Kurt sat on a low, flat rock by the river. It was the place he always visited when he needed to sort through his feelings or come to terms with his worries. The police interview was set for tomorrow morning. It appalled him to think that he was about to lie, and lie, and lie some more, as he’d done for years. And yet, if he didn’t, if he broke down and told the truth, not only would his life be ruined, but so would the life of everyone else who’d been in the woods that morning. Not that they weren’t all guilty.
Picking up a bunch of stones, he chucked them, one at a time, into the water. Maybe, instead of thinking, he should try to empty his mind. Wasn’t that the way to enlightenment?
Hearing a sound behind him, he turned to find a woman making her way out of the trees. It took a moment to remember who she was. He’d only met her once, at Emma’s party. She was an attractive older woman, with eyes the color of lilacs. He couldn’t be sure, and nothing had been said, but he had the feeling she was gay. She’d spent some time chatting up the mayor, another woman he’d always suspected might be gay, though things like that weren’t talked about in Castle Lake except in whispers. Jane was the last person he expected to see out by the river. He hoped that, after a brief hello, she’d keep on walking.
“Hey,” he said, offering her a smile he hoped was convincing.
“Kurt, hi.”
“You out for a stroll?”
She moved to the edge of the water and looked around. “No. I wanted to do a little exploring. I’ve been doing research on Sam Romilly’s murder for a podcast I work for in Minneapolis.”
“Emma told me.”
“I assumed as much. I was given some information about a spot in a clearing back there”—she motioned toward the woods—“where a bloodhound alerted. Sam’s mom thought it might be where he died.”
“Excuse me?”
She turned to look at him. “Since I had the approximate location, I wanted to see the area for myself.”
“Where did you hear that? About the clearing?”
“It was in a police report.”
He changed his mind. He wanted her to stay and talk. “Are you making progress with your research?”
“Yeah, I’ve learned a few things.” She eased down on the ground next to him. “Since you’re interested, there are a couple things I’d like to get your opinion on.”
“Me?”
“Just curious what your thoughts are on Monty Mickler?”
“In high school or now?”
“Has your opinion changed?”
“No, not really. I’ve never liked him. He’s a real wheeler-dealer. Some people find him charming, I guess, but I could never understand that.”
“I was told there was a rumor going around your senior year that Monty and Dave Tamborsky were a gay couple.”
He couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing.
“Yeah,” said Jane. “Other people have had the same reaction.”
“If you only knew how ridiculous that is.” He tossed another stone into the water. “Do you think Mickler had something to do with Sam’s murder?”
“I’m still working on that. But I will say, it seems like Tamborsky’s and Mickler’s names have both come up an awful lot as I’ve dug deeper into the case.”
He was glad for the breeze because he was starting to sweat. “Really? For instance?”
“There was this keg party at the Lang farm right before your senior year began. Were you there?”
He had no idea what she knew, so as much as he could, he needed to tell the truth. “Yeah, I was there. Who’ve you talked to about it?”
“Darius Pollard.”
“So you know what happened.”
“A young woman was raped.”
He nodded. “It was awful.”
“You were there?”
“Sam and I heard this cry. I thought it was an animal, but he wasn’t so sure. He ran to her first, and then I followed.”
“Who did it?”
“You don’t know?”
“Darius had no idea.”
Kurt was caught. Talking to her had been a mistake, but there was nothing he could do about it now. “It was Dave Tamborsky.”
Her eyes widened. “And nobody ever found out?”
“Sam and I both talked to Becca—she’s the one who was attacked. We tried to get her to go to the police and tell them what had happened, but she refused. She said it was her decision to make.”
“Where was Mickler that night?”
Kurt closed his eyes, seeing the evening replay in his mind. “He was there. I think Becca kind of liked him. I was dating a woman back then, my future wife, Vicki. I spent the early part of the evening with her. That was before the party spilled outside into the yard. It was a real madhouse.
“Initially, people were gathered around the keg in the kitchen. Some guys had brought bottles of harder stuff. Mickler spent his time in the dining room slowly getting Becca drunk, adding vodka to her Coke when she wasn’t looking. I figured he was hoping for a score later that night. I should have said something. If I had, none of this would have ever happened.”
“I’m not sure you can blame yourself.”
“Of course I can, and I do. But, turns out, Monty was preparing her for his buddy, Dave. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it wasn’t hard to put together after the fact. Maybe they’d done it before, sort of a tag-team, or maybe this was the only time. Monty fancied himself a player when it came to women, and actually, a lot of girls did want to date him. Dave, not so much. I never understood why that was, because he was a jock, and girls usually went for jocks. Maybe he had bad breath or didn’t shower.”
“I’ll make sure I put that in my report.”
Kurt glanced over at her. “You do that.”
“So Mickler handed her off to Dave.”
“I didn’t see it go down, but I figure Dave must have convinced her to leave the party with him. There was a section of trees a ways from the house, so I imagine he thought that, with the distance and the noise from the music, nobody would be likely to hear her if she cried out. That’s where Sam found them. I stayed back while Sam went to see what was up. When he didn’t come back, I went to see what was going on. By then, he’d pulled Dave off her. The two of them were fighting, so I broke it up.” He looked over at Jane. “You may not understand this, but I wish I’d never done that.”
“I hear you,” she said softly.
“Dave took off. Sam walked Becca back to Darius’s car and Darius drove her home. I just kind of stood there, I guess, frozen in place. That’s when I realized I wasn’t alone. Maybe it was a smell or the sound of rustling leaves, but whatever it was, when I turned, I saw that Monty was hiding behind a tree. He took off running, just like Dave, and I let him go. But later, I got to thinking. What the hell was he doing there? I mean, think about it. He’d prepped Becca to be raped and then he’d hidden himself to watch the show. The guy is freakin’ sick.”
Jane sat quietly, taking it all in. “And nobody ever found out.”
“No,” said Kurt. “Not a soul.”
“And Becca? I understand she left after graduation. Nobody knows where she went.”
He sank his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “No, not true. I got to know her pretty well that year, what with what happened to her, and then Sam. After she left town, we stayed in touch. Mostly, at least at first, I just wanted to know she was okay. We’d email each other every few weeks. She went to live with her aunt and uncle in New Jersey. Eventually, we stopped writing as much, but I always heard from her at Christmas. I know she went to college, graduated, got married, and lives somewhere out east with her husband and her daughter. She’s always been very circumspect about the details of her life. I’ve never pressed her for more.”
“I’d like to talk to her,” said Jane.
“I’m not sure she’d want that.”
“Could you ask? We could Skype, if she’d be willing.”
He didn’t see any reason not to ask. He figured there was no way Jane could tie it to Sam’s murder. “I suppose I could email her.”
“Thank you. Can I ask you about one other person?”
“Who?”
“Scott Romilly?”
He shook his head. “He was never a friend, although I knew him a little because of Sam. He works for a bank in town.”
“What do you think of him?”
“He was an entitled little shit. If Sam was the black sheep in the family, and he definitely was, Scott was the golden boy. His father spoiled him rotten.”
“Were you surprised that Emma was dating him?”
His eyes opened wide. “Are you kidding me? He’s the guy? I knew there was someone, but she was always so tight-lipped about it.”
“He’s turned into a stalker. Doesn’t want her to leave Castle Lake. Secretly follows her around. He assumed their relationship was serious, that she’d stay and, after getting a divorce, marry him.”
“She has a fifteen-year-old daughter in California.”
“He doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem.”
“He wants what he wants, just like he always does. But … this stalking. Does Emma think he’s dangerous?”
“She thinks he’s creepy. I’m the one who thinks he’s dangerous.”
“I’ll talk to her,” said Kurt, irritated that she’d never mentioned any of it to him.
“Are you and Emma close?”
“We weren’t in high school, but after spending time with her this summer, we’ve become friends. I think the world of her.”
“One last question and then I’ll leave you alone. Does the word ‘duel’ mean anything to you?”
His stomach tightened. “Duel?”
“The kind you do with swords or guns.”
“No. Should it?”
“Were you in a history class with Sam your junior year?”
“No.”
“Okay, just wanted to ask.”
“Do you have a theory about what happened to him?”
“I’ve got a few ideas. Nothing I can back up yet.” Brushing off her pants, she stood and looked toward the woods. “I’m kind of turned around. How do I get back to the cemetery?”
“Where are you parked?”
“In the lot behind Holy Trinity.”
“Why don’t I walk you there?”
“No, it’s fine. If you’ll just point me in the right direction—”
“I have to get back to the market anyway. We might as well walk together.” Once again, he was torn. After talking to her for just a few minutes, he could tell she wanted justice for Sam, and also, that she was tenacious. In his current circumstance, those qualities were both good and bad. Even so, he felt the least he could do was make sure she got back to her car safely.