Free Lewis & Ondarko - Best Friends 03 - Now and Zen by Pat Ondarko, Deb Lewis

about how we’re going to manage all the crowds tomorrow. I feel like I’m swimming without a life jacket in deep water and about to go under. Whose idea was this, anyway?” she whined, directing her gaze accusingly in Pat’s direction.
    “It seems to me someone in this room talked about ‘building it so they would come.’ Didn’t know you were such a good carpenter, Deb,” Pat retorted.
    “Well, I have the hard muscles tonight to prove it,” Deb replied, continuing to rub the back of her neck. “Especially in my neck and shoulders. Man, am I tight.”
    “I heard that there will be hot rock massage on the screen porch at Lotta’s tomorrow,” Linda offered.
    “I’m going to have to get one,” Deb replied.
    “Lotta’s is even serving fancy hors d’oeuvres. I’m sure you could get in,” Pat added soothingly. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. We’ve done all we can planning this retreat. So, let’s talk about the woman who went missing.”
    “You two aren’t feeling responsible for that, are you?” Julie asked, looking over at them and pausing from her fire making. “You know it wasn’t your fault.”
    “Easy to say, but harder to believe,” Deb replied. “If we hadn’t created so much chaos with all the women on the ferry, maybe the staff could have kept better track of things.”
    “There you go again, Deb,” Pat admonished gently. “Taking responsibility for everything that happens in life. This is not about you. And you don’t have to fix it either.”
    “Did you hear that?” Linda asked suddenly.
    “What?” Pat replied.
    “It sounds like a scratching noise. Listen.”
    The women fell silent and strained to hear.
    “I thought I heard it,” Bev replied. “Maybe I’ll get to see my first bear in the wild. I was hoping for that as a matter of fact.”
    “Maybe it’s a porcupine under the porch,” Pat said.
    “Maybe it’s the ghost of that missing woman coming back to haunt us,” Noreen teased.
    “Get out of here!” Deb replied. “I’m going outside to look. Where’s the flashlight?”
    “I couldn’t find any earlier,” Carolyn replied, “but I found candles.”
    Reaching to the mantle she pulled off a box of white tapers and began handing them around to the other women.
    Julie reached into the budding fire in the woodstove and lit her candle, reaching out with a light.
    “Silent Night, anyone?” she joked.
    “Beats going out there in the dark,” Deb answered, lighting her candle first and turning to light the others in turn.
    “This is like some bad Gothic novel,” Pat remarked. “Five women carrying lit candles into the dark. I know there’s a sermon here somewhere.”
    Leading the way, Deb unlocked the front door opening to the yard. They paused for a moment and listened to the silence. A door slammed behind them, causing them to jump.
    It was a clear starlit night. Deb could hear a crunching noise to the left side of the cabin.
    She walked stealthily in the dark toward the sound, practicing the soft step learned from her walking meditation in Yoga class. The other women huddled together on the steps.
    “It sounds like someone is whacking the ground with a stick,” Deb whispered.
    Ahead of her lurked a large shadowy shape on the ground. She could just make out an outline.
    “What the heck. It almost looks human. Is someone hurt?” she asked. The dark shadow moved up and down as if it was breathing. She took a deep breath, summoning her courage as she took a step closer to the form. One step, followed by a pause, and then another. The dark shape moved at the sight of the light.
    Crunch… crunch… crunch…
    “Hello!” Deb called softly. “Do you need help?”
    “I’m going back in,” Carolyn said in the darkness behind Deb. “I’m calling the police.”
    “Shh! I doubt there’s any police on duty out here now at this hour. We’re on an island, for heaven’s sake!” Pat whispered. She walked quietly behind Deb.
    Deb crept slowly toward the