Wanda had hit a sore spot in Oliver. Being as he was a D2 in Homicide, and she was a D1 in Juvenile, she needed to make amends, and fast. “Oliver’s right. That kind of thing is typical teenager garbage, no big deal except that Brandon was caught for city curfew violation in Westwood. The kid was issued a citation and his parents found out and hit the ceiling. They forced him into therapy with the Baldwins. Mervin suggested the camp, and that’s how Brandon came to be where he was.”

Webster said, “The second kid, Riley Barns, was also caught for truancy along with Brandon. Except his parents didn’t care much about how late Riley stayed out because they were never home themselves. The deal was this: Riley and Brandon are best friends. Where one went, the other went. So that’s how they both ended up with the Baldwin camp. Now you’re up to date.”

“We’re not talking hard cases,” Oliver said.

“Exactly,” Webster answered. “So Wanda and I are thinking, why would those two do the tough bit at a time when their psychiatrist and fellow camper were reduced to hamburger? So we both do the old bore-into-the-eye trick, and see more fear than anything else. Y’all combine it with the fact that their sleeping bags were closest to Merv Baldwin’s tent. I think we got a clear deduction.”

“They saw something.” Decker wasn’t surprised. Someone should have witnessed something. “What?”

Wanda said, “We managed to pull out of Riley Barns the fact that he was awakened by a popping sound. He didn’t get up, he didn’t even move—just opened his eyes from his sleeping bag, not too sure about what he heard. Then he thought he saw a tiny beam of light, like a penlight. He said he might have seen a couple of shadows come out of the tent area and disappear into the brush.”

“A couple of shadows?” Decker said. “As in two people?”

“Maybe.”

“Go on.”

“That’s it,” Wanda concluded. “No details beyond that.”

Webster stated, “He was half-asleep. And since everything was quiet after that, he went back to sleep.”

“Any idea what time it was?” Decker asked.

“No…nothing.”

Marge said, “You think the boy was scared into losing his memory?”

Wanda said, “Nights are pitch black out there. Plus, the kid was awakened from a deep sleep. I don’t think he’s holding back.”

“So why didn’t he say anything when he was first questioned?” Marge asked.

“I think he was freaked when he found out what had happened,” Webster said. “He told Brandon Chesapeake about his experience right after Tarpin made the announcement.”

“What announcement?” Decker asked.