“Of course not,” James agreed. He shuffled his chair closer to Robin and Sally. Robin remarked that he had come a bit more alive since starting his story. His voice had become stronger. “We spent two weeks reinforcing the tunnel, with the Trust leaning on us the entire way. If I’d had it my way, it would have taken four weeks. I wanted to do an entire sweep of the tunnel—make sure that no other areas had been compromised. Like I said, house of cards. But the Trust wanted the job done so they could reopen. It was peak business time for them—July, I think. And we didn’t have time for the overall survey. The higher-ups said no. So it went unchecked.

“Not that that was what the public heard. Laker’s said it was all fine and dandy—we did a great patch job and the place was as safe as a padded cell. That was when the rumors started.”

“Rumors?” Sally said.

“Among the grunts at the firm, including me. There were whispers that the collapse had opened up a—a hole of some kind in the side of the railway tunnel. Tiny but there. No one actually went to find it. No one offered up any proof that it actually existed. But one man—I don’t remember his name—went to ask the boss about it. Next time we saw him, he was carrying his belongings out of the office in a big plastic bag. He didn’t come back.” James scratched his nose and looked at them. “That helped to get people to shut up about it. And I forgot about it—even when...it happened...if you can believe it. It was so far from my mind. That job’s long gone, and my memory ain’t what it used to be. Still, I should have remembered. I should have...”

“What jogged your memory?” Robin asked.

James ran his tongue over his top row of teeth. “I want to trust you. Both of you.”

Robin looked at Sally and then back. “We just want to help. We want to do what the police aren’t doing. We want to find out what really happened to your son and his friends. We want to ask the question everyone in this place seems to be avoiding.”

“And that is?” James said.

“How?” Robin said simply.