“That he hates me. Thinks I’m a terrible father.”
“That’s just something kids say. You can’t take it seriously.”
He turns to me. “Did you say that to your mother?”
“No. Never. But it was different for us. We were best friends.”
He sighs. “I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “Shit happens.”
“Rumor, I—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I point to the field. “Look. The band’s here. The players will be out soon. You think Braden’s nervous?”
“He is, but he’ll hide it. That’s where his acting skills come in. He’d never act in a play or on TV, but he’ll act in real life. It’s why he’s successful. He knows when to play a role and when to be himself.”
“You mean he’s a good liar.”
“We all lie.” Brock smirks, his eyes on the field. “Some of us are just better at it than others.”
The band starts playing. They’re not very good, but it’s probably hard to get a good band together in such a small school.
“I heard Twisted Pine lost two of their best players,” I say casually.
“Two?” Brock asks. “I only know of one.”
“Which one? The guy who went to Legion?”
“Yes.” He looks at me. “The boy who lives down the street. Who was the other one?”
“The guy who died. They said he had a heart problem. I think his name was Jason.”
Brock nods. “That’s right. Braden and him didn’t get along.”
“They didn’t? Why?”
“Braden wanted to lead the team, but the coach picked Jason. Everyone said he was a better player, but Braden disagreed. He said if he’d been given more time on the field, he could prove it. And eventually he did.”
“Because Jason died. If he hadn’t, Braden wouldn’t be quarterback, right?”
“I suppose not, unless the other boy wasn’t playing well. But from what I heard, he was very good. Colleges were keeping their eye on him.”
“It’s strange he just died like that. At sixteen? That’s really young.”
“It was probably a condition he’d had since childhood, and it just wasn’t diagnosed.”
I pause. “Did they do an autopsy?”
Brock looks at me. “That’s rather morbid. Why are you asking?”
“I just wondered. I watch a lot of crime shows. Sometimes the killer makes it look like the victim died of a medical condition when they really didn’t.”
“You’re saying Jason was killed?” he says with a smile. “And what would be the motive?”
He thinks I’m kidding, which is good. I’m trying to be casual about this, like I’m just filling time before the game starts. I don’t want Brock thinking I’m in any way serious, even though I am.
“I didn’t know the guy so it’s hard to say what the motive would be. I guess maybe if someone wanted to make sure he never played football again.”
