I have to admit I’ve been focusing most of my time on David’s whereabouts, not paying enough attention to Betsy. I’d assumed, wrongly it turns out, that she had been where she said she was. Hanging out with the other losers in her high school class, painting canvases of random things, wearing dark clothes and occasionally getting a tattoo when I’ve forbidden her to do so. I guess I also thought she’d been spending time with Josh, but now I know I was wrong about that, too.

But it’s not my fault, not really. The last time I’d seen Betsy and Josh together it had been at Point Park the day Mary died. I had just ducked off the path when they rounded the corner. I’m not sure how I could have explained my presence there if they’d spotted me, because as I’ve noted, I’m not much of a hiker and I never go to Point Park. I’ve certainly never hiked up the trail to the top of the Point. That’s off-limits, everyone knows that.

So it was happenstance, I suppose, that I saw them. Betsy was ugly crying, tears running down her face. I do remember that. Josh had his arm around her, comforting her. I was crouched low, behind a rock, with no place to go until they moved along. I hoped there weren’t any spiders lurking around me, and I especially hoped there weren’t any snakes. I remember I could hear my heart thumping in my chest.

“I need to make her understand some things. Why are you here?” Betsy said to Josh, through her tears.

“I love you. Betsy. I followed you here so we could talk.”

“I need to fix things with my sister, okay? Then you and I can talk.” Betsy had lifted her head from Josh’s shoulder, scanned the hiking path, looking for Mary. “I hope she comes.”

“She will. Don’t worry. I deserve to know the truth.” Josh patted Betsy’s back. He wasn’t acting very romantic or comforting for a boyfriend. But Betsy did look awful.

“I promise.” They hugged in the middle of the trail, trapping me behind the rock. Betsy’s back was to me, Josh faced my direction, his head on her shoulder, hands wrapped around her waist. He didn’t look able to comfort anyone, in my opinion. But clearly, I was wrong about him. I thought he was from the wrong side of the highway, so to speak. A kid from town. It’s a shame, really, that I didn’t know he was a rich kid. I would have encouraged their young love.

Then again, I didn’t know it was ever threatened. Those pills just made me slip a little. But no longer.