Completing The List

20. Walk By That Lake One More Time

     Never was there a time that Lizzy had felt so alone since she started her quest to finish the things her husband wanted to do. Gale had to fly home because of a family emergency but promised to come back when everything settled down. Anna was still no where to be seen and the fact that her absence started with the arrival of Crispin to resolve item number twelve was not a coincidence. For the next week she tried her best to investigate the next item on the list, but every idea she could think of was a dead end. She was lounging on the couch and racking her brain over what seemed like an impossible task while Wyatt was parked on the green chair, watching her with an occasional whimper.

     What lake what Hayden referring to?

     There were a few within a few hours drive, several if she wanted to travel for more than one day to reach her destination. She called David as a last ditch effort but even he had no idea what Hayden was talking about. He talked about how Mr. Sheppard liked to pack up an SUV and travel to various campsites and while some were located on the shore of a lake, there were several he remembered going to and had no idea which Hayden could be referring to. Lizzy was pulling out hair trying to think this one through, but it sounded like her husband kept this one very, very close to his chest. If there was a story to be told, he apparently never told anyone about this one. Something happened to Hayden near a lake, and for some reason he never told a single person about it, not even his family.

     Lizzy felt defeated, like this was the end of her quest. If she couldn't figure out what this item was it seemed like there was no way she was ever going to be able to complete all of the tasks. Every since she first started her campaign to complete Hayden's list, Lizzy had never felt so drained and so close to throwing in the towel and giving up. She spent three weeks at home, sulking about how everything was over when something came in the mail that changed it all. It was a postcard. On the face of the postcard was a picture of Lake Huron. When Lizzy turned over the card, she realized there was something written on the back:

# 20: walk by that lake one more time.

     Lizzy's heart was in her throat. Someone out there knew what lake that Hayden was talking about and had taken the time to mail this card to her and let her know. She jumped on the phone and called Hayden's family again and asked them about trips they had taken to Lake Huron. David recalled going out to Lake Huron the first weekend of every August. They always went to the same camp ground, stayed at the exact same campsite that was near the beach and the water. They had done it every summer David said, that was until the summer of Hayden's eighth birthday. Something had happened and his Dad was so upset that they had packed up two days early and left camp. They never went back to that campsite again. Lizzy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Something had happened at that lake, but no one had any idea except Mr. Sheppard and the person who sent her the postcard. She was debating about what she should do next but the answer came to her in the form of another postcard. On it was another picture of Lake Huron, and this time written on the back was another message:

Visit the camp site. Find out why Hayden never came back.

     That was all that she could take. Lizzy packed up her stuff, rented a minivan and decided to go camping, to an extent. She booked a hotel room that was only a few kilometers from the camp site, and from there she could do all the lake recon she wanted. While Hayden seemed like the kind of person that loved the great outdoors, to Lizzy room service was about as close to 'roughing it' away from home she would want to be. After she checked into the hotel, she quickly drove up to the campsite and thanks to David's instructions she found the exact campsite that the Sheppard's used every summer. Much to her surprise, the Sheppard campsite was already in use. There was a small RV parked out front, but there was a still a small green tent that was pegged up with skill and an open fire that was burning within a controlled setting and a few coolers that were likely filled with soda, booze or both. The fact that someone was sending her postcards about this campsite and the Sheppard's spot was taken clearly wasn't a coincidence to her. She parked her van, and walked right up to the RV. She knocked on the door several times, sometimes almost punching the door. There was no answer. Whoever this RV belonged to, the person clearly wasn't there at the moment. She was ready to scream, clearly frustrated by what was going on. She wanted answers, and didn't want to wait another minute for them. She was about to toss something at the RV when her eyes locked onto a small folding chair that was located near the picnic table. She walked up to the chair and realized that sitting in the chair were was the answer she had been looking for, especially the identity of the person who had been mailing the letters. She picked the small stuffed bear up off the chair and smiled.