Secret at Mystic Lake by Carolyn Keene Page B

it,” I said. “It would play into Caitlin’s plan if we ended up poisoning ourselves out here.”
    George grunted her assent.
    I’d explained everything that had happened to me since I’d left the tent the night before. Zoe’s scream, hearing Henry’s voice, and then being chased through the woods down to the canoe, as well as the whole confrontation with Zoe and Caitlin.
    â€œI just can’t believe Zoe was behind this whole thing,” Bess mused. “She was a good actress. She complained about every setback—but meanwhile she had helped plan them all.”
    â€œKind of nervy of her to bring the extra tent,” George said, “when you think about it.”
    I nodded. “I don’t think Caitlin or Zoe thought they’d ever get caught,” I said. “I get the feeling Caitlin’s so used to making everything go perfectly, she thought she’d get away with this, too.”
    â€œPoor Henry.” Bess sighed. “I guess it’s a goodthing I don’t have a twin who’s my opposite and who I kind of hate.”
    George shot her a sidelong glance. “Yeah, it’s probably good we’re cousins, not siblings.”
    Bess gave her a rueful smile.
    That’s when I heard something. A rumble, so familiar and yet so . . .
    â€œA car!” I yelled, trying to track the direction it was coming from. “To the right there. Do you hear it? Just through those trees . . .”
    Bess’s expression looked like I’d just told her there was a million dollars on the ground, ripe for the taking. “What are we waiting for? Run!”
    We ran. I’m not sure I had ever moved that fast before, or that I’ll ever move that fast again. We shot through the trees and came out onto a narrow two-lane road. I could just see the taillights of a Jeep retreating into the cool dawn mist.
    â€œWAIT!” I screamed, my feet slapping on the pavement as I ran after it. “WAIT! We need help! PLEASE!”
    The Jeep had nearly disappeared around the bend. I felt hope dying in my heart. But then, at the last moment, it stopped and a moment later the passenger door opened up and a curious face popped out.
    â€œGirls?”
    â€œDagger!” George cried, running at him.
    The driver’s-side door opened up to reveal an older man wearing a park ranger uniform. “Are you part of the bike tour group that split up yesterday?” he asked me, looking stern.
    â€œWe are,” I said.
    He nodded, glancing at Dagger. “Well, I have a lot of questions for you.”
    â€œGood,” I said cheerfully. “I hope you have sandwiches, too.”

    It turned out that Henry and Dagger had found the ranger station in the middle of the night, but when they’d led the rangers back to our campsite, they’d found the empty sleeping bags and known something was wrong. After we’d told him the whole sordid story,the park ranger took us to the local police station a few miles outside Mystic Lake Park and said he was bringing together some rangers to look for Caitlin and Zoe. By that time, George and Bess and I had gobbled up some bagels ordered for us by the officers and were relaxing in a room with Henry and Dagger.
    Dagger had, surprisingly, taken the news of Caitlin’s faked disappearance in stride. “She’s clearly out of balance, mentally,” he said mildly.
    Henry, on the other hand, was sitting alone in a chair by the wall, his head in his hands, looking utterly stricken.
    â€œI knew we had our differences,” he’d said a few minutes ago, speaking to the whole room, I guess. “I knew she thought I was lazy. But this is just insane. This is just . . . insane.”
    He’d admitted that he had some pretty serious gambling debts, and that that was why he’d denied fighting with Caitlin before she disappeared. He hadn’t wanted to reveal to the rest of the