I smile and lick my lips. The air has turned chilly around us. Hoffman still waits patiently across the court. A chill runs down my spine. I’m finally getting proof. The text messages. The eyewitness.

“Bo killed Mary?” I whisper and then cover my mouth.

“No. Well, I don’t know.” Josh turns to face me.

My mouth drops open. I shake my head no. “No,” I whisper. My eyes are wide, staring at him. Challenging him to be certain of what he is saying.

“I didn’t see Betsy kill Mary.” He pauses. A tear rolls down his cheek. “But Betsy was meeting her there, Bo was somewhere waiting, and then Mary died. I wanted to believe it was an accident. But now I don’t think it was.” Josh begins to cry, a quiet, hopeless sound. “They were so mad at each other anything could have happened.”

Ah, yes, the Harris temper. From their father. “Did you follow them? Did you witness Betsy push Mary off the point?” I tilt my head. Is he confused or will he stick to his story?

“No, I left and didn’t come back to the park until after dark. But I know your daughters. They were yelling, so mad. Betsy was furious.” He sobs. “When I left the parking lot, Betsy and Bo were the only ones I saw.”

I pat his shoulder. “Thank you for telling me. This isn’t your fault. But the truth has to come out. It’s been a year.”

Josh wipes at his face with the bottom of his tennis shirt. He’s a mess, but he knows what he saw. “I know. I was such a fool. I saw Betsy with Bo, and I still kept her secrets, still comforted her that day. I believed her when she told me there was nothing between them. That Bo was just a friend. I didn’t tell the police anything. I lied to them. I thought she loved me.”

Wow, he’s so malleable. David’s a man of steel compared to this one.

“I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t really see anything. And Betsy was being so nice. We were back together, at least that’s what she said. She loved me.”

Despite the situation, I feel a swell of pride in my heart. Betsy is her mother’s daughter after all. “You could have called? I wondered where you were.” A lie. But I should have tracked him down sooner, I realize.

“Betsy and I talked all the time. She was so sad about Mary. I didn’t want to think there was anything more to the story than that.” Josh kicks the ground. “What are you going to do, Mrs. Harris? Betsy hasn’t been herself since Mary died. It must be so hard on her. I mean, the guilt must be eating at her,” Josh adds. He pushes off the bench.