“I followed her to the park, she’d been acting distant and I wanted to talk. She sent me away. She was crying, really hard. I thought it was just a girls’ fight, you know, between sisters. I didn’t know about Bo, not the real relationship. I thought Betsy still liked me, all this year, even though I was away at boarding school, I still believed her, believed her lies. I believed we were together. I didn’t even take a date to my senior prom at boarding school. I’m such an idiot. I believed her when she said she couldn’t fly out for it. She said you wouldn’t let her.”

Interesting. I wouldn’t have allowed her to go across country to hook up with Josh, but she never asked. She was just using Josh. “She didn’t mention prom to me.”

Josh sighs, or exhales loudly. One of the two. “I thought we were a couple until a couple of weeks before Mary’s memorial. That’s when she finally decided to come clean.”

I look over at him as he wipes his face with the towel again. He’s heartbroken. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about any of this. I thought you two were still together, too.”

“Yeah, I know. Betsy knew you spied on her through her phone. Mary told her all about it. My mom did it, too. Does it, too. That’s why we only do fake messages on text. We all use encrypted apps.”

“What? Really?” That makes sense. I never saw a text from Bo.

“We all use it, well, when our parents are like you. We make sure to text once a week or so, just to keep you satisfied.”

I shrug. I am what I am. “I love my daughters. That’s all.”

“Mary was great. I know she was on my side. I know they were fighting about Bo. That had to be it because otherwise they were really close. They fought the night before Mary died, and again that day.”

I swallow. “I heard them, that night, but it was muffled. I couldn’t tell what they were arguing about.”

“That morning, the day Mary died, I followed Betsy. She was acting suspicious. She canceled our bike ride. Said she was busy. Told me she was going on a hike with her sister and she’d call me later. But I had to follow her. That’s when I caught up to her, crying on the trail. And then I left. If I had stayed maybe Mary would still be alive.”

Josh pushes his hand through his hair, shakes his head. There were so many people in the park that afternoon.

“What happened next?”