,”
Lucy said.
“Whoever’s jaw that is, he’s missing. Someone
has spent hours searching, hours worrying, wondering if he’ll ever
come home.” Wendy squatted down and started scratching a little
faster. “What if this was your loved one, you’d want him out of
here.”
Lucy laid a hand on Wendy’s shoulder. “Wendy,
I understand you’re upset, and I know why, but trust me, we should
leave this to the experts.”
Wendy kept scratching away at the soil.
Lucy squeezed Wendy’s shoulder. “Wendy, you
need to stop. Wendy.” No reaction, so finally Lucy squatted down
beside her and gently grabbed her hand and stopped her from
digging. “It’s not Jake. You’ll find him, but he’s not here.”
Wendy sank to her knees and started crying.
“I don’t know how to help him. He’s got to come home. He’s got
to.”
“We’ll figure it out, I promise,” Lucy said
and held Wendy’s hand. “But for now, we need to leave this to the
police.”
Wendy wiped her tears on her sleeve and
straightened up. “Let’s go back to where Viv and Kate are.” She
dusted off her hands on her pants. “I know all too well what this
person’s loved ones went through, and it caught me off guard.”
Lucy called Austin and then led the way down
the mountain. Though they didn’t have blue dots to mark a trail,
the girls had no problem finding their way back to Vivian and
Kate.
Vivian took in Lucy and Wendy’s somber
expressions and mud-splattered clothes. “What happened?”
Lucy pointed to Austin, who was sniffing the
jawbone. “He flung dirt everywhere when he was digging under the
roots of a tree.”
“Did y’all find anything else?” Vivian asked
and grabbed hold of Austin’s leash before he could grab hold of the
jaw.
Wendy and Lucy looked at each other before
Wendy responded, “No, but Austin went crazy around a tree base up
there.”
“Maybe there was another animal’s scent,”
Kate said, still sitting against the tree. She twirled a bright
orange leaf between her thumb and pointer finger.
Wendy reached for Lucy’s CamelBak. “It got me
thinking about Jake.” She started crying again and sat down,
burying her head in her hands.
Vivian sat down beside her. “You need to cry
about this. It’s good for you to get this emotion out.”
Wendy sucked in a ragged breath. “Y’all don’t
know everything.” She really started sobbing and could hardly catch
her breath.
Lucy dug in her backpack and walked over with
a pad of gauze. “I ran out of tissues, sorry.”
Wendy took the gauze and blew her nose.
Kate gave her a shoulder hug. “What else is
there to know?”
Wendy sobbed a couple of more times before
taking a deep breath. “I found something really weird when his
parents and I were cleaning out his apartment last week. I didn’t
show them because I didn’t want to freak them out, but I’m sure it
has something to do with his disappearance.”
“I’m sure whatever it is, it’s totally
explainable,” Lucy said.
“All guys have porn, Wendy,” Vivian said.
“It wasn’t porn.”
“What was it?” Kate asked.
Wendy looked up at the trees. “I think Jake
had another identity.”
11
V ivian, Kate and Lucy
glanced at one another after hearing the shocking information about
Jake. Wendy just stared at the trees, almost in a trance, and then
wiped more tears from her eyes.
Vivian touched Wendy’s arm. “Excuse me? Did
you say Jake has another identity?”
“I know, crazy, right?” Wendy said.
“You need to tell us
“I swear to god, if you start talking about
aliens and shit I’m going to FLIP out.”
Austin splashed in the ravine and hadn’t
sniffed anything else out since they stopped him from digging.
Wendy had a feeling that whoever there was to be discovered lay
under the tree. She grabbed a stick, making sure first that it was,
in fact, a stick, and scratched at the dirt under the tree.
“I don’t think you should be doing that,”
Lucy said.
“Whoever’s jaw that is, he’s missing. Someone
has spent hours searching, hours worrying, wondering if he’ll ever
come home.” Wendy squatted down and started scratching a little
faster. “What if this was your loved one, you’d want him out of
here.”
Lucy laid a hand on Wendy’s shoulder. “Wendy,
I understand you’re upset, and I know why, but trust me, we should
leave this to the experts.”
Wendy kept scratching away at the soil.
Lucy squeezed Wendy’s shoulder. “Wendy, you
need to stop. Wendy.” No reaction, so finally Lucy squatted down
beside her and gently grabbed her hand and stopped her from
digging. “It’s not Jake. You’ll find him, but he’s not here.”
Wendy sank to her knees and started crying.
“I don’t know how to help him. He’s got to come home. He’s got
to.”
“We’ll figure it out, I promise,” Lucy said
and held Wendy’s hand. “But for now, we need to leave this to the
police.”
Wendy wiped her tears on her sleeve and
straightened up. “Let’s go back to where Viv and Kate are.” She
dusted off her hands on her pants. “I know all too well what this
person’s loved ones went through, and it caught me off guard.”
Lucy called Austin and then led the way down
the mountain. Though they didn’t have blue dots to mark a trail,
the girls had no problem finding their way back to Vivian and
Kate.
Vivian took in Lucy and Wendy’s somber
expressions and mud-splattered clothes. “What happened?”
Lucy pointed to Austin, who was sniffing the
jawbone. “He flung dirt everywhere when he was digging under the
roots of a tree.”
“Did y’all find anything else?” Vivian asked
and grabbed hold of Austin’s leash before he could grab hold of the
jaw.
Wendy and Lucy looked at each other before
Wendy responded, “No, but Austin went crazy around a tree base up
there.”
“Maybe there was another animal’s scent,”
Kate said, still sitting against the tree. She twirled a bright
orange leaf between her thumb and pointer finger.
Wendy reached for Lucy’s CamelBak. “It got me
thinking about Jake.” She started crying again and sat down,
burying her head in her hands.
Vivian sat down beside her. “You need to cry
about this. It’s good for you to get this emotion out.”
Wendy sucked in a ragged breath. “Y’all don’t
know everything.” She really started sobbing and could hardly catch
her breath.
Lucy dug in her backpack and walked over with
a pad of gauze. “I ran out of tissues, sorry.”
Wendy took the gauze and blew her nose.
Kate gave her a shoulder hug. “What else is
there to know?”
Wendy sobbed a couple of more times before
taking a deep breath. “I found something really weird when his
parents and I were cleaning out his apartment last week. I didn’t
show them because I didn’t want to freak them out, but I’m sure it
has something to do with his disappearance.”
“I’m sure whatever it is, it’s totally
explainable,” Lucy said.
“All guys have porn, Wendy,” Vivian said.
“It wasn’t porn.”
“What was it?” Kate asked.
Wendy looked up at the trees. “I think Jake
had another identity.”
11
V ivian, Kate and Lucy
glanced at one another after hearing the shocking information about
Jake. Wendy just stared at the trees, almost in a trance, and then
wiped more tears from her eyes.
Vivian touched Wendy’s arm. “Excuse me? Did
you say Jake has another identity?”
“I know, crazy, right?” Wendy said.
“You need to tell us
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