Why had she been so caught up in her own life that she hadn’t taken the time to see her friend? She knew this was irrational thinking, but that didn’t make her feel any less guilty. She couldn’t have known what was going to happen Tuesday night. If she had, she would have hijacked Rachel’s car and brought her home. But life doesn’t work that way. True, Rachel had refused Carolyn’s offer to get together, but hearing Rachel’s voice on the answering machine, Carolyn simply couldn’t stop wondering what else she might have done that would have changed everything.

But these meanderings were pointless. It wasn’t as if Rachel had died in a car crash, leaving one to muse about how unfortunate it was she took the road with the black ice rather than a dry road. This wasn’t happenstance, but a whole other level of tragedy. There was a predator waiting for her in her home, and, for whatever reasons, he was apparently intent upon killing her. Perhaps, if she hadn’t gone home that night, whatever it was that made Danny do what he did would have passed, but Carolyn knew this was just wishful thinking.

In just a few hours, however, the truth would begin to unravel and the layers of deceit would be revealed. And the loathsomeness of this crime would be undeniable.

They were silent until they turned onto I-271 to head down to Akron. Something about the sign with that name gleaming on it filled both of them with immense sadness. This was usually a joyful trip for a birthday celebration, a sporting event, one of the holidays, or just a casual lunch or dinner. Carolyn gripped the armrest and stared out the window, hypnotized by the mileage markers zipping by. She had never felt so helpless or so sad in her life, but she felt cried-out, without a tear left to shed.

“I think,” she said, “I’d like to be doing just about anything else today than going down to Akron to meet with a homicide detective to learn all the details. I don’t know if I can handle it, Mitch.”

“I know, but in a weird way, I think we’ll feel a little better just knowing the facts. There must have been a reason Danny would do something like this. I never even heard him mention having a gun, and he loved the boys so much. None of it makes sense. Something must have happened.”