The Sign in the Smoke (Nancy Drew Diaries #12)(39)

“Who knows?” I asked with a shrug. “I haven’t seen a weather report in a week.”

For a few minutes, we just sat in the darkness listening to the rain pounding the roof. The tent seemed to be waterproof, thank goodness, so except for a few small puddles where there were leaks, we stayed dry.

After a few minutes we brought out our flashlights and made a circle in the middle of the tent. Thunder was still crashing every few minutes outside, and lightning would light up the sky.

“It’s so cool,” Cece whispered. “Like nature is having a big argument.”

Harper bit her lips. “I think it’s a little scary,” she whispered.

Maya scooched over and put her arm around Harper. “Don’t be scared,” she said. “We’re all here together, and nothing’s going to hurt us. We should enjoy the show!”

“We should tell ghost stories!” Kiki said suddenly, and several of the girls spoke up to agree.

I glanced at Harper. “Maybe we’re not all in the mood for ghost stories,” I suggested. “Actually, I brought a deck of cards. We could play—”

Harper shook her head and sat up straight. “No, Kiki’s right,” she said. “The atmosphere is perfect for ghost stories.”

Kiki beamed. I glanced at Maya, who shrugged.

“Okay?” I said. “Are we all sure, though?”

All the girls grunted their assent. When I looked Harper right in the eye, she nodded.

“Okay,” I said finally. “Who wants to start?”

“I do!” Nina raised her hand. “This is a ghost story I heard here, actually. It’s perfect because it’s about this camp.”

I sat stock-still as Nina began telling the others about the last year Camp Larksong was in business. How everyone went on the end-of-year campout, right here, at Hemlock Hill. But one of the counselors was acting a little weird. . . .

“Guys!” I said, holding up my hand. “Hold it right there, Nina. I just want you all to know . . . this story isn’t true. Okay?”

Nina looked at me, slightly annoyed. “How do you know that?” she asked.

“Because I know,” I said, hearing that I sounded like a frustrated parent, but not sure how to avoid it. “I . . . looked into it. None of this is true, guys.”

I’d expected that to dampen the campers’ enthusiasm for the tale, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Fourteen eyes widened as seven faces turned curiously in my direction.

“You looked into it?” Katie echoed. “That sounds kind of serious.”

I shook my head, but Cece was already chiming in, “Yeah, I thought this was just a made-up story! But if Nancy heard it and did some research, there must be some truth to it, right?”

The girls’ voices all began to drown one another out, and I looked desperately at Maya. But even as I did, I realized that she didn’t know the whole story either. I’d given her a brief synopsis of Bella’s tale the night she arrived at camp, and told her it wasn’t true. But she didn’t know that I’d found out what really happened to Lila. She didn’t know that someone actually had nearly drowned on this night five years before—but it was an accident.

“So what happened?” Winnie asked eagerly, clutching the stuffed wiener dog she slept with each night to her chest. Her face was bright with anticipation and a little bit of fear. “Did someone die?”

Nina turned to Winnie, her eyes sparkling. “In the middle of the night, when everyone was sleeping, the counselor took one of the campers outside,” she said, “led her down to the lake, and . . . drowned her!”

Winnie was the first to scream, and then suddenly the whole tent was enveloped with shrieks.

“Guys!” Maya cried, pushing her hands down through the air in a calm down gesture. “Come on, guys. It’s just a story. Right, Nancy?”

“It . . .” I was about to confirm this when I suddenly caught sight of Harper. She’d been sitting behind Kiki, who was waving around dramatically, so I didn’t see until then how utterly terrified she looked. Her skin was as pale as marble, and her eyes appeared glassy. She was trembling hard enough that I could see it from several yards away.

Suddenly we heard footsteps outside the tent and the hatch was unzipped. This sent the girls into another round of screaming, all except Harper, who sat utterly still. A flashlight beam shone in, at first obscuring the person behind it, but then Sam came into focus.

“Everything all right in here?” she asked. The rain was still lashing down outside, and Sam was getting soaked. I felt terrible for letting my bunk get so excited and disturbing her. “We heard you guys way on the other side of the clearing. George says you’re freaking out the little ones.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said, trying to stand in the cramped tent. “The girls were telling ghost stories, and it got a little out of hand.”

Sam raised her eyebrows. “Ghost stories are fun, but maybe you girls should move on to bedtime-y stories,” she suggested. “It’s getting pretty late. The little ones were already trying to sleep, and we’re bedding down soon.”

“Good idea,” I agreed.

Sam nodded, smiled, and backed out of the tent. She zipped up the flap behind her.

Suddenly Maya spoke. “Hey, Harper,” she said, reaching over to place a gentle hand on Harper’s arm, “did you bring your book? Maybe you could read us another chapter.”