An hour later, I’m squeezing down bumpy, narrow Cahto Street in my Bronco to find Gray on his way home from school, shoulders hunched beneath the straps of his backpack, his red hair lacquered into a pyramid or some sort of protest flag.

“I hope it was okay, what I told you the other day,” he says once I’ve parked and caught up with him.

“It’s all okay. Your help means a lot to us, Gray.” We’ve stopped in the middle of the street, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no traffic, no noise at all, not even birdsong—as if the whole world’s on pause for us. “Girls who have gone through a lot of tough stuff like Cameron has can often have a hard time getting close to people. But the two of you have proven that’s not always the case. What you have is special. It also makes me feel optimistic for her once we bring her home. Meaningful relationships can change outcomes. Can change everything.”

I can see from the way Gray looks at me that he’s grateful for my certainty. Not if, but when. Also that what I’m saying about trust is registering in a deep way. He has probably come to need that closeness just as powerfully as she has. “Have you thought any more about who might have had access to Cameron? Anyone she might have mentioned. Anyone you spotted together, even once, that gave you an off feeling.”

“I’ve been trying, but I just don’t remember. We were together all the time, almost every day. We told each other everything, too. If she’d met someone, I think I’d know.”

“Okay. Keep racking your brain. And in the meantime, I have a big favor to ask. Saturday night we’re going to have a town meeting at the community center to talk about Cameron. I want to make a sort of collage of her life so that people know who she really is and what she cares about. No one’s closer to her than you, Gray. Will you help?”

“I can try.” His expression is tentative, but I also know he’d do anything for her.

“Great. Think of everything that makes Cameron Cameron. What she loves. What’s special about her. Make lists of her favorite things, and get some great pictures of her photocopied to share. This doesn’t have to be professional, just come from the heart.”

“I only have a few years’ worth of things. We didn’t start spending a lot of time together till the end of seventh grade.”

“That’s okay. Two years is a long time when you’re really close to someone.”