Page 29 of Glimmer in the Darkness

He jogged toward her, realizing as she closed the distance that it was, indeed, Cassidy.

When she was about fifteen feet away, she veered off toward the path that led to the parking area where she’d left her car the day before. A single word left her lips.

“Eugene.”

And then she jogged away, disappearing around the side of the building.

A moment later, one of the camp carts motored down the narrow road, Eugene at the wheel, scanning the campground.

Looking for Cassidy?

James watched as Eugene parked the cart near the playground. He stepped out, still looking around. After a moment, he seemed to concede that he’d lost her—assuming he’d been following her—and entered the rear door of the restroom building.

James waited another minute to ensure Cassidy had time to get to her car, then climbed into his own. As soon as he slid inside, he dialed the number Cassidy had given him the night before.

She answered on the second ring, out of breath. “I’m safe.”

“Eugene stopped at the bathrooms. What happened?”

Through the phone, he heard a car door slam, then a long exhale. “It was probably… I don’t know.”

“Meet me at my house.”

“I don’t want to get you in trouble.” In the background, her car dinged, and the engine rumbled to life.

“Too late for that,” he said. “See you in five.” He ended the call before she could argue and headed home.

At his house, he lifted the garage door but parked behind his Jeep. He’d replaced the tires and started it that morning, thinking that, if he did go with Cassidy, he’d rather take the old off-roading vehicle than his new car.

When she pulled in a few seconds later, he directed her to drive in, then lowered the door behind her and moved his car into the empty space so nobody would think a car was parked inside.

Paranoia in action.

He opened his front door, walked through the house, and then opened the door that led to the garage.

She stepped inside. “I’m just going to have to pull it back out when I leave.”

He swiveled and walked to the kitchen, where he leaned back against the counter and tried to calm his racing heart.

She followed and sat at the kitchen table.

“What were you thinking, going over there?” His voice came out too loud, but he didn’t lower it. “You trying to get arrested?”

“I’m trying to figure out who took Ella. Last night, you suggested it might have been one of the Cages, so I thought I’d go over there, see if either of them looked familiar. Or sounded—”

“What happened?”

As she explained, his anger only got worse. “You followed him? Are you insane?”

“I just thought, if I could overhear him talking, maybe I’d recognize his voice. I heard him on the phone.”

“And?”

“It didn’t ring any bells. And Eugene was too unsure. The guy who took us was afraid, but he knew what he was doing. Even though he probably hadn’t planned anything, once he had us, he was confident in his course. I can’t imagine Eugene being confident in anything.”

“But he cornered you.”

She settled back against the chair, her shoulders relaxing. “I think he didn’t understand that he was scaring me. He’s just socially awkward, and maybe I panicked. I ran, and then I went into the woods and walked through people’s campsites, which got me a lot of looks.”