Page 7 of Little Stolen Memories

“Did you let Harvey in after he verified his identity?” I asked.

“I did. I threw my hands around him and started sobbing. It was the first time I allowed myself to believe I was going to make it out of there alive.”

Cora closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in.

“Thank you for explaining all of this to me,” I said. “I know it’s not easy to talk about such a painful memory.”

“It’s not, but I know how important it is for you to have every detail I can remember.”

Indeed.

“Who owns the cabin now?” I asked.

“It’s still in the family … except we haven’t been back there since the murders happened.”

“Any idea where I can get my hands on a key?”

“I’m sure my parents have one somewhere. I’ll make a copy and get it to you right away.”

“Harvey has mentioned your case to me a few times over the years. He’s always regretted not solving the murders before he retired.”

“My mother told me he still stops by their house every once in a while to ask how I’m doing. It means a lot to me.”

“Yeah, he’s one of the good ones.”

I tapped my pen to the desk, thinking. “Who all knew about your plan to go to the cabin that summer weekend?”

“No one except the six of us, as far as I know. We made a group decision not to tell any of our other friends at school because we didn’t want anyone to be upset that they weren’t invited. Plus, we worried if we told anyone, our parents might find out we lied to them.”

“Why did you lie to your parents?”

“Our parents didn’t know the boys would be joining us for the weekend. They would have never agreed to it otherwise.”

“Did any of you talk about the cabin trip in a public setting, somewhere people could overhear?”

“I didn’t, but I don’t know about the rest of our group.”

Word about their plans had leaked somehow.

“You mentioned the person who attacked you was a man,” I said. “I know it was dark, but is there anything you can remember about him? Approximate age, height, or any other relevant details?”

Cora considered the question for a moment. “I don’t know. I never saw his face. He was wearing something over his head. Like a knitted hat, and the eye holes had been cut out.”

“If you didn’t see his face, how can you be sure it was a man who attacked all of you and not a woman?”

Cora tapped a finger to the top of the desk. “He was tall … and big.”

“When you say big?—”

“I don’t mean overweight. He was more muscular than flabby.”

“Have you considered the man who attacked you may have been one of your classmates?”

“The police asked me the same question. I sorta felt like it was an older man? But I don’t know for sure. I wish I did. I sat through so many interviews the first year after it happened, trying to remember anything I could to help them catch the guy. In the end, it didn’t matter. Nothing I said made a difference.”

Given her age at the time, it could have been easy for her to assume the man was much older. But she hadn’t seen his face. And even though she had a faint memory of him speaking to her, she couldn’t recall what he’d said. He could have been anyone.

“Could you make me a list of any classmates the six of you may have had a problem with back then?”

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