I think back to that day. Jonah returning home with his duffle bag and a pickle jar and the news that Nick hadn’t been with him. Elizabeth suggested I get vases from the guesthouse. She asked me to go outside and lower the umbrella. And the next day, when I noticed the leak in the garage, she went rigid when I told her there was an emergency, but she relaxed when I told her it was a flood, like she’d been expecting worse. And when I finally did make the damn discovery, and she came outside, I shouted at her to get back into the house, and she obeyed without question or hesitation. “You wanted me to find him.”

“I need your help, Dad.”

“How dare you.”

He whispers, “They’re about to find out.”

“Who?”

“That guy who keeps calling,” he tells me. “Mr. Walsh at the medical examiner’s office. If I go in there and spill my guts, what’s going to happen to our family?” He’s asking the right questions, even as he continues to manipulate by reminding me that if his story were to surface, we’d all be ruined. The police would know that my child lied about witnessing Nick’s death, that he lived for three days with that lie, never bothering to tell anyone, never bothered at all. They’d ask Jonah about whether he was alone, and eventually he’d say no. He’d say why. How long until the scandal leaks? Would they charge my son with some kind of involvement in Nick’s death? Was he involved in Nick’s death? Why should I believe my son didn’t throw his best friend off the roof? Because my son is a colossal disappointment, not a murderer. He’s a grown man crying baby tears over his disastrous attempt to swing his dick around my house.

I’d come out looking a fool, too: a failed father who couldn’t control his own kid, an impotent husband incapable of satisfying his own wife, a clown for letting this happen right on and under my roof—the scene of two crimes. First the police station would laugh me out of town, then my whole community. I’d lose business and friends, and Elizabeth would be crucified. She’d be right back where she started when she left Stuart, which would confuse her into thinking I’m no better than him, which would be fine if I was ready to lose her.