He wanted to believe she was just protecting her body from the icy temperature, but James knew better.

Like a small creature trembling before a predator she shivered, her devastated soul haunting her whole being.

“You were trying to get the Pearce girl to hang out. I mean, it’s Friday night—the weekend, right? But she couldn’t, could she? ’Cause her old man kept her on a tight leash.” He took a step forward to close the distance between them. “So there you are, trying to get her to sneak out maybe. Drew probably, acting crazy, leading the charge. And he was smoking wasn’t he? Even I saw him with a cigarette in his mouth. And then her old man shows up, doesn’t he? And he’s angry. Probably real angry. Tells you to get outta there. But Drew gets in his face...”

James broke off and took another few steps towards the huddle.

They didn’t move, but he sensed them tightening up, held together by a tragedy they’d all witnessed and couldn’t quite handle. They closed ranks, without moving a muscle. Nobody was talking.

He needed answers, and they needed absolution. But he didn’t want to scare them all, either. They were just kids. Whatever happened, he had to remember they were kids and sometimes, kids made horrible mistakes. He took a breath and watched the fog billow out his mouth. “But he won’t let it go, will he? He just keeps pushing, showing off for you guys.” He waited a beat, hoping Amanda or one of the others would confirm his suspicions. No one said a word, but a sheen of tears glistened in Amanda’s eyes.

“Now this is the part I’m not sure about,” James said, “but it was Drew’s cigarette that started that fire, not Travis’s, right?” He lowered his voice. “So, did he mean to do it?”

“It was an accident.” Ian appeared from out of the shadows, his face in a scowl, his voice barely audible.

James looked into his nephew’s eyes and noted the relief, the need to pass the burden to someone else, to confess, to purge his soul’s desperate need for expiation, for redemption. Thank You, God, for giving me a break in this case…please take care of Ian’s soul, too…all of these kids…please let them know that You love them and nothing will make that go away…With that prayer, James felt the stumbling block within his own heart lighten, as if the children’s needs had opened a door in his soul.

“Shut up, man” the burly kid said.

“What?” James said to Ian.

“It was an accident! It was just an accident. It was an accident,” Ian hollered. He shuffled forward, his entire body a limp and dejected.