“Who would you have saved, Boomer?” Pete asked quietly.

“Cady. I hated Jeff King. I would have saved Cady first and Jeff second. At least I think that’s what I would have done. The rest of you turned tail and ran. You didn’t even stop to see if Cady was dead or not.”

“Jesus, Boomer, we were ten-year-olds! I thought they were both dead. I swear to God, that’s what I thought,” Andy said, his voice full of anguish.

“That goes for me, too,” Pete said. “I was scared shitless. We all were. You were three years older, Boomer. Hey, you lied like the rest of us. We can almost be excused. What’s your excuse? Those three years make a hell of a difference.”

“I did tell in my own way. I called the police. I took down the zip line and threw it into the pond. Don’t ask me why,” Boomer said.

“Well, whoop-de-do,” Amy said.

“Back up a minute here. You said you hated Jeff King. And yet you were always with him just like his shadow. Hating him and hanging out with him are two different things. I think you need to explain that to all of us,” Pete said.

“Yes, I was always with him. Did you ever see me do even one thing or help Jeff in any way? No, you didn’t. I was there, but I never did a thing. In fact, more often than not, I tried to stop him from some of the stuff he tried to pull. I liked all of you back then. More than anything, I wanted to play with you but…I got these ice skates for Christmas one year, and my mother told me the pond wasn’t frozen hard enough to skate on it. I couldn’t wait to try them out, so I went to the pond and fell through the ice. Jeff pulled me out. He saved my life. Jeff said I owed him and was in his debt. That’s why I hung out with him. I didn’t like him. I actually grew to hate him because he further tormented me by telling me his sick secret. It’s not your business, so don’t ask me what it was. Now, what the hell are we going to do?”

“I already lied. Cady asked me point-blank the other night, and I said I wasn’t at the pond that day. Now, I’m all for telling the truth,” Pete said, his voice miserable.

“She asked me, too, when she came to the office yesterday morning. My response was, ‘Don’t ask me that, Cady.’ That means I can go either way. I say we tell her the truth,” Andy said.

“That’s how I feel. I think we should tell her before she regains her full memory. How about later today? I’ll call you with the details. I had this idea. How do you feel about doing a reenactment of that day? If we pull together and all go there to help her, it might all come back. Every little detail. She deserves to know. Are we agreed?”