“Then let me enlighten you.” Perhaps sensing whatever was building in Blake and putting the steel in his posture, Aaron took a step back from him while still holding the gun in his direction. But it no longer touched Blake’s head. “It seems that our friend here liked to talk to his girlfriend more than anyone else. Apparently he had the habit of occasionally throwing back too many drinks and then having true-confession time with Jennifer. Even though he was supposed to be quitting.” Aaron looked over at Blake. “He told her lots of stuff during the times they were together. His sexual exploits. And shames. The times he cheated on tests, the papers he plagiarized. The time in junior high he helped bully some kid who then tried to commit suicide. I guess he told her all the things he couldn’t tell Samantha. Maybe those things didn’t fit the image he wanted to project to her. Maybe those things would ruin their future prospects. Maybe he thought her family wouldn’t tolerate the embarrassing aspects of his past.”

I looked at Blake, who stared at the floor. I knew him well. He’d told me many things over the years, and, yes, he tended to get loose-tongued when drunk. And when I knew him well, he was frequently drunk. But he hadn’t told me the things Aaron had mentioned.

Was Aaron right? Had Blake spilled his guts to Jennifer because she was so far removed from his world?

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the bat. It was out of my reach unless I dove for it.

But it was there.

Aaron’s voice drew my eyes back over to him.

“Are you listening, Ryan?”

“He quit drinking. He opens up more when he drinks, but he quit.”

“Oh, right. Well, Jennifer says he always tried to quit. But he fell off the wagon. Hard. After he saw me at the Chinese restaurant. She said it was like he’d seen a ghost. Like he was Ebenezer Scrooge or something. He showed up at her place the next night with a bottle of Jim Beam and a loose tongue. He really unburdened himself when he told her about the night of the accident. The night that changed everything for me and nothing for the two of you. Although maybe not in the way we once thought.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to hear but desperate to know.

“He’s lying, Ryan,” Blake said.

“Why would I lie?” Aaron asked. “Why would you lie when you were drunk? Why would Jennifer? She said she knew you had already gone back to your old girlfriend. Sam. The one with the money and the rich daddy and the job. She knew that, but she was willing to listen to you one more time because you seemed so pathetic and needed someone to talk to.”