Stalk, Don't Run by Carolyn Keene Page B

here?” she screamed.
    “Us?” I shouted back. “I should ask you the same question, Mrs. Malone!”
    “What? What are you talking about?” Amy asked.
    Bess took the wedding announcement over to Amy, who shone the light on it. She let out a deep sigh.
    “What a fool—he would keep that,” said Amy, shaking her head.
    “You were once married to Roland?” I asked. “The guy who ran the cult on Malachite Beach?”
    “Who almost killed my friends and dozens of other people,” George added.
    “Roland and I were married,” Amy said. “After we separated, I tried to forget him and start a new life.”
    “Meaning this camp?” Bess asked.
    “The camp was part of it,” Amy said. “My ultimate goal was to teach healthy lifestyles to young girls. I wanted them to grow up with good self-esteem and stick up for themselves so they wouldn’t end up like me.”
    “What does that mean?” I asked.
    Amy took a deep breath and said, “Years ago, before he started his retreat, Roland was arrested for embezzlement.”
    “Yeah, we know all about that,” George said.
    “I was part of the crime but managed to escape the law,” Amy said. “Roland did his time, changed his name, and began that sick cult you found out about. As successful as he became, he never forgave me for beating the rap.”
    “After all these years, why didn’t you get a divorce? Why are you only separated?” I asked.
    “And call attention to myself?” Amy said. She shook her head. “I changed my name too—and my life. I knew Roland would show up someday, but I never expected to see him in River Heights.”
    “Neither did we,” Bess said.
    “How long has he been here?” I asked.
    “Roland turned up in the camp a little more than a week ago,” Amy said, her voice cracking nervously. “At first I thought he came for me.”
    “Didn’t he?” I asked.
    “No,” Amy said. “He said he came to River Heights to bring down the girls who ruined his life.”
    “Us,” I said.
    “You,” Amy said with a nod.
    “So you went along with him?” George said. “Hiding him in the woods while he stalked and tried to kill us?”
    “What else could I do?” Amy asked. “Roland said if I didn’t cooperate, he’d turn me in to the police.”
    As sick as Roland was, I could understand why he was after Bess, George, and me. If it wasn’t for us, he’d still be back on Malachite Beach brainwashing his followers and taking their money. But why would he want to hurt Mandy, Mallory, and Mia?
    “What did Roland do with the Casabian sisters, Amy?” I asked. “Tell us.”
    Amy stared at me. “The Casabian sisters?” she repeated. “What does Roland have to do with them?”
    “Come on, Amy,” Bess said with a smile. “Be a good role model and be honest .”
    “Some role model I turned out to be,” Amy said miserably. “I haven’t taught my campers anything.”
    Her eyes darkened when I pulled out my phone. “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “Calling the police,” I said. “You’re protecting a dangerous criminal and putting young girls in danger.”
    Amy walked toward me, but George held her back. When I tried to call, though, I had no luck. “Darn,” I said. “There’s no connection in the bunk.”
    I moved closer to the door to try again, but stopped when I heard someone say, “Going somewhere?”
    My blood froze at the familiar, sinister voice. I looked up from my phone to see a hideous face covered with blue blotches and crusted scars.
    The palest blue eyes glared at me from under a straw hat, the unmistakable eyes of Roland .

 

ROLAND’S REVENGE
    R oland towered over me as he backed me up into the bunk. He wore the sickeningly familiar white jacket and a sinister grin on his ruined face.
    “I wouldn’t bother calling Chief McGinnis,” Roland snarled. “He doesn’t have a very good record of believing you and your friends.”
    “He’ll believe us now,” George said angrily. She caught Bess’s and my eyes. “No way