“But you don’t remember,” Haley says, his words gaining a harsh rhythm as he speaks. “You don’t remember anything from the ride except that last moment before impact. So you say. But you have the accident. Chloe’s hurt. She’s bleeding. Or she’s crying. Or…maybe she’s unconscious and you panic. This is on your record. An accident. How will that look to the college admissions office at your top choice school? Do they want someone with a record?”

“Okay, don’t say anything else, Hunter,” Dad says.

Haley leans back. He considers me from across the table like a poker player about to place a large bet. “You don’t have to say anything, Hunter,” he says. “Your dad’s right. But let’s imagine for a moment you’re correct about what you’ve said. Let’s say that car in the video, the one following you and Chloe out of the parking lot, followed you all the way out to the scene of the crash. Let’s say that’s true. Okay?”

Dad gives me a look that says, Not a word.

“But let’s also say there’s something going on with Chloe. Something you don’t know about. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? After all, she was calling a pregnancy hotline. She was upset. Distant. Crying. She thought you’d be really mad about whatever was going on. You’ve mentioned her ex-boyfriend, the football player. Mike Basher. So maybe, just maybe, that car that followed you, the one that might have—I say might have—come alongside you out there… Maybe the person in that car knew Chloe’s secret. Maybe the person in that car was part of Chloe’s secret. They were in on it, and you weren’t. Maybe Chloe arranged to meet them out there and that’s why she went off with them after the accident.”

Haley doesn’t frame it as a question. He clicks his pen shut, letting his words hang in the air like a toxic balloon.

Then he stuffs the notebook back into his pocket and gets to his feet. He nods at Dad and me.

“Hunter,” Haley says, “this has been a useful talk. I think you see more clearly now some of the possibilities concerning that night. And I hope you know it will always be better for you if you and I talk about these things. If we keep the line of communication open. You can call me any time if you want to talk more about these possibilities.”

He turns and goes, leaving me more confused than ever.

Forty-Five

Once Haley’s gone, Dad says, “He’s just trying to shake you up. That’s a cop’s job.”

“Then Haley’s a very good cop,” I say. “Because he shook me.”

“Hunter, why don’t you—”

“Dad, can I just—I think I want to go to my room.”