They’d reached the doorway that led to the basement. Amos had only ever been down this one staircase, into this one passageway that led into one dark and dank basement room. It was there that Angelo had kept the big wooden boxes filled with drugs: cocaine, speed, ecstasy, and weed. It was there that Angelo loaded up his chosen dealers—mostly kids like Amos, kids who were strapped for cash and would do anything Angelo asked.
“He paid us handsomely,” Amos explained, his breathing rapid. “He paid us more money than I’d ever seen. It started out so easy. The kids at the high school wanted drugs, and I supplied them with drugs. And then the tourists came, and I kept selling to them. By the end of that first summer, my mother and I werecompletely out of debt and thinking about moving. By the end of junior year—the summer of 1998—I felt invincible. I think Jack did, too.”
Nina’s voice shook. “You, Jack, and Tio Angelo? Working together? Selling drugs?”
Amos closed his eyes. “Angelo thought it was perfect. There are so many hiding places in this old lodge. So many passageways to confuse the cops. But somehow, they got wind of what was going on. I was questioned numerous times during June of 1998. I was nervous and thinking about skipping town. Jack was really scared. He wouldn’t be seen with me, and Angelo told me to stop coming around the lodge.”
Nina’s eyes were enormous in the darkness.
“I was at that Fourth of July party the night of the fire,” Amos continued. “I was scared out of my mind because I thought for sure I was about to be arrested. When I heard what happened to the lodge, I couldn’t believe it. The cops questioned me twice about it, thinking maybe I had something to do with it, but I had too many alibis who confirmed I was at the party.”
Nina’s lips parted. Amos could feel her rapid heartbeat through her hand.
Suddenly, she called out, “Kids? Are you there?” Her voice echoed.
“We’re here, Mom!” Fiona and Will called back.
Amos took a breath. An enormous pressure had shifted off his chest. But he couldn’t read Nina’s expression, couldn’t understand what she was thinking.
“You’re saying you think Jack and Tio Angelo had something to do with it?” Nina whispered.
“I don’t know that at all,” Amos said. “I’m just saying it was strange timing. And now that we know there are no death records for your father or Jack—and maybe none for your uncle Angelo—it’s all a little fishy.”
“It is fishy,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to make of it.”
Amos and Nina continued to stare at the black doorway. It felt like a portal to the past. But Amos knew it was too dangerous to climb down as it was. They’d need equipment, stabilization. Maybe they’d need to approach it from a completely different angle.
“You think there’s treasure down there?” Nina asked with a soft laugh. “Like Daniel?”
“I don’t know about that,” Amos said. “I’m just saying, with the Whitmores, nothing would surprise me.”
“Nothing should.” Nina wet her lips and continued to stare into the black. “I want to go to Seth Green’s house. I want to keep digging.”
“I want to dig with you,” Amos said. “In a way, 1998 ruined my life. I was too frightened to leave my mother, and too entrenched in drug dealing to worry about college, and after that, I let the rest of my life pass me by. It happened in a flash.” He snapped his fingers.
“We’re going to get our lives back,” Nina assured him, giving his hand a final squeeze.
After that, Fiona and Will called out again, “Mom! We’re still fine!”
Chapter Twenty
Nina
June 2025
The day after Amos’s big confession at the White Oak Lodge, Nina packed up the kids and drove them the five hours back to camp. To mirror what had already happened—just a couple of weeks ago, when she’d decided to go on this wild goose chase—she agreed to Will’s hopeful demands and stopped at a fast food place on the way. They ate french fries and burgers there and laughed when Will got ketchup all over his face. “I love fast food!” Will howled. “You can’t stop me from loving it!” Nina knew she’d have to fix that when they were done with camp. But what could a burger or two really hurt?
Now that she was taking the first steps to getting divorced because she saw her marriage for what it really was, Nina alternated between moments of euphoria and moments of devastation. She assumed it would be that way for a long time. But with her children, she wanted to put on a brave face. She tried to find reasons to laugh.
It was what she’d wished Francesca could have done for her after the lodge had burned.
It was what Great-Aunt Genevieve had wanted to do, maybe. But she’d been too old, too angry, too tired. Nina had to raise herself to be strong.
When Nina pulled into the summer camp, the kids playing by the lake perked up and ran in their swimsuits to see what was going on. When they realized it was Will and Fiona returning after a brief hiatus, they bellowed with excitement and threw their wet arms around them to welcome them back. Fiona burst into tears with one of the girls, saying, “I never want to leave you. You’re my best friend.” It was the kind of drama that belonged to ten-year-old girls. Nina was glad that Fiona was allowed to have it.
Nina helped carry their bags into their rooms and put clean sheets on their beds. She felt reverent and soft and hoped that they’d think of her at least a little before they fell asleep at night. In the office, she explained to the camp counselor that her ex-husband had checked the kids out without her permission, and that she would like to be called before such a decision was made again. The camp counselor looked annoyed but understood. She was probably used to dealing with divorced parents who couldn’t agree.
Nina had never wanted to be like them. But here she was.