She and Finley turned and followed the others up the stairs. At the top, Abilene stepped into the corridor and closed the door. The snap of its latch sounded wonderful to her. She felt as if she had shut away whatever danger lurked in the pool area.
And we’ll be out of here in a few minutes, she told herself.
She no longer cared about whether they would have any luck finding a motel. Being far from this place would be enough.
Just a few more minutes.
She felt even better once the lantern was lit, the glare of its mantels filling the lobby with brightness.
The suitcases, bedrolls, video camera and water container didn’t appear to have been disturbed.
She pulled off her bikini, dropped it onto the wet towel, and used a blouse from her suitcase to mop herself dry. She stepped into panties, then put on a bra. The dry garments felt wonderful.
‘You should get out of those wet things,’ she advised Helen.
Helen, still in her swimsuit and Bermudas, shook her head and finished buttoning a blouse from her suitcase.
‘You’ll be sorry,’ Finley said. She wore a fresh pair of baggy tan shorts that were much the same as those that had been rescued from the pool. Adding, ‘You’ll itch,’ she slipped into a big, tan safari shirt identical to her wet one.
Abilene drew a short, denim skirt up her legs and fastened it. She dug her moccasins out of the corners of her suitcase and slipped her feet into them.
While.she put on a blouse, she watched Vivian, dressed in a knit pullover and matching white shorts as if prepared to hit the tennis courts, hop on one foot as she struggled to get into a sock.
Cora, already dressed in a tank top and glossy red shorts, squatted down and shut her suitcase.
Abilene closed her own case and latched it.
She glanced about at the wet bundles, the suitcases and bedrolls, camera, water container and lantern. ‘Can we take all this out in one trip?’
‘Sure as hell try,’ Cora said.
‘Maybe if we consolidate the wet stuff…’
‘Yeah.’
They’d brought five dripping towels, loaded with clothing and shoes and flashlights, up from the pool area. Working together, Abilene and Cora quickly combined the bundles until everything was gathered inside two towels. They knotted corners together, forming a pair of makeshift sacks.
By the time they were done, the others were ready to go. Cora and Abilene each clamped their bedrolls under one arm, picked up their suitcases with the same hand and a wet load with the other. Finley, Helen and Vivian also managed their sleeping bags and suitcases with one arm, leaving hands free to carry the video camera, water and lantern.
Vivian, holding the lantern by its wire loop, led the way to the door. She opened it. She waited until everyone was outside, then shut the door.
‘And so we bid this damn place a fond farewell,’ she said, and followed them down the porch stairs.
‘Farewell, farewell,’ Abilene said. She felt great.
They hurried over the paved area to the north corner of the lodge, then stepped down the slope and walked down alongside the Wagoneer to its rear.
Helen, halting at its tailgate, set down her suitcase and bedroll. She shoved a hand deep into the right front pocket of her Bermuda shorts.
‘Oh my God,’ she muttered.
‘What?’ Cora asked.
Shaking her head, she dug into the left front pocket. Then she patted both seat pockets. Hands clasped against her huge buttocks, she straightened her back and gazed straight ahead. Abilene felt her stomach go cold and tight.
‘Don’t tell me,’ Vivian pleaded.
Cora groaned. ‘You’ve lost the keys?’
The sound that came from Helen was like a low, husky laugh. But it wasn’t laughter. Lowering her head, she pressed her hands against her face and wept.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘Are you sure the keys were in your pocket?’ Cora asked.
Helen’s head bobbed up and down as she sobbed.
‘Oh, man,’ Finley said.
Vivian lowered her suitcase and sat on its edge. She put the lantern down beside her. Though it came to rest at a sharp angle, it didn’t fall over. She hugged her sleeping bag.
‘I’m… sorry,’ Helen gasped.
Abilene crouched and set down her load. Then she gently squeezed Helen’s shoulders. ‘It’s all right,’ she said.
Sure it is, she thought. Jesus. What if we can’t find them?
Cora let her wet bundle and sleeping bag drop to the pavement, then set down her suitcase. ‘When did you have the keys last?’ she asked.
‘When we… took out our… suitcases and stuff.’
‘That was just before we went down to the pool.’
Helen nodded.
‘And you’re sure you put them back into your pocket?’
‘Yes!’ She slapped her right front pocket three times hard as if to punish it — and her thigh.
‘Take it easy,’ Abilene said, and rubbed the girl’s heaving shoulders.
‘Are you sure you didn’t put them somewhere else? In your purse, maybe? Or your suitcase?’
‘I know where I put them.’
‘I saw Helen stick them in her pocket,’ Vivian said. ‘The right front. The first place she checked. ’
‘And you changed into your suit when we were down by the pool?’
‘We all did,’ Abilene pointed out, wishing Cora would quit the interrogation.
‘Those of us who wore ’em,’ Finley said. She had put down her own things, but still held her video camera.
‘Were the keys in your pocket when you put your shorts back on?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Obviously, they weren’t,’ Finley said. She sounded a little annoyed. ‘I’ve kept a sharp eye on Helen, and she didn’t do a single hand-stand after she got out of the water.’
Helen let out a choking snort, as if a sob had blocked the way of a laugh. Turning around, she snuffled and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands.
‘They must’ve fallen out in the pool,’ Abilene said. ‘Either when the guy threw…’
‘Maybe he took them as a souvenir,’ Finley suggested.
‘Or to keep us from leaving,’ Vivian muttered.
Helen moaned.
‘They probably just fell out of the pocket,’ Abilene said. ‘I’m the one who found Helen’s shorts. When I was way out toward the middle of the pool? The keys could’ve fallen out when I picked them up.’
‘I don’t know,’ Cora said.
‘The way I grabbed them… they came out upside-down.’
‘Good going, Hickok.’
‘How could the shorts get way out there with the keys in the pocket?’ Cora asked. ‘They would’ve sunk as soon as they hit the water.’ To Helen, she said, ‘You had your house keys and things in the same case, didn’t you?’
‘Yeah.’
‘They would’ve sunk the shorts.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Abilene said. ‘If some air got trapped in the pants, they might’ve floated for a while. Just like your T-shirt.’
‘Maybe the guy gave them a toss,’ Finley said.
‘We would’ve heard splashes,’ Cora told her, ‘if he’d thrown stuff.’
‘I don’t know why you’re arguing,’ Abilene said. ‘The fact is, I found the shorts in the middle of the pool and the keys were gone when Helen put them back on. So unless the bastard stole the keys, they’ve gotta be down at the bottom of the pool right now.’
Cora lowered her head. She let out a sigh that was louder than the hiss of the lantern.
‘Fun ’n games,’ Finley said.
Cora said, ‘Shit.’
Helen sniffed loudly, then said, ‘If someone’ll come with me, I’ll look for them.’
Vivian, still sitting on her suitcase, muttered, ‘We could’ve been gone by now.’
‘I mean it. I’ll find them. It was my fault. I just don’t want to go alone.’
‘You can’t go alone,’ Abilene said, but couldn’t force herself to volunteer. Stepping up the slope, she tried the handle of the car’s rear door. The latch released. She tugged the door open slightly, then let it drop shut. ‘Well, we’re not locked out of the car. Anybody know how to hot-wire one of these things?’