The Sign in the Smoke (Nancy Drew Diaries #12)(30)

Deborah looked pained. “The big end-of-camp campout is coming up,” she said. “You know, it’s supposed to be tomorrow night.”

I did know the campout was coming . . . but it surprised even me that it was only a night away. Where had the time gone? I felt like my campers and I were still getting to know one another.

“Wow,” I said, having a sense where she might be going with this. “And you’re . . .”

“I’m scared something else will happen,” Deborah said plainly. “Up until last night, I could explain everything away as pranks gone wrong. The sleeping bags in the lake, some kid playing silly games in the water. But last night was different. It could have caused major damage to the property. And . . . with the water element, it does all seem to lead back to the lake, and what happened to Lila.”

I nodded slowly. “And what happened to her happened at the campout,” I filled in.

“Exactly.” Deborah paused. “Even if these are just pranks . . . I feel like I can’t jeopardize my campers’ safety by putting them in a situation where someone might try something stupid.”

I raised my eyebrows. “But the campout is such a big deal to the campers. I know my bunk has been talking about it nonstop since they got here.”

Deborah sighed. “That’s the problem.” She looked me in the eye. “You know everything that’s happened so far, Nancy, and the whole history. Do you think I should cancel it?”

Before I could respond, the mess hall door opened and Bella stepped out. She glanced at us. “Oh, hi. I just realized I forgot my bug repellent this morning, and I’ve already got, like, a million mosquito bites. I was just running back to the cabin to get it. . . .” She trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she looked from me to Deborah. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Just a minor incident that happened last night,” Deborah said stiffly. “It doesn’t concern you.”

“Oh, you mean the flooding of Nancy’s bunk?” said Bella. “I heard all about it from her campers. That’s a real shame, Nancy. Gosh, it’s like something’s cursing this place this summer, huh?” She tossed her head and headed off toward her cabin, leaving her snarky words lingering in the air.

I watched her until she disappeared into the cabin, then turned back to Deborah. “Don’t cancel the campout yet,” I told her. “I have a lead.”



The sun was high in the sky as Maya and I led our campers through the woods on the southwest edge of camp property. “What other leaves can we find?” I asked. I already held a fistful of different-shaped leaves that we’d matched to a chart Deborah had given us. So far on our nature hike, we’d seen six kinds of bugs and seven different species of birds, and we’d found poop—we called it “scat” at camp—from a raccoon and a rabbit.

“Here’s a funny one!” Cece knelt down and picked up a leaf from the ground that had rounded edges. “It looks like it has polka dots.”

Maya ran over. “Oh, cool!” she said. “I think that might be from a sassafras tree. Smell it—does it smell like root beer?”

“It does!” Cece said excitedly.

Maya turned to me. “Nancy, can you hand me the chart?”

“Sure.” I took out the folded paper and handed it to my CIT with a smile. It was great to see the girls get so excited about finding new things in nature!

But as most of the girls surrounded Maya and Cece with curious expressions, someone tugged on my wrist. “Hey, Nancy?”

I turned around. Winnie and Katie stood before me, both wearing troubled expressions. “What’s up, guys?”

Winnie bit her lip as Katie whispered, “Can we talk to you in private?”

“Sure.” I turned back and called to Maya, “Comfort stop!” That’s what we said when someone had to use the bathroom on a hike. It was the only reason I could think of for the three of us to separate from the others without questions. Maya nodded that she’d heard me, but kept chatting with the group.

“Come on.” I led Winnie and Katie up over a little hill and down the other side, where we wouldn’t be seen or heard by the others. “What’s going on, guys? From your expressions, it looks kind of important.”

Winnie and Katie looked at each other, then back at me. “We have something to tell you,” Winnie said.

“What is it?” I asked. I assumed it was going to be something about a disagreement between two of the girls, or some other piece of gossip that Winnie and Katie felt I should know. My bunk got along well, but it seemed like there were always little undercurrents of tension in a group this size. And as BFFs, Winnie and Katie seemed to think of themselves as Friendship Experts.

“Last night?” Katie began nervously. “Before the flood?”

Immediately I became more serious. “You have information about the flood?” I asked. “Did you see anyone?”

Katie looked nervously at Winnie.

“Kind of?” Winnie asked, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “I mean, it may be nothing. But before the flood . . . like, just a few minutes before . . .” She looked at Katie.

“Something woke me up,” Katie filled in. “It was like a thud, probably someone’s feet hitting the floor. And I looked around and saw Harper getting up and heading for the bathroom.”