The coroner’s report had found traces of Budweiser in Kristal’s tiny stomach. Her lungs, too— the child had aspirated beer.

I said, “It was Rand’s idea to give Kristal beer.”

“I said that.”

“Why do you think Rand had that idea?”

“He’s stupid.”

“Rand is.”

“Yup.”

“You hang out with him a lot.”

“He hangs out with me.” Flint had come into his voice. He realized it. Smiled. “Most of the time, he’s okay.”

“What happens when he’s not okay?”

“He does stupid things. Like that.”

“That?”

“Giving the baby beer.”

“How’d Kristal like the beer?”

“Not too good.”

“She throw up some more?”

“She made puffy noises.” His cheeks inflated and he exhaled noisily. “Stuff started coming out of her nose. Then she started yelling.”

“Yelling loud?”

“Kind of.”

“Pretty annoying.”

His eyes were hyphens. “It wasn’t cool.”

“What’d you do about that?”

“Nothing.”

“Kristal threw up on you and yelled loud and annoyed you but you didn’t do anything at all?”

“Didn’t have to,” he said. A tiny smirk skipped across his lips. Lasted for less than a second before his features settled into childish innocence. If I’d been writing notes, I would’ve missed the whole thing.

“Why didn’t you have to do anything, Troy?”

“Rand did.”

“Rand solved the problem.”

“Yup.”

“How?”

“Shook her and hit her and put his hand on her neck.”

“Rand put his hand on Kristal’s neck.”

“He choked her.”

“Show me how Rand choked Kristal.”

He hesitated.

I said, “You were there, Troy.”

“Like this,” he said, grazing his own neck with a limp hand. Pressing ineffectually with the back of the hand, then releasing.

“That’s how,” he said.

“Then what happened?”

“The baby blooped over.” He tilted to one side, in demonstration, lowered himself in slow motion to the cot. Sat up again. “Like that.”

“Kristal fell over after Rand choked her.”

“Yup.”

“How’d you feel when you saw that?”

“Bad,” he said, too quickly. “Very bad. Sir.”

“Why’d you feel bad, Troy?”

“She wasn’t moving.” Fluttering eyelashes. “I shoulda stopped it.”

“You should’ve stopped Rand from choking Kristal.”

“Yup.”

His lips curled upward and I watched for the return of the smirk. But something happened to his eyes that softened the expression.

The resigned, world-weary smile of one who’d seen it all but had managed to maintain his dignity.

“I’m very sorry,” he said. “It was up to me. I’m the smart one.”

* * *

He was.

Full-scale I.Q. score of 117, which put him in the top twenty-five percent. Given an abstract reasoning subtest in the ninetieth percentile and spotty school attendance that weakened his knowledge base, I figured it for an underestimate.

Worlds apart, intellectually, from Rand Duchay.

I shoulda stopped it.

Maybe Sydney Weider’s coaching had fallen short. Or she’d told him the facts and he’d blocked them out.