“I’m the father,” I blurt. But the Reverend doesn’t glance away from the horizon. “My girlfriend Vicky. Her baby Avery. I’m the dad…it’s true. I didn’t want the responsibility…I wanted a boyfriend, not a baby. It was wrong.”

The Reverend has pushed this theory almost as hard as my mother. He should be throwing confetti into the air right now that I’ve finally told him what he’s been dying to hear…but he doesn’t turn from the horizon. Like he hasn’t even heard me.

“Mr. Major, I’m offering a trade,” he says. “Be honest with me, and I’ll be honest with you.”

“I was being honest…”

How does he always KNOW?

“Your mother and I had plans for you to join Nightlight for a long time, but I accelerated the timeline when you and Ricky became close. I needed to know what you knew, and I needed to find out far away from any investigations.”

“I don’t know anything,” I say automatically. “Ricky could barely talk.”

Why is he purposely ignoring what I said about Vicky and Avery? This is everything he and Mom have been screaming about for months!

“Ricky left you a Playbill in his will. I’ve let you keep it as a memento because I respect Ricky’s wishes for you to have it.”

“You read it?”

“I did. He scribbled a note inside. NIGHTLIGHT. HELP CONNOR.” Like the sun intermittently slicing through clouds, the Reverend smiles, but it’s gone in a flash. “No wonder you’re so jumpy. Did he…tell you anything else?”

I don’t even have to lie. “If he had, why send me the Playbill with those vague little nothing clues? I don’t know what he’s talking about. I just want to get back to my son—”

“All right, my turn,” the Reverend interrupts brusquely. “What do you want to know from me?” Is he really going to pretend I didn’t just confess to being this baby’s father? Give me the ridiculous birth certificate, I’m ready to sign! “You want to know what really happened to Ricky?”

He’s going to confess. He’ll admit he attacked Ricky in California, then unlock my handcuffs and throw me into the ocean—me! The father of a newborn baby for all he knows!

“Ricky lived happily ever after,” the Reverend sighs.

“No, he didn’t.” The lie is almost offensive.

Just say you attacked him. Say what I already know in my gut is the truth.

“You don’t understand…Did Ricky seem unhappy to you?” the Reverend asks.