Ash?

[Elfert]

Maybe is Ash the one who shot Jim at the end. He have motive and is weirdly ignored after the cabin. I dont think he gonna let it forget all the thing about the hotel of his mother.

[smolNprecious]

interesting theory. i haven't explored all the different story threads yet so I cant say for sure, but I suppose its possible

[Psyringe]

(Fair warning: potential spoilers ahead)

I agree that Ash's story arc seems oddly disconnected from the other stories, but on the other hand, I don't see why he would blame Jim for anything that happened. He didn't even meet him.

What we do know about Jim, is that he was in Two Rocks 15-20 years before, and he is very secretive about what happened back then. The game shows this in several situations:

- Paul recognizes Jim the minute he sees him (Jim plays it off as "people just mistake me for Clint Eastwood")

- Paul eventually remembers Jim as "the traveling salesman in the bar from 15-20 years ago" (Jim gets angry and tells Paul to "drop it").

- At one point, Jim takes a picture of a woman (could be Sharon or her sister) and looks at it, deep in thought. (I think he's lost in memories in that scene.)

- When Sharon enters the motel, Jim immediately puts on his baseball cap and looks downward to conceal his face.

- When/If Jim gets a concussion, he says that "It's all my fault, I wanted to make amends". What he's probably referring to, is that he had some unfinished business in Two Rocks. He clearly feels regret and wanted to put things right, and that's why he suggested driving to New Orleans by car and "taking the scenic route" (Michelle's original plan was to go by plane.)

- Before Jim gets shot, he says "tell him he can have it, it's still in Two Rocks". Jim did not have the time to do anything in Two Rocks in 1998. So whatever the intruder was after, it must have been related to Jim's earlier visit. Apparently he left something behind there between 1973 and 1978.

In short, the game gives many clues that "something" happened when Jim was in Two Rocks in the past, but this never gets resolved. My guess is that this unfinished business is what led the intruder to him. But I don't see a connection to Ash there.

(Btw, I find it interesting that Jim was in Two Rocks around the time when Jay was born, and that Jay's father is unknown. It seems plausible that Jim had a fling with Sharon's sister. Not sure if or how that's connected to Jim getting shot at the end of book 2, though.)