“That doesn’t compute. How did Jeff King’s head get smashed? How did Cady get injured? The doctors said her spine had been hit with a blunt instrument of some kind. She was found on the edge of the pond. So was the King boy. How did they get to the edge if they fell into the water?” Mandy asked. “I think I want to know what happened to the zip line.”

Anthony frowned. “Filming today is so different from when we were making movies. Today they go for the shock value. With that in mind, I’d have to say, the other children were here. My guess, and this is just a guess, would be this—they were all in it in some way. Knowing the way kids are, I’d say they were pitching rocks. Take a look around, some of these are pretty big,” he said, pointing to a wide array of rocks around the edge of the pond. “They could have pitched them in the pond afterward, or they fell into the pond. Do you know if they drained the pond?”

“No, they didn’t drain it. There was no need they said, since both children were on the edge,” Lola said. “The boy’s parents said Cady hit their son with a rock. They also said their son would never hit a girl, much less hit her in the back so that she would become paralyzed. Where was Bully Number Two? What part did he play in this?” Lola said.

“Maybe he wasn’t here that day,” Anthony said.

“My suspicion is they were all here that day. The Hollister twins and Pete Danson were only ten years old. They would have been petrified at what happened. Boomer Ward, Bully Number Two, was Jeff King’s shadow. They were always together. He was three years older, the same age as the dead boy. Cady said Boomer was never mean to her. She said he always tried to get the King boy to stop tormenting her,” Lola said.

“I think they’re a bunch of little liars is what I think,” Mandy said fiercely. “You know what else I think? I think they’re all still scared out of their wits that Cady is going to remember and that the truth will come out. If what we’re thinking is true, where will that leave them?

“Think about it, they’re all white-collar professionals. They all have positions to maintain in the community. Amy is a mother, belongs to the PTA, and is probably actively involved in everything pertaining to her children. She certainly wouldn’t be up for a Mother of the Year award if this came out.”

“There’s no proof,” Anthony said. “All we have are theories. If this was my movie, I’d have all the kids in it. You have anger, jealousy, fear, and possibly murder, not to mention Cady’s medical condition. We should probably toss childhood infatuations into the mix. Thirteen-year-old boys are starting to look at girls in a different way. Ten-year-old boys are becoming aware of girls. It has everything a film director could possibly want. I’d stake my reputation and my life on the fact that they were all here that day, Lola.”