Page 44 of Line of Sight

Dan’s pulse quickened. “Ooh. That would be awesome. It doesn’t have to be anything huge.”

Mr. Wilson stood. “I’ll be right back.” He left the room.

Dan rose too and went over to look at the photos. “Are these your children?”

She joined him and pointed to the largest pictures. “That’s our son Jason, and his wife, Katy. This is our daughter Lorraine, and her husband, Simon, and our daughter Anna, and her husband, Peter.” She beamed. “We have eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.”

“I bet they keep you busy,” Gary remarked with a smile.

She laughed. “Oh yes. Our children take it in turns to have us stay with them during the holidays.” Her smile faltered. “It took me so many years before I stopped insisting that we set a place for Mark.” A sigh rolled out of her. “The pain never really goes away, you know.”

“I lost my brother two years before Mark died,” Gary said in a low voice. “A similar death, in fact. And you’re right. It doesn’t go away.”

Mrs. Wilson’s eyes glistened, and she clutched Gary’s hand and squeezed it.

The door opened, and Mr. Wilson walked in, carrying a box.

“I found a few things.” He set it down on the coffee table.

Dan peered into it. He saw a pair of climbing gloves, a helmet, and a coil of rope.

“Are these any use?” Mr. Wilson asked.

Dan smiled. “They’re perfect.” Before reaching into the box, he met Mr. Wilson’s gaze. “I’ll tell you the same thing I tell everyone. This isn’t an exact science. Sometimes I’m able toglean something about the person, sometimes not. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

Mrs. Wilson wiped her eyes with a dainty handkerchief. “We understand.”

Dan picked up the gloves and closed his eyes, focusing on them. Instantly, a wave of exhilaration washed over him.

“He really loved to climb, didn’t he?”

“You can feel that?” she asked.

He nodded. “I get a sense that this was when he felt most alive.”

Her breathing hitched. “Yes.”

Dan couldn’t pick up on any other strong emotions, however. He opened his eyes, replaced the gloves in the box, and picked up the coil of rope. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Minutes passed, and there was no sound in the small living room except for the mingled breaths of those present. Nothing to pick up on, either, except….

Oh. Nowthat’sinteresting.

Instinct told Dan to say nothing. He didn’t think Mark’s parents would understand.

He expelled a breath and looked at them. “That’s all.”

Mrs. Wilson’s expression of disappointment cut through him, and he hated that he’d given them a glimmer of hope, only to dash it.

“Thank you for trying,” she said at last. “I’m sorry it didn’t bring you any closer to learning who killed him.”

“Thank you for agreeing to meet us.” Gary shook Mr. Wilson’s hand, and they were shown to the front door. Once outside, Gary gave Dan an inquiring glance.

“Was that all?”

Dan shook his head. “Mark was nervous. In fact, we’re talking a state of heightened nervousness.”

“Maybe that was related to his climbing?”