A Second Chance at Murder Read Online Free

hugged me, her auburn curls brushing against my check. I sobbed into her shoulder.
    â€œGeorgia! What’s wrong?” Becca demanded, pulling away from me so she could see my face. “What’s going on?”
    â€œScott’s missing,” I cried.
    A small group of people led by Kyle, one of the makeup artists I knew from the previous show, turned the corner of the trail and approached.
    â€œWhat do you mean missing?” Becca asked, her delicate features crinkling.
    â€œHe’s gone. I woke up in the middle of the night and he wasn’t in our tent. I went looking for him with Parker.”
    She pinched the bridge of her nose, a look of distresson her face as she glanced at Juan Jose and Miguel, who both looked stoic. “This is going to get complicated, isn’t it?”
    I choked back my tears as the other crew members approached us. “I don’t know. I just know I need to go and look for him.”
    â€œWe organized a small search party,” Juan Jose said. “Some have gone to look for him down by the river and others took the trail north.”
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Kyle demanded.
    Becca ignored him and pulled out the walkie-talkie that was permanently affixed to her hip. “The rest of the crew is behind me. I’m going to radio down and see if anyone still has some cell reception. We’ve got to call the authorities.”
    â€œAuthorities? Oh! Sounds exciting,” Kyle said.
    â€œShut up,” Becca admonished him, as she wrapped her arms around me. “Don’t worry, G, we’ll find him. I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe he got lost or disoriented or something, but we’ll find him.”
    I felt myself nod in agreement, but the thought that penetrated my consciousness was,
I just hope we’re not too late.

Three
    A fter searching the woods into the afternoon and coming up empty-handed, Juan Jose, Miguel, and I headed back to base camp to check in with Becca and the others. I prayed that Scott had made it back to camp during our absence. After all, if he’d gotten lost last night, the sensible thing to do would have been to wait for daylight to find his way.
    Becca was pacing by the picnic table, the other cast and crew members gathered nearby; everyone looked downtrodden. I immediately knew by the look on Becca’s face that Scott hadn’t returned.
    When Becca saw me she looked at me hopefully, but surmised quickly that we hadn’t had any luck, either. Becca’s walkie-talkie chirped and she said into it, “What?” She held it away from her ear, glanced at it, then said, “Reception up here is choppy.”
    I sagged onto the picnic table bench. Victoria and Parker, who were standing close by, distanced themselves. Suddenly the others, who’d been roaming by the campfire, disappeared into their tents, as if my bad luck was catching.
    Becca patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry honey, we’ll find him. I know we’ll find him.” Then into the walkie-talkie she said, “Our GPS coordinates are forty-two north, uh . . . Oh . . . Yeah . . . The camp that’s over . . . okay, okay sure,” she said, hanging up. “They’re here.”
    I sprang to my feet and we both looked down the trail. A tall woman with honey-blond hair slicked back into a ponytail came into view. She wore black pants and a windbreaker with an official logo on it. She seemed capable and sure of herself. On a leash was a Great Pyrenees dog. Behind her was a group of people, each with dogs. There was also a man, who walked a bit apart from them. He had dark hair and wore a matching windbreaker.
    The woman stuck out her hand and I shook it. She had callused palms, giving me the impression that she’d done search and rescue a thousand times over. I hoped they’d been successful. She introduced herself as Montserrat. The man who stood apart from her shook