Whispers in the Dark by Chris Eboch Page A

steady hum and faded as the car moved away. I realized I hadn’t heard Sean’s vehicle earlier, so that was probably him. He must have stopped at the campground restroom or something.
    As I turned down the path to the campground, my stomach grumbled, and I debated the ease of granola bars and fruit versus the satisfaction of a hot meal. I decided I might as well set up my camp stove. I’d be camping for weeks, and woman could not survive on snack food alone, so I might as well start a good habit.
    The smell of grilled meat drifted past me. I inhaled deeply and my stomach growled louder. I spotted the old couple at the host site. The man stood over a raised metal grill as the woman came out of the camper with a pack of buns and an armload of condiments. She waved the hand with the buns and called out. “You made it back!”
    “I sure did.” I had to smile. She talked like I’d been on a dangerous cross-country trek.
    She dropped her food on the table and came toward me, holding out her hand. “We didn’t meet properly before. Lily West.” The name Lily didn’t fit her low, gravelly voice, mannish haircut, and square jaw. I wondered whether she had been slim and graceful in her youth. “That’s my husband, Robert,” she added. He raised his tongs in salute.
    “Kylie Hafford.”
    She beamed. “The archaeologist. I wasn’t expecting such a cute young thing.”
    She obviously meant well, so I just smiled and said, “I’m older than I look.”
    “Stay to dinner.” She took my arm to lead me to the table, as if the matter were settled. When I hesitated, she said, “We always have plenty.”
    I glanced at the grill and gaped at the huge number of hot dogs, probably two dozen. I never ate hot dogs at home, but they smelled heavenly and my stomach demanded food now. “All right. Thank you.”
    I tried to think of something else to say, but Lily didn’t need much help. “We like this job because we get to meet people. We travel around the country, staying for a month or a few at different sites. It’s a great way to see places and meet new people. And it’s cheap! Some of the popular sites are booked up years in advance, but we like the small ones anyway, don’t we, Robert?”
    He didn’t bother to answer, and she didn’t wait. “We’ve been here six weeks. It’s getting a little warm now, but—” She broke off and waved. “Come on in! Don’t be afraid, this is just our new friend, Kylie.”
    More company? I turned to see two children, maybe ages three and six, hovering at the edge of the trees. I thought they were both boys, though with their shaggy hair and dirty faces it was hard to tell. Lily pulled out hot dog buns and squirted them with ketchup and mustard, then jumped up and hurried to the grill. Robert placed hot dogs in the buns without glancing in the direction of the children.
    Lily carried the hot dogs to the kids, who hadn’t moved. “You want to take some to your folks?” she asked. The older boy shook his head, his suspicious gaze still on me. He took the hot dogs and led his little brother back into the trees. They hadn’t said a word.
    Lily sat down with a sigh. “Poor little mites. At least we know they’re getting fed.”
    “Who are they?”
    “Their parents have the last campsite back in that corner. Out of work—I got that much from the mother, though she’s a mousy little thing and almost as quiet as her boys. They haven’t paid their campground fee in a couple of weeks, but we haven’t had the heart to say anything.”
    “But why are they here?”
    Lily shrugged. “Too proud to go to a shelter, I suppose. It’s quiet here this time of year.”
    I guessed that was the man I’d seen the morning before, but Lily changed the subject, talking about the other people in the campground. Some she barely knew, if they’d just arrived, though it sounded like she did her best to get a full family history of everyone. I had assumed the campground would be impersonal, a group