Hilly moved up beside him once he was finished and cleared her throat, preparing to speak.

Cisco stepped back.

“I also want to make it clear that this summer is all about you,” she started. “My goal is to make you feel safe and comfortable. If any one of you doesn’t feel that way after what you’ve heard, please come to me with your concerns. We’ll arrange for counseling, initially,” she tipped her head toward Buffy, “then if you’re still apprehensive in any way, we’ll notify your parents to come get you.” Her voice dropped to a mumble. “If they’re not already contemplating pulling you from camp.”

She heaved a great sigh and explained. “I’ve already emailed your contacts the details of what happened, and so far, the ones who have responded, have given their total support. But as the day wears on, I’m assuming some of them won’t be happy, and we’ll deal with that, accordingly.”

There were, after all, seven other “peanut kids” amongst the campers. Hilly figured those parents might be the ones wanting their kids away from possible danger, ASAP.

Her eyes traveled over the group, clearing her face in an attempt to turn the somber mood around. “You’re a great bunch, and we’ve already had so much fun in the few weeks we’ve been here. From your schedules, you know we have a lot more planned, and I assure you, there’s a lot more enjoyment to be had. My greatest wish is that we can all move past this and get back to what we’re here for; supporting each other, relaxing together, and finding new friends for life.”

She pasted an even larger smile onto her face. “On that note, Mrs. S still has a mid-afternoon barbeque planned for today on the beach. It was supposed to happen after the demonstration Cisco and Crash were going to hold, which won’t be happening now. But I promise it will be rescheduled for another day.”

Mrs. S stepped forward, also attempting good cheer. “Hotdogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, and hot-wings, are on the menu, and I assure you, they will be served in a very short while.”

A happy murmur started up.

Hilly sent Mrs. S a thankful smile, and took the helm again. “If you all head to the dining hall for a half-hour of craft-time while we set up, the counselors will bring you to the beach when things are ready to eat. Believe me, there’ll be plenty of music and food waiting for you.”

Smiles began returning to the kids’ faces, and as Hilly had clearly anticipated; their young focus was easily shifted.

Cisco only wished he could have that kind of resilience. His head was going to be wrapped up in over-think mode until he had some definitive answers.

“Are there any questions?” Hilly asked as everyone came to their feet.

There were none, but several children—after she finished—came right up to Hilly and gave her huge hugs.

Cisco saw tears came to her eyes, but Hilly managed to keep a watery smile on her face while not letting the droplets fall.

She was one, strong woman.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Crash returned to camp just after supper, and Cisco gave over the job of kid-vigilance to him. It was time for some investigating.

Cisco scoured the kitchen, first, coming up empty handed. There was nothing suspicious in any corner of the vast, and very clean space. Mrs. S stood by while he did his inspection, answering any questions he had, and when he was finally finished and told her everything looked fine, she let out a robust sigh of relief.

“I didn’t think it was anything I did,” she heaved.

“That was never a question,” Cisco assured her, coming over to give her a quick hug. “There was always the possibility that someone had snuck in and tampered with things here, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case, either. Besides, knowing that the snack bags were specifically assigned to individuals then put into backpacks, already had me ninety-nine percent sure the sabotage was done later.”

“So what now?” she asked.

“Now, I go further afield. I check ten cabins, public spaces, the woods, hoping I find some kind of evidence.” He looked at his watch. “The kids’ evening program is just about to start, so I’ll check their living quarters while their busy, then wait until the hour has wrapped up and the kids are in for the night to do more sleuthing.”

“Not just one hour,” Mrs. S informed him. “Adeline is doing a sing-along tonight, and Crash has promised a magic show after that, so things will go long. Probably closer to two hours. Which means there’ll be plenty of time for you to join the fun after you’re finished with your search.”

Cisco thought about it for a second, then grinned and shook his head. “Nah. Since Hilly isn’t running things for once, I might try to convince her to…go for a walk.”

Mrs. S snorted. “Hah. Is that what you kids are calling it these days?”

Cisco only smirked. There was no need to confirm or deny her assertion. And even though Cisco hadn’t made any big moves yet, he could dream.

She put a hand to his cheek. “Just have fun, dear. And make sure Hilly does, too. That girl works too hard and worries too much. She needs the kind of break I know you can give her.” She winked. “I’ll make sure no one comes looking for you.”

“Thanks Ellen,” he chortled, giving her one more hug before heading out the door.

Nearly an hour later, Cisco, much to his frustration, hadn’t found anything in the sparsely furnished cabins. He’d looked between bunks, under mattresses, and had quickly but completely gone through each campers’ duffle. He’d found nothing suspicious, anywhere, except contraband candy, and none of it was peanut based.

He’d stop for now, but later he’d go through all the periphery buildings, as well as the woods.

Cisco walked toward the sound of singing, scanning the gathering and immediately recognizing Hilly on the periphery of the group. Cisco skirted everyone else, and came up behind her.

“Hey, beautiful.”

She jumped. “Oh. Cisco. You scared me,” she exclaimed quietly.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to disturb the show. But I was wondering…”

“What?” Hilly turned to face him with something he hadn’t seen before in her eyes. He’d say it was the confidence she normally exhibited in her work, but that she’d never displayed around him, alone. Her posture, too, was telling a new story. One he thought he might like.

“Uh, would you like to take a walk?”

Much to Cisco’s surprise, Hilly took his hand and pulled him several yards into the trees.

“I don’t want to walk,” she clipped.

His heart fell.

Crap. Was she going to tell him to buzz-off? Was she giving him the old heave-ho?

“You don’t?” he managed to choke out.

“Nope,” she stated. “Look over there,” she added cryptically, canting her head back to the performance that Adeline was giving.

He did as ordered. “Yeah. I see her. Adeline. She has a great voice.”

“Who’s next to her?”

“Uh, Crash, who I understand is going to do a magic show.”

“And?”

“And Buffy.” Cisco was able to conjure a small chuckle. “It looks like she’s decked out to be Crash’s lovely assistant, with Coco and Nel as her helpers.”

“Which means…?” Hilly urged.