Ricochet

DANGER IN THE DARK

When Molly Hamilton returns to her beloved summer camp, she finds nothing but trouble. First she hits a dead body in the road before arriving. Then she discovers the camp director is missing. If that isn’t stressful enough, Molly’s new boss is none other than Nick White, the man who once broke her heart. Nick and Molly know there’s something dangerous going on at Camp Hope Springs. But as the former teenage sweethearts try to uncover the mystery, they discover even more hidden secrets—about the camp and themselves. Saving the camp may not be safe, especially for their hearts.

“Thanks for the update, Sheriff,” Nick said. He reached over and took the doll from the bench. “We found this on the flagpole this morning.”

The sheriff examined the doll for a moment before shaking his head. “Someone’s definitely trying to send you a message.”

Nick placed his hand on Molly’s back, wanting her to know that he was there to support her. “We’ve gotten the message loud and clear.”

The sheriff raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to take heed of the warning, I take it?”

Molly shook her head. “I’m staying right here.”

Finally, the sheriff nodded and took a step back toward his sedan. “So be it, then. Do be careful. I don’t want these incidents to escalate.”

“Neither do we,” Nick assured him.

Molly wrapped her arms over her chest and looked into the distance as the sheriff pulled away.

More than anything Nick wanted to protect Molly—both her heart and her physical well-being. But he wasn’t sure which would be harder.

CHRISTY BARRITT

loves stories and has been writing them for as long as she can remember. She gets her best ideas when she’s supposed to be paying attention to something else—like in a workshop or while driving down the road.

The second book in her Squeaky Clean Mystery series, Suspicious Minds, won the inspirational category of the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery. She’s also the coauthor of Changed: True Stories of Finding God in Christian Music.

When she’s not working on books, Christy writes articles for various publications. She’s also a weekly feature writer for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, the worship leader at her church and a frequent speaker at various writers’ groups, women’s luncheons and church events.

She’s married to Scott, a teacher and funny man extraordinaire. They have two sons, two dogs and a houseplant named Martha.

To learn more about her, visit her website, www.christybarritt.com.

Ricochet

Christy Barritt

The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, Glory!

—Psalms 29:9

This book is dedicated to Camp Rudolph, a place filled with memories of sweet friendships, skinned knees, the dreaded bat game and powerful God encounters.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

ONE

Thump!

Molly Hamilton’s sedan rose and then sank back to the ground as if she’d gone over a speed bump. A really large speed bump.

As she threw on the brakes, every muscle in her body tensed. She gripped the steering wheel, frozen with indecision. The lonely, wooded road slithered in front of her, cloaked by an ominous darkness. The forest had hollow spaces between the trees that just seemed to beckon something dangerous to hide there. Bears. Wildcats. Serial killers.

Molly shook her head. She was being ridiculous. She was an established, professional woman who should have long since outgrown her fear of the woods and nighttime. But some things never died. Memories from her childhood filled her, but she pushed them away. Not now.

Shakes overcame her anyway.

She looked in the rearview mirror and saw the red of her brake lights reflecting off the asphalt. Darkness swallowed everything else. Fear threatened to swallow her.

Whatever she’d hit still lay underneath her car. Her sedan had risen and fallen once, which meant that the front tires had gone over something, but not the back.

Probably just a deer, she rationalized. Perhaps someone else had hit the animal and left the poor creature in the road. The country lane was so narrow and winding, and outside was so dark. She’d rounded the corner and, just as she’d done so, seen a flash of something on the street. Before she could brake, she felt the thump against her wheels. The thump of a deer against her wheels.

Her throat went dry. She was going to have to get out of the car and check. Right?

Oh Lord, help me, please. I don’t want to open this car door.

Why had she even agreed to come to the backwoods of Virginia’s Northern Neck? What exactly had she been thinking when she begged for this temporary summer job in the middle of nowhere at Camp Hope Springs?

Closure, she remembered. She’d wanted closure, to go back to one of the happiest places of her youth. She had so many fond memories of her last summer of innocence, of being carefree and hopeful. Then she’d grown up and life had happened. Responsibilities had surrounded her and not let her go. She’d left her childhood behind right along with campfires and vesper services.