Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 EIGHT WEEKS EARLIER SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 1980 SPIRIT LAKE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY, WASHINGTON STATE "Skeleton Woman is not real," Jess said. "She's totally made up," Sam agreed.

"Can we please stop talking about Skeleton Woman?" said Eddie, Sam's twin brother. "You're giving me the creeps." It was Sunday morning, and Jess and the Rowan twins were riding in the back of a red Ford pickup truck. Mr. Rowan, the twins' dad, was up front, singing loudly along to his favorite disco song. They were about twenty miles from their hometown of Cedar, Washington, rumbling along a winding highway. The road was lined with trees, a forever stretch of forest and rolling hills. They were heading to the Rowans' fishing cabin, which was on Loomis Lake, up closer to Mount St. Helens. It wasn't fishing season quite yet. But Mr. Rowan wanted to get the cabin ready. He was happy to have Jess and the twins tagging along for the day. Looking across at the twins, Jess saw two matching buzz-cut heads, four identical green eyes, and about ten thousand freckles. When they

were little, Jess would have done anything to look more like them. She'd blown out her birthday candles with a wish for green eyes instead of brown. She'd even drawn Magic Marker freckles onto her pale skin. But Jess had outgrown that. And anyway, the twins weren't so exactly alike. Eddie was quiet and serious. Sam never shut up and he had a fearless streak that sometimes got all three of them into big trouble. Like today, for example. Mr. Rowan didn't know the real reason that Jess and the boys wanted to get up to the mountain: Skeleton Woman. She was an evil woman from a scary old story, kind of like the witch from Hansel and Gretel, but worse, because she supposedly lived around here. She had wild white hair and coal-black eyes and rusted metal claws instead of fingers. According to the old legend, she lurked in the dark forests that covered the slopes of St. Helens,

the mountain that rose up over this whole valley. She wandered through the woods, searching for children, whose bones she used to make her magic powders. It was just a creepy story, the kind you told while you were roasting marshmallows or huddled together at a slumber party. But some of the kids in their school actually believed Skeleton Woman was real. One girl, Missy Samuels, swore Skeleton Woman lived in a broken-down shack in the woods near Loomis Lake. "That whole part of the forest is cursed," Missy had said, flicking one of her curls. It had been last Wednesday, and they were on the blacktop at school. Eddie had been impatiently bouncing a red rubber ball. Usually they played kickball at recess, but Missy wouldn't stop yakking about Skeleton Woman. Jess used to be good pals with Missy. But that was about a million years ago, before Missy's dad

got an important new job at the lumber company. Now Missy lived in the biggest house in Cedar — the only big house in Cedar. "Skeleton Woman is in those woods," Missy went on. "My dad says some of his workers saw her. And now they refuse to step foot in that part of the forest." "That's not true," Jess said. "They saw her, Jess!" Missy insisted. "Her clothes were covered with blood!" "It's just a dumb story," Eddie scoffed. "If you're so sure, maybe you should go to the shack yourselves," Missy said. This was starting to sound like a dare. "Fine," Sam blurted out. "We'll go." Jess and Eddie had shared a look that meant Please tape Sam's mouth shut now! Too late. "Fine," Missy said. "You better bring a camera, because I'll need proof."

Within minutes, she'd blabbed to everyone, making it sound like a big joke — with Jess and the twins as the punch line. So of course they couldn't back out. Which is why they were here, on this cold morning, sitting in the back of the red pickup. "But what if she's actually there?" Eddie asked. "Then Jess will take her picture," Sam said. Jess gripped her backpack, where she'd put Dad's camera. She felt a pang of guilt. The camera had been Dad's prized possession, and Jess knew that Mom wouldn't want Jess taking it into the woods. But Jess would be extra careful. She'd even wrapped it in a plastic bag, in case it rained. "How will I take her picture?" Jess asked. "Mrs. Skeleton Woman," Sam said in a high voice, "say cheese!" Eddie leaned forward and bared his teeth like a skeleton. "Cheese!" he growled. A glob of egg glistened on one of his teeth.