I went out through the back door and into the yard, where Blake waited. He stood on the patio with his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched against the increasing coolness of the night. I handed him the phone.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Throw it in the river. What else can I do?”

“You can’t do that. That’s tampering with evidence. It’s obstruction.”

“As opposed to taking it from the crime scene and bringing it here?”

“I acted impulsively. We’re clearheaded now. We’re thinking.”

“I’m all over this phone, Ryan,” Blake said. “Texts. Pictures. They’ll see everything.”

“Then you’re on her computer too. The cloud.”

He seemed to be listening. For a change. I let him think, even though a million questions remained unanswered.

“Okay,” he said, hefting the phone in his hand. “I’ll toss it in her neighborhood somewhere. The cops will think the killer just dropped it there.”

“Fine, do that. I downloaded everything off it.”

“You did?”

“I did.”

He smiled. “Who died and made you James Bond?”

“Maybe the information can help us figure out what’s happening.”

“Okay. Fine. Good. But I’m going to toss this.”

But before he left, I stopped him.

“Wait. Let me see that.” I took the phone back. I went into the house again and used a kitchen towel to wipe the phone off. Every inch. The screen, the back, and the sides. I found a Ziploc bag and put the phone inside, sealing it shut. When I went back out, Blake was staring up at the stars, lost in thought.

“Here,” I said. “Just open the bag and let the phone fall out. Don’t touch it.”

“You’re turning into a pretty good criminal yourself. But I guess you’ve been hiding your role in the accident all these years, so maybe you’re used to the double life.”

“I think we should just call the police. We can tell them everything and be done with it.”

Blake held up the bag and jiggled it. “You’re done now, okay? This is the end of your involvement with this. Just keep your mouth shut and stay out of it from here on out. Okay? They’re going to find out about the guy she just started dating. They’ll lean on him harder than anybody. Hell, maybe he did it.”

“I’m not done. The letters are out there. Whoever has them will know about the accident. So what are you going to do?” I asked. “After you get rid of the phone . . . what are you going to do? You said it yourself. The cops will come calling for you too. They’ll know about you. They’re going to have all kinds of questions.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He waved his hand like it was nothing.

“And you still haven’t told me what happened when you saw her this morning.”