The image on the screen cut to a close-up of what appeared to be a gravel road that came to an abrupt end at the edge of a cliff. The massive twin boulders that teetered on the precipice created a corridor that looked to be about twelve feet wide. The opening didn’t appear menacing at all until the camera panned down into the watery ravine that was perhaps one hundred feet below. One clip showed the police engaged in attempting to remove Danny’s Escalade, a car in which Mitch and Carolyn had been passengers countless times. The next shot scanned across the terrain, where there appeared to be a body covered by a white sheet.

At that moment the announcer said, “Though the final report has not yet been released by the medical examiner, the police did confirm that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.” It was then that Mitch and Carolyn turned away and each began to sob. Suddenly, Danny’s humanity was front and center, and regardless of what he might have done, he was still their longtime friend, and their anger turned to grief, which only increased their complex of emotions and confusion.

“Turn it off, Mitch. I can’t watch this anymore.”

Because the funeral service was taking place the next morning, Carolyn had no choice but to write Rachel’s eulogy before she went to bed, despite the fact she was bone-tired. Mitch took a notepad out of his briefcase, and they began to discuss what she would say.

Carolyn had found Rachel’s diary at the house, and she was thumbing through it for inspiration, when suddenly she cried out, “Oh, no! I can’t believe she said that!”

“What? What did she say?” Mitch grabbed the book from her, and saw the words that had sent Carolyn into a tizzy.

“Carolyn did a lot of great things for me, but the best thing she ever did was to introduce me to Danny!”

“Mitch, that’s the truth! If I had never introduced her to Danny, Rachel would still be alive! In a way, it’s all my fault.” She pounded her fist on the table in front of her.

“That’s ridiculous, Carolyn! She and Danny fell in love with each other, and they had a great life together for a long, long time. What Danny did is on Danny, and nobody else.”

“Well, that may be logical, but seeing it in black and white, in Rachel’s handwriting, is just too much. I wish I hadn’t seen it, but I was thinking it all day.”

“They loved each other, and they made two beautiful children, honey. We’ll probably never know why this happened, but we do know that what happened was outside of our control. You can’t blame yourself; that’s just crazy. Don’t let that diary bother you.”