In Strange Woods - Claire Cray Page 0,10

him for another stretch. James wondered if it had to do with his own identity or his doppelgänger’s. Either way, he wasn’t going to be the first to say anything.

Then the woman blinked and shook her head slightly, breaking the stalemate. “What size?”

James stepped forward, approaching the counter. “Sixteen ounces.”

She bent down to root under the counter. Her demeanor was tough and cranky, but not mean. She straightened and put the paper cup on the counter with a hollow thunk, eyeballing him. “You need a lid?”

“Please.”

She stooped with a grunt to rummage under the counter again.

James looked to his right, where the old man was leaning forward on his cane, peering at him in apparent wonder. “Hello,” James said.

The man offered a slow nod.

The plastic lid rattled onto the counter beside the cup. James looked down at it. “Thanks. How much?”

“That’s a dollar.”

He opened his wallet and handed her the bill, then noticed the small assortment of folded maps for sale beside the register. “I’m looking for a map, too. Is there a good one for this area?”

The pair exchanged another strange look. Then the man shuffled closer to James and reached past him with a shaky hand, pulling out one of the maps and slapping it on the counter.

“That’s the one, huh, Charlie?” The old woman picked up the map and adjusted her bifocals to look at the front, then unfolded it partially. “Oh, this is too hard to read.”

“No, actually…” James leaned over the counter. It was a Ranger District map, focused on land features and service roads. “I think this is what I need.”

“For what?” The woman demanded. “Fishin’?”

“Exploring. I’m a photographer.”

Charlie reached for the map and unfolded it determinedly, heavily favoring his left hand. James guessed he’d survived a stroke. He leaned in as Charlie spread out the map and planted a finger on it, tapping hard and then waving around at the store.

“That’s right here?” James took a pencil from a cup beside the register and circled it. “So, then here’s Broken River, right?”

Charlie nodded to confirm James was tracing the correct path.

The woman eyed him suspiciously. “What are you takin’ pictures of?”

“Uh, trees,” James said, glancing confusedly at Charlie when the old man chuckled under his breath like he saw through the lie. What was with these two? Folding up the map, James went to fill up his coffee cup.

“You know cell phones don’t work out here,” the woman said.

“Yeah, I know.” James put the lid on his cup and raised it to them as he turned to leave. “Thanks a lot, Charlie, and…”

“I’m Rose.” The woman’s tone had softened slightly. Slightly. “You be careful wanderin’ around out here. Don’t be goin’ on any private property. And don’t get stuck in the mud!”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Ten minutes later, a few feet away from a faded ‘No Trespassing’ sign stapled to a tree, James got hopelessly stuck in the mud.

The rough, unnamed dirt road had seemed to be the only route that headed toward the coordinates labeled Camp Five on his map. But the mud was worse than it looked, and by the time he realized he’d done everything he shouldn’t do to get un-stuck, the back wheels were dug in so deep the mud was almost up to the bumper.

Shit. Fuck. Goddammit. Cursing several more times under his breath, he trudged back to the main road and started walking. He was at least five miles outside of Spruce, and it was already getting dark. In woods like these, where the trees walled off most of the sky, nighttime came early.

After dark was when it had happened. It was all in the police report. Between ten thirty-five and midnight on Sunday August tenth, while James was off drinking around a campfire in the Ozarks, someone had crept into the townhouse and

Don’t do it. Don’t think about it.

James picked up his stride and started singing Elvis songs under his breath, a lifelong habit when he needed a distraction. Bryce and Grace had both been obsessed with Elvis. It was one of the many odd, joyful quirks they had in common. When James was little, Bryce would put on old records and show him how to dance like the King, hamming it up to ‘Jailhouse Rock’ while James and Robin howled with laughter.

Shit. It hurt so much to remember now.

Just when darkness had fallen completely and he was growing lightheaded with despair, the glow of headlights approached from around the bend up ahead, sending the shadows of tree limbs