Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk Page B

his pocket and handed it to my father, who smoothed it out and looked at it for a moment before passing it to my mother.
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo you don’t think it’s odd that a man like Toby is sneaking around taking pictures of your daughter when she’s unaware?”
    I moved around behind my mother and peered over her shoulder. The picture showed me walking down the path to school. Sunlight coming through the branches lit up my face, but the rest of me looked vague in the shadows. It felt strange, seeing what I looked like when I thought I was alone. I had never known that Toby was there, in the trees nearby, watching.
    â€œIt’s odd the way Toby is odd,” my mother said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s something worse.”
    Aunt Lily stood up suddenly. “More of his pictures came back in today’s mail,” she said, and hurried off to her room.
    When she returned, I reached out my hand. “He wanted me to give them to him as soon as they came back,” I said.
    â€œWell, you can’t very well do that when he’s run off,” she said, handing the package to the constable.
    He opened it, took the pictures out of the envelope inside, and held them well away from his wet coat as he looked at each one. His face became tougher as he did.
    He held one back, passing the rest to my parents, who looked at them together, Aunt Lily across the table fidgeting impatiently.
    â€œWhat?” she said. “Pass those here.”
    â€œSome yellow trees,” my father said. “A field of pumpkins.” He paused and turned to the constable. “But I suspect that one you’ve got there is something different.”
    The constable nodded. He passed it over, and I moved behind my father so I could see it.
    We were looking at the schoolhouse road from high above. Some tree branches split the scene, but I could make out Mr. Ansel’s grays, his wagon filled with apples. Ruth, lying in the road. Mr. Ansel climbing down from his wagon. And me.
    â€œOh my Lord,” my mother said quietly.
    â€œBut this doesn’t mean anything,” I said. “Just because he took that picture doesn’t mean he threw the rock.”
    â€œI’m afraid it means quite a lot, young lady,” the constable said. “Especially since Betty is missing and Toby’s gone, after she accused him of hurting Ruth, after I went down there and told him so—and you must realize that he knew we’d be looking at these very pictures at some point—all of which adds up to a worrisome conclusion. But right now the most important thing is finding Betty.”
    â€œAnd that terrible man,” Aunt Lily said. She should have looked harmless, in her robe and rollers, but she didn’t.
    The constable turned to me. “Mrs. Taylor told me Andy was at the schoolhouse today, looking for Betty. Do you know anything about that, Annabelle?”
    I shrugged. “Andy and Betty really like each other.” I thought about it for a moment. “They usually disappear at recess. You already know about the belfry. And I think she and Andy sharpened up a wire and strung it across the path. It cut my little brother across the forehead.” I traced a line across my own.
    The constable shook his head. “Another story I need to hear. But right now I’m going to talk to Andy. Depending on what he has to say, we’ll round up some people and go looking. I hope you can help with that, John.”
    â€œAnd what about Toby?” Aunt Lily demanded. “I certainly don’t like the idea of a crazy man running loose around here.” She tightened her robe across her chest.
    â€œI suspect he’s long gone,” the constable said. “Probably miles from here by now. But I’ll let the state barracks know the situation in case he shows up somewhere else.”
    He climbed to his feet. “In the meantime, finding Betty should be our only