The younger boy said, "It looks like blood."

Jonah glared at his brother. "Logan! Don't say that."

"What? It's blood, isn't it?"

"No. Not my little girl." Jumping back, Amber brought her fluttering hands to her chest.

Nick stepped up and barred the rest of the family from getting closer. "We should preserve this for the SAR's team. Why don't we go back to your camp?"

"Right. Come on, boys."

Putting a hand on the back of his sons' necks, John gave Logan's muscle an extra squeeze. The boy winced but didn't cry out as the big man ushered his family away from the scene. However, at the trailhead, they were met by Rex and his team of six searchers. When the introductions were complete, the two-person crews fanned out along the path, talking amongst themselves. With the family distracted, Nick mentioned Amber's discovery to Rex in a whisper. From his SAR's training, he knew they'd start a hasty search after an initial analysis of the site. Hopefully, they'd find the girl before dark otherwise it would be slow going. Not that they would stop their search. And if it came to it, more people would be called in at daylight for an exhaustive search of the area.

"Nick, could you take the children to their tent while I talk with Mr. and Mrs. Norris— if that's all right with them?" Rex asked.

Amber glanced at her husband before saying, "It's fine."

"You listen to the ranger and don't cause any more trouble." John released the boys to stand by his wife's side.

Both boys responded, "Yes, sir."

Nick led the pair back to the campground. Jonah cast a wary look behind them. "It's all my fault."

"Why do you say that?" Nick asked, curious if there was more to this story than Amber admitted in her report.

"Because I should've kept a closer eye on her."

Logan shook his head. "Why did she have to leave the trail and get lost? This is going to ruin our whole trip."

"Shut up! Faith could be hurt."

"Exactly, she's such a klutz. She probably skinned her knee and is hiding in the bushes, so we don't make fun of her."

"We? You!" Jonah said through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be such a jerk?"

"Because everyone treats her like a baby. She needs to grow up. You're not always going to be there to protect her."

"You need to grow up."

"Screw you." Logan ran ahead and dove inside their tent.

Nick stayed out of their squabble. Family stuff could be messy, and today was far from a normal day for their family. Their sister was missing, and Jonah shouldn't be the only one to shoulder the blame. Logan had been there too. Nick had younger brother himself, one who made Logan look like an angel. Though Nick's brother was enabled by his abusive parents that blamed Nick for everything that went wrong in their lives. He didn't want the same thing to happen to Jonah. Kids don't have the tools to deal with that kind of trauma. That's why Nick was pursuing a degree in child psychology, though he still had to complete his master's before he could begin his real work.

Jonah fell into a camp chair, and Nick took the seat next to him. They sat in silence. Nick waited for Jonah to break it. A full minute passed before Jonah asked, "Do you think they'll find my sister?"

From his Search and Rescue class, Nick quoted, "85% of people are found in the first twelve hours, and 97% are located within twenty-four hours."

"What about the other 3%?"

"Sometimes it takes longer. Last summer, we had a search last two weeks. That one was with a kid too."

"Wow. That's a long time to be lost."

"Yes, it was." Nick was glad Jonah didn't ask if the child was found alive. The little boy wasn't. Hoping to prevent a similar outcome, Nick asked, "Is there anything you can tell me about your sister's disappearance— something you didn't tell your mother?"

Jonah shrugged. "I don't think so. We went down to the creek to catch crayfish. And then we came straight back. It's a short trail. Even if she stepped off, I don't see how she could've got lost."

"Was there anyone else down at the creek with you?"

"No. Just me, Logan, and Faith. Mom and Dad stayed back at camp to cook dinner." Jonah turned to the pot of the hot dogs and beans cooling on the camp stove.

"Any other campers? Maybe a kayaker or a fisherman?"

"Nope. Nobody." Jonah kicked at the dirt with his shoe. "But I might've seen something across the river."

"Something?"

"Yeah, I think it was a bear. I couldn't see it very well through the bushes, but I think it was walking on two legs."

"Was it walking? Or was it standing?"

"Walking. There's videos of them doing it when their paw is hurt, which was another reason I wasn't that scared. Bears are only fast when they run on all fours."

Nick had seen the video taken in New Jersey too, but generally, they couldn't walk like that for long distances. Still, he'd pass that dubious information on to Rex. There were hundreds of bears in the park, yet they were rarely a problem. They retreated at the first sign of people, which cast the boy's story in a bad light.

"If you couldn't see it very well, why do you think it was a bear? Maybe it was a man in dark clothes."

"No way. It must've stood seven feet tall, and its head was huge. It had to be a bear— unless it was the Goatman."

"The Goatman?"

"You haven't heard of him?"

"No." Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Kids at school say he was a scientist who messed with his DNA and turned himself into a half-man half-goat monster who went crazy, killed his wife, and now lives in these woods hunting people."

"Yeah, sounds crazy. Must be one of those urban legends like the Mothman."

"I said he was crazy, not the legend."

"Oh. Sorry." Nick shouldn't have let his skepticism shine through, but he really wanted to stick to pertain facts that would help the search team find Faith. "Can you tell me if your sister was upset for any reason?"

"Nope."

"You can tell me if she was. It'll help with the search."

The boy looked towards the trail. "Outside of Logan always giving her a hard time, everything was fine."

"No problems with your parents?"

Jonah shook his head.

"Not your dad?" Nick asked, lowering his voice.

" ... He can get mad, but he was in a pretty good mood today. He likes camping."

Nick didn't like the boy's hesitation, but that didn't mean John had lost his temper and killed his daughter while forcing his family to help cover up his crime. Did it? It was unlikely, but possible. Which meant the team had another scenario to consider in Faith's disappearance outside of bad luck or an animal attack. But was there more? Nick asked, "Can you think of anyone who'd want to take your sister?"

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone who's taken a special interest in her? Possibly a relative? Or a family friend?"

"I don't think so."

"It's ok. You can trust me."

A throat cleared, startling Nick. He turned to find Mr. and Mrs. Norris standing behind him. John said, "I didn't think you were allowed to question children without their parents present."

"Uh ... Umm ... " Nick stuttered. "No. We were just talking."

Amber put a hand on her husband's arm. "It's fine. Do whatever you need to do— just find my daughter."

John looked down at his wife's hand before setting his gaze on Nick. "Your boss wants you back. The bloodhound is here."

Amber flinched at John's name for the search dog. Nick wished it was under different circumstances, but he did want to see the dog in action, so he stood up and beat a hasty retreat. John yelled after him, "Hey, come back here."

Nick grudgingly returned. But rather than another scolding, Amber held up a hand. "One second. They want something of Faith's for her scent."

"Oh, right," Nick said as color crept up his collar.

Amber ducked inside the tent and quickly returned with a yellow baseball cap that would've matched Faith's dress. She held it out, but instead of taking it from her, he found a stick amongst their kindling. Amber placed the cap on its tip. She said, "Sorry. Did I contaminate it?"

"No, but the less people to touch it, the better."

Amber nodded. "Faith wore it this morning in the car."

"Perfect. Then her scent should be strong for the dog." Nick kept it balanced on the branch. "And I'm sure someone will keep you updated on our progress."

John said, "I would hope so."

Before he could say anymore, Nick jogged to Faith's last known position to find Rex along with the search dog and its handler. Nick passed the stick to the handler, who let the dog smell the hat. Afterward, Rex sealed it in a plastic bag in case they needed it again.

The German Shepard immediately picked up Faith's scent. With the dog on a lead, the men followed it down to the river's edge. From there, it went to a trampled part of the grass where Faith must have sat based on the impressions. The dog backtracked up the trail and stopped at an exposed tree root in the middle of the path. Everyone watched intently as the dog stuck its nose in the dirt before going off the trail to the exact spot where they found the blood was discovered. The dog tracked Faith's scent for another ten yards, spun in a circle, and laid down. The handler tugged at the dog's lead, but it whimpered and refused to move.

"What does that mean?" Nick asked.

Rex chomped on his toothpick and replied with one of his crazy old sayings, "Do you want the truth, or do you want me to hang noodle on your ears?"