Page 37 of Little Stolen Memories

“Time changes everything.”

Indeed.

I glanced back at the map. “Next up is Jackson.”

I pivoted, heading in the opposite direction. Giovanni followed. We hadn’t made it far when I stopped.

“I’m not sure I’m leading us to the right spot,” I said.

“Let me have a look at the map,” Giovanni said.

I handed it to him. While he looked it over, I cupped a hand over my forehead like a visor, turning all the way around as I looked for clues as to where we’d find the place the police had found Jackson.

I grabbed Giovanni’s arm. “Wait a minute. I see what looks like a memorial of some kind. Over there.”

I took off toward a large wooden cross that had been nailed to a tree. Once painted white, the harsh winter weather had not been kind, picking away at the wood-grain layers of the cross, which caused it to split and peel.

In front of the cross, a variety of fake flowers had been stuck into the ground. They, too, looked old, as did all the other trinkets that had been left there, save for one thing—a football. It was in pristine condition.

Giovanni joined me, bending down to examine the mementos that had been placed to honor young Jackson’s life. Weathered photos, a football jersey bearing his number, and a beaded necklace in the school colors, among other things.

“The cabin may not have been occupied all these years, but someone’s been out here,” he said.

“I’m assuming it’s Jackson’s family.”

“The football’s new.”

“I thought the same thing,” I said. “This month marks the twentieth anniversary of their deaths. Maybe someone from his family brought the football in remembrance.”

Giovanni glanced at the cross and then turned toward the cabin. “How far was Jackson from the third kid they found?”

“Aidan was discovered fifteen feet away from here. If it wasn’t dark at the time Cora found Jackson, I’m sure she would have also seen Aidan. She said as much. In the notes from the case file, Harvey mentioned they thought Aidan might have put up a fight against his attacker. It leads me to believe Jackson was attacked first, but he was unsuccessful. It’s a miracle Cora made it out alive.”

“She’s a lucky woman.”

I wasn’t so sure Cora would agree.

“Aidan was the only victim to have skin under his fingernails, hence the reason they think he’d fought back,” I said. “Skin cells can get trapped beneath fingernails, so scrapings were taken and tested with the available DNA technology at the time. None of the testing went anywhere, though.”

“It’s possible the killer wasn’t in the criminal database twenty years ago, but perhaps he is now.”

I was hopeful he might be.

“I need to talk to Silas,” I said. “But I imagine it’s going to be a while before he has any test results.”

I looked around.

Darkness was fast approaching, and with it, the visibility was all but gone.

“Let’s head back to the cabin,” I said. “Since Cora’s family abandoned this place, I imagine there won’t be any electricity. Good thing we brought our own source of light.”

I’d had enough foresight to put a work light that attached to a tripod in the car when I left the office that morning. I’d also grabbed a couple of high-powered flashlights.

We trekked back to the car, removing what we needed, and made our way up the cabin steps.

I reached in my pocket to pull out the key Cora had given me, but Giovanni stopped me, saying, “We don’t need it. The door is open.”

I looked at where he was pointing. The door was a couple of inches ajar.

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