Page 8 of Glimmer in the Darkness

He might as well have struck her. That James, her James, could speak to her so cruelly, could have so thoroughly lost his faith in her… “Like mother, like daughter. Is that it?”

“You said it, not me.”

“Whatever.” She swiveled and started back toward the trail.

He grabbed her upper arm and whipped her around to face him. Though his grip was firm, he didn’t squeeze, didn’t hurt her. “I’m calling the cops.”

That would ruin everything. If he called the police, she wouldn’t get to Ella in time. “Please, James. If you ever cared for me, if you ever believed in me, even the tiniest bit, please don’t turn me in. I promise you, I didn’t hurt your sister, and Denise and Reid’s daughter… I would never…” Her emotions were bouncing around like a pinball. “I’m here to see if I can find her. I’m the only one who can.”

His flattened lips turned white. He didn’t believe her. Of course he didn’t. Why would he? Why would anybody put faith in Cassidy Leblanc?

She was innocent, and she’d give anything to prove it, anything to take that accusation out of his expression. But that wasn’t why she was here. “You could help me, you know. You could help me find them.”

“Who is them?”

“Ella and the kidnapper. I know where they are.”

“If you know where she is, it’s because you put her there.”

“I didn’t!” How could he even think such a thing? “I wouldn’t… I was at work. When Ella went missing, and the other little girl, I was thousands of miles from here. I can prove it. I didn’t take them. I wouldn’t have—”

“Then tell the police. Prove it.”

“I can’t. If I did, they’d know I didn’t take Ella or Addison, but there’s still the warrant because of Hallie. I’m doing all I can without ending up in prison. I’m trying to help.”

His dark eyebrows rose. “Do you expect me to believe that, after all these years, you decided to come back and help? After another child’s already been murdered?” His voice rose, became nearly a shout. “Now? Now, you’ve decided to tell what you know? Decided you need to play the hero? Why not tell the police every—”

“I tried!” She took a breath, then another. “I told them everything. I called. I called the day I ran away. I told them exactly where the kidnapper took us. I thought they’d find his hideout, maybe DNA evidence or something. I figured, when they caught the real kidnapper, I’d come back. But they didn’t care what I had to say. They thought I was guilty. They told me to turn myself in, and then they’d hear me out. As if I’d believe them.”

When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. “You called them? Back then?”

He hadn’t known? Why had she thought he would?

“Of course. I called again last month, after the other girl was taken. I tried to convince them that I knew where she was. I told the cop everything I know, which, honestly, isn’t much. I don’t know if they followed my tip. By the time I decided to come here myself, the child’s body had been found. When I called back to find out if they’d located the cave, the cop on the phone… He recognized my voice, and he lost it. Screamed at me, told me that he would find me and see me punished for what I did. You asked me why I haven’t turned myself in? Because if I go in, they’ll declare the case closed. And Denise and Reid’s daughter will die.”

The last few words hung in the cooling air.

James dropped her arm. “You’re saying…?” He rubbed the back of his neck before meeting her gaze again. “You’re saying that you think you can rescue Ella?”

“I have to try. I have to.”

He said nothing, just watched her.

If only he’d believe her. A new thought occurred to her, an idea that could change everything. “You know this mountain better than I do. I need to find the cave. No matter what they say, I know it exists. I was there. I almost died there.”

He stepped back, swallowed hard. “My sister…”

“She did die there.” Cassidy couldn’t keep the tears from her voice now. The memory was so close—Hallie in her arms, eyes open, lifeless.

“You’re saying you’re going to the place where you…”

Where you killed her.

That’s what he’d almost said. That’s what floated between them now.

She let it go. He believed what he believed, and there was nothing she could do about that.

He started again. “You’re going to the place where my sister died?”