Page 28 of Glimmer in the Darkness

“Think you’re old enough to call me Wilson.” He came around the counter and pumped James’s hand. “Considering you’re our closest neighbor, we hardly ever see you.” His gaze softened to the compassionate look so many gave James, the one that grated his nerves. “How you holding up? This’s gotta be hard for you, what with the girl bein’ your best friend’s kid.”

“Harder for Reid,” James said. “But yeah, it brings back memories.”

Wilson wore the same army green shorts and light green T-shirt he always wore during the camping season. His red cap emblazoned with the name of the campground was perched on the counter. He motioned to the couch. “You wanna sit?”

“I’m okay. I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions.” Though, now that he was face-to-face with Wilson, he wondered what he was doing there. Of course this guy hadn’t hurt Hallie. Except James was sure Cassidy hadn’t, either. “I was talking to Detective Cote about what happened back when my sister was kidnapped. He said you saw her and Cassidy on the trail that night.”

Wilson took the tiniest step back. “Yeah. I was up at the shack and heard some noises, so I climbed up to the trail. There’s a little path there. Saw your sister. She was giggling and running. Cassidy was behind her, calling to her to slow down. They both looked like they were having fun.”

“See anything else?”

“Wish I had. When I was sure there was nothing to worry about, I came back here and got ready for my date that night.”

Not that it was any of his business, but he asked, “With who?”

“Lady I met in Plymouth on one of those dating apps.” He leaned against the counter. “That was back when I thought I might meet somebody, not be alone the rest of my life. But no woman wants to move to a dinky town and take care of an overgrown kid, which is all Eugene’ll ever be. Don’t get me wrong—I love that boy fiercely. But nobody knows him like I do. He’s always been big and strong, and I think he frightens some folks. Not a lot of people have ever tried to get to know him, to be honest.”

James felt a twinge of guilt. He’d never tried. He’d always had plenty of friends and never had any use for the slow kid next door. And Wilson was right. Eugene came off as a little scary. Long arms and legs, strong, powerful, but without the intellect to know how to control himself.

“Where was Eugene that night?”

“Here, playing video games. And I know what you’re thinking, but he’s as gentle as they come. Besides, police checked out both our alibis. Gal I was with vouched for me, and the people Eugene played online with vouched for him.”

“I’m not accusing you. Just trying to put the pieces together. My parents kept a lot of the facts of the case from me.”

Wilson clasped his upper arm. “It was hard on everyone, I’m sure. And now that it’s all happening again…” He didn’t finish the sentence, just squeezed James’s arm and dropped his hand.

“I wondered… You and Eugene have been on this mountain a long time. You ever seen a cave or any rock formations that might create a cave?”

Wilson ran a hand over his head. “Nope. Never seen anything like that. Why?”

“Just something I heard.”

“About Ella’s disappearance?”

“It’s not important.” James glanced at the door, ready to leave.

The older man leaned back against his desk. “You let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. I don’t blame you for trying to fill in all the blanks.”

James started to turn, then stopped. “Do you think… You saw Cassidy that night. Did anything about her stand out to you? Did she seem afraid or nervous or… anything?”

Wilson’s lips turned down at the corners. “I didn’t know her at all. She seemed like a normal kid to me.”

“Do you think she did it?”

“I never could figure out how. I mean, she’s on the mountain, playing with your sister. And then… what? She snatches her on a whim? How’d she get away? Why’d she wait, play with Hallie, and then run? Lotsa holes in the story. I figure something happened, made her snap.”

Wilson made good points, points James wished he’d made to Cote earlier. He’d need to ask Cote how he explained her lack of transportation.

He thanked Wilson and stepped out of the office, surveying the campground. Looked like business was excellent. Wilson and Eugene would be busy with all these campers. Neither of them would have time to pull off two kidnappings. Probably.

But James wasn’t willing to concede that they were innocent. Not if it meant conceding that Cassidy was guilty.

He caught sight of a woman running toward the common area down the middle of one of the narrow roads leading to the campsites. She wore a baseball cap and sunglasses and kept glancing behind her as if someone were chasing her. It was the way she carried herself, the shape of her, that made him think of Cassidy. But she wouldn’t be here. Coming here would be insane.

Yet, the closer she got, the more she looked like the most wanted woman in New Hampshire.

The woman shifted his direction.