“About what?”
“That Anne wasn’t some innocent little lamb the papers portrayed her to be back then,” he said.
There it was, at last.
The subtle shift.
Blame the victim.
Blur the edges.
Make her seem less like a victim and more like a person who deserved what happened to her.
“Did you offer Anne a ride?” I asked.
“No.”
“Did Gabriel?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Vaughn?”
He hesitated.
“Maybe,” he said. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Why?”
“My guess? After what went down, he needed to feel wanted that night.”
“One last thing,” I said. “How did you feel about Gabriel back then?”
He raised a brow. “He was an insecure little clown.”
“Did you trust him?”
Aiden laughed. “I never trust anyone who needs to be liked as much as he did.”
I nodded. “That’s all I need.”
“Good, you can see yourself out.”
As I walked back to my car, the pieces shifted again.
Aiden was shaping the truth until it fit the version of himself he wanted to believe. He remembered details when they benefited him. Lost them when they didn’t.
But one thing stood out.
Anne didn’t vanish into the night.
She stayed after the argument between Tilly and Vaughn.
She stayed after Vaughn left the first time.
She stayed after the group fractured.
And she must have left with someone.
