“Everyone paid attention to Hannah. She was gorgeous. It would have been unusual for men not to stare at her.”

“Right.” I swallowed. The topic of Hannah’s extraordinary beauty had always unsettled me. “But you know what I mean. Was there anyone who you remember being creepy?”

Parker shook his head slowly. “I don’t remember anything like that. I mean, it’s entirely possible. Men hit on Hannah all the time. But it was a long time ago, and I’m sure we were all drunk on cheap beer.”

“All right. Well, if anything comes back to you, let me know.” I stood to leave.

“Why?” Parker looked at me quizzically. “What’s going on, Mags?”

“Nothing, it’s just . . . James is really upset. I guess that’s normal, right? All this time, he thought she accidentally drowned, which was horrible enough. But now that her body has been found, and it’s pretty clear that her death was not accidental . . . well, it’s hitting him hard.”

“I bet. Me, too. But I’m sure the police are doing everything they can?”

“Probably. But a detective spoke to James yesterday, and now he’s worried that they’re looking at him as a suspect. I guess I’m hoping I could find some information that would clear his name. Or at least give the police an alternate theory to investigate.”

“I get it. But I think you should leave this to the professionals. If they can’t solve a murder case from twenty-five years ago, I don’t see how you’re going to, right?”

I sighed. “You’re probably right.”

“I am. And Mags? My memory of that weekend may be hazy in places, but there’s one thing I do remember clearly. When I woke up, and saw Hannah walking away, the first thing I did was look over at the tent she’d been sharing with James. The front flaps were up, and I saw James asleep inside. Whatever happened to Hannah that night, he wasn’t involved—I can promise you that.”

James called me before I was even halfway home.

“Why were you asking Parker about the case?”

“Parker called you?” Obviously, he had. The idea rankled my already frayed nerves. It felt like Parker had tattled on me. James had known him longer, but I considered Parker to be a close friend, too.

“He was concerned,” James said. “About both of us, actually. He said you seemed stressed.”

“A detective showed up at our front door yesterday demanding to speak with you. I didn’t sleep at all last night. Of course I’m stressed.”

“Speaking of. . .” James inhaled deeply. “Detective Forsythe wants to officially interview me. Today. He’s asked me to meet him at the Sheriff’s Office here in town.”

“Does he have the jurisdiction to do that? He’s from a different county.”