Maya whispered as we headed into the forest. The trail was closed at dusk, but there was no one to enforce that. It’s Canada. They expect you’ll understand that the rule is for your own good, and they leave the rest up to you. The guys walked behind us with Rae between them. Maya had suggested she and I go on ahead to find a good spot to talk, but it seemed the person she wanted to talk to first was me. She passed over her phone, text messages displayed. When I read them, I cursed under my breath. “Uh-huh,” she said. 9:47. Moreno: Hey, movie’s over, Miss Maya. 9:52. Moreno: OK, I give up. Where r u? 5 sec to reply or I come hunting. 9:53. Moreno: Maya? Answer. Now. 9:54. Maya: Sry! Didn’t u get txts? Had problem. Jerk talking in movie. Guys abt to cause scene. C&I got them out. Pizza. 9:55. Moreno: OK. Where r u? She’d dragged out the conversation after that, taking longer to reply. She’d said we’d gone for pizza, and she had no idea where, because Daniel had seen a sign on the way in, but, when we went back, it was out of business, so we’d driven around and around…And all she knew was that we were having pizza somewhere in North Bay.
