Page 5 of Glimmer in the Darkness

He never played another baseball game. Instead, he attended Plymouth State, right down the road, where he could be close to his parents. Reid went with him, and Vince had checked up on him often over the years.

James didn’t know if he’d have survived without Vince and Reid, especially after his parents passed.

Vince slapped him on the shoulder and squeezed. “This has gotta be killing you.”

The memories were all too close today. James feared that if he turned around too fast he might catch a glimpse of one.

“It’s the same guy,” Vince said. “Least we think it is.”

“You mean girl?”

After a long silence, Vince said, “I know you always thought it was an accident.”

“Cassidy wouldn’t have hurt my sister.”

“You’re the most loyal person I know. One of your best qualities. But in this case… If you hear from her, if she shows up—”

“Cassidy’s long gone. She’s not coming back.”

The press conference broke up, and James left Vince and made his way toward his friend, waiting until most of the others who’d come to offer their prayers and support had walked away before approaching. “Anything I can do?”

“Just keep praying.”

He tamped down the guilt. James had done enough of that. Prayer always made his hopes climb like a helium balloon. The higher it soared, the farther the pieces fell when it burst.

Reid’s eyes were red-rimmed when he turned them on James. “Why would she do this to us?”

She. Even Reid believed it, though he’d been friends with Cassidy in school.

“If I ever get my hands on her…” His voice cracked.

He seemed to be waiting for a response. James didn’t know what to say, but more guilt pressed in. As if Cassidy’s actions were somehow his responsibility. As if he should have known.

As if he should agree.

He didn’t, though. He couldn’t.

Detective Cote, Reid’s uncle, approached, and James stepped away to let them talk, thankful for the reprieve. Because he wanted to be there for his friend, but he wasn’t about to jump on the Cassidy-is-guilty-of-everything train. The girl he’d known, the girl he’d loved, was no kidnapper, no murderer.

No matter what everybody believed.

Chapter Four

If only Cassidy had the courage to stay overnight on the mountain.

But she didn’t, and when she realized the time, she hurried down, back to the trail. The sun was falling behind the trees, the woods dark and deep. She’d encountered lots of folks on the way up, but the trail was deserted now. The campers at the foot of the mountain were done with hiking for the day. Smart. Staying up here after dark…

Fear crawled up her spine like ants on a watermelon rind.

Most folks would argue that this mountain was safe, that no crime could touch this place. She knew better. This mountain offered more than pretty views of Lake Ayasha and Mt. Coventry and, in the distance, the snow-capped peak of Mount Washington. There were places to lurk and hide. Dark places filled with evil.

She had to stop those thoughts. Focus.

But the fear didn’t lift.

Something was… following her.

It wasn’t so much a sound as a feeling, a whisper that sneaked through her being and gripped her heart. She’d had that sense once before, and she hadn’t heeded it, a mistake that had proved fatal.