“Kent was the more thoughtful of the two, maybe more careful, but Alex threw himself into an activity, his goal always to win. Kent might dip in a toe first, if you get my meaning. I guess I’d say Kent was more the junior partner of the friendship, but again, it was a long time ago, and boys become men and change. I remember Alex was a superb athlete and was one of the most competitive students I’d ever met. I do remember in lacrosse he always took charge, never quit out there on the field; only winning was good enough for him. Of course that rubbed off on his teammates, and that’s why we won those championships. As I recall, both Alex and Kent were looked up to by their teammates for their skill, their desire to win. But maybe it’d be fair to say Kent wasn’t as much in-your-face.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean that exactly as it came out. Alex was—is—as I’ve said, a natural leader, that’s all I meant.”

“Of course. Now, Alex was the captain of the lacrosse team in both his junior and senior years, right?”

“Yes, well, he was named captain his junior year only because the senior-year captain, Jordan Jeffers, was injured in an automobile accident and couldn’t play.” Wiliker shook his head. “An awful thing, I remember it clearly, a hit-and-run, left the boy on the side of the road. He might have died if a jogger hadn’t found him. Broken arm, broken leg, internal injuries, poor kid. It’s a miracle he survived.”

Your work, Alex? Because he had something you wanted? Mia jotted down Jeffers’s name.

“Do you remember if Jordan and Alex were friends?”

“Of course they were. I remember Alex and Jordan’s younger sister were chummy for a while—sorry, can’t remember her name, been too long.”

“Don’t worry about it. Your memory is amazing, Coach. So after the Jeffers boy was injured, Alex became the captain?”

Coach nodded. “I remember how hard he worked out with the trainers in the weight room to improve his strength and endurance, encouraged his teammates to do the same. That and his never-say-die leadership, that’s why we won those championships.”

Mia asked, “Any other girlfriends you knew of, Coach? For Alex and Kent?”

Wiliker tapped the side of his head. “Girlfriends—sorry, it’s impossible to remember the kids’ romances from sixteen years ago. I only remember Jordan’s sister because of the accident. There were probably other girls, sure, since both Alex and Kent were popular. I do remember the boys were always as close as fleas, did everything together.”

Mia said, “And that would include dating, no doubt?”

“Well, probably, but kids even then seemed to prefer going out together in packs. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.”