Elliot Marsh hiked the trail on a Saturday in early May, because that was the first day the weather was clear and he was not on duty. He brought a handheld radio and a ranger's notebook and a camera, because he was the kind of man who documented everything.
Hannah went with him.
I did not know she was going until I saw her at the door with her hiking boots on and a jacket tied around her waist. She had not told our mother. She had told her she was going to a training.
"Annie," she said, when she saw me in the hall. "Stay here."
"Take me with you."
"Absolutely not."
"Hannah." I grabbed her sleeve the way I had grabbed it that night in the break room, and I felt her flinch, just a little, at the memory. "If you find it. Call me."
"You're six."
"Call the house. Ask for me. I'll be her
