Green Lake Read Online Free PDF Page B

radioed his plans to the lake office, then he placed himself behind the wheel and told the family to stay put. He would be right back.
    “Keep yelling her name,” he suggested as he backed the truck out.
    The mother and father exchanged a glance and Eris could see he hadn't given them much hope. He was doing what he could, the same plan the sheriffs deputies would implement once they arrived.
    As expected, the Lions Club group was only too happy to come and help search for the little girl. They came out in droves, half of them in boats and several on jet skis and four-wheelers. Eris drew a grid for them and showed where to begin the search. The father joined in and the mother took her two other daughters back to their campsite to wait. Dale Russell returned after towing the burned boat to shore and writing up the owner for not having a fire extinguisher on board. No one was hurt, but the boat was in bad shape.
    Russell joined the other boaters in the water to search and Eris coordinated the groups on land. By six o'clock that evening the searchers were tired, hungry, and losing hope fast. The father of the girl finally lost control and sat down on the ground and cried. Several tried to comfort him, but his sobs went on and on, as if a valve had been turned on somewhere inside him and the pain was running as thick and hot as the blood in his veins. When darkness came he was silent and still and watched with dull eyes as the weary volunteers drifted off to their campsites. The sheriffs deputies had arrived to officially begin their search. Divers would be brought in at dawn the next day, as well as a trained dog.
    Eris took the father back to his campsite and stayed with him a few minutes. The motor home in use was at least twenty years old, with rust spots and what looked like tar adorning the surface. Wet clothes hung on a makeshift clothesline made out of rope and tied between two trees. The two little girls eyed Eris warily as he approached with their father. The wife, apparently blaming her husband for losing their little girl, refused to speak to her man. She gave Eris an apple and thanked him for doing what he could. He assured her the search was not over, and that dawn would see more teams at work. She thanked him again, her voice small and quiet and Eris left them to return and go over the continuing activities with the deputies.
    “Damned stupid, you ask me,” said one of them. “I got a three-year-old, and I ain't even thought about takin' him fìshin' yet.”
    “They have any more kids?” a deputy asked Eris.
    “Two girls,” he answered.
    “Besides the one that's missing?”
    ”Yeah.”
    “Well, hell, they still got two, then, don't they? That's something.”
    We're not talking about sheep or cows here, Eris wanted to say. Instead he turned on his heel and walked to his truck. His stomach was growling fiercely, and he reached for the apple the missing little girl's mother had given him. He took a bite and started the truck's engine, wondering if he had anything in the house to eat. He hadn't been to the store in two weeks, and his shelves were as empty as his refrigerator. He had eaten the last of his sandwich meat last night.
    At home he had just stepped out of his truck when he heard Sherman Tanner calling to him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the reedy Tanner hurrying up the hill, jerking his little dog along behind him. Eris drew a breath and stood to face his neighbor.
    “Did you find her?” Tanner asked.
    Eris didn't have to ask how Tanner knew. Tanner always seemed to know. Eris suspected he had a radio tucked away in his cabin somewhere.
    “No, we didn't find her.”
    “Three years old?”
    “Yes.”
    “Tragic,” said Tanner with a tsking sound. “Just tragic. How are the parents holding up?”
    “As well as can be expected, Mr. Tanner. Please excuse me.”
    “Going back out again tomorrow?”
    “The search will continue, yes. Goodnight, Mr. Tanner.”
    “All right, then,” said