“David, my older boy, told me about the documentary.”
Sidney nodded. “Have you watched it?”
“No, dear. I don’t watch too much television.”
“But your son has seen it?”
She nodded. “He told me about it. That it had to do with Grace and what happened to her.”
“How about Mr. Anderson? Has he seen it?”
“Hank senior passed a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Sidney said.
“Cirrhosis. He drank too much. Had an awful time of it the last many years. He never quite got past Henry’s death. We divorced many years ago, not long after Henry died. Common thing, we learned. Divorce after a child’s death. He took to drinking and never came back around.”
“I know Henry’s death was many years ago, but I was hoping to ask some questions about it.”
Betty nodded.
“Henry died during a vacation, is that correct?”
“Yes. We all went to the mountains for a long weekend.”
“Who did that include?”
“Several families. Our kids were all in high school together, and most of us had been friends for years.”
“The Sebolds?”
“Yes, Gretchen and Glenn were there. Of course, Grace and Marshall as well. The Reiser family.”
“Ellie Reiser?”
“Yes. There was quite a crowd. Maybe six or seven families from the neighborhood. I’m afraid I can’t remember them all.”
“Can you tell me about the day Henry died?”
“Well,” Betty started. “The kids were out on a hike. The plan was for everyone to meet back at the resort in the evening, and we would all go to dinner. It was Sunday night, with everyone planning to leave the following day. Henry . . . never showed up that night. At first, Hank and I assumed he was simply running late. But as evening pushed on, we asked around and no one had seen him since the hike that afternoon. We started to search for him. His friends joined in. It wasn’t until eight o’clock that evening, as it was getting dark, that we finally phoned the police. About an hour later, we found Henry in a shallow ravine below the trail where he had been hiking.”
“I’m very sorry.”
Betty nodded.
“Was Henry dating Grace Sebold around the time he died?”
“Yes. They were quite serious. I mean, as serious as teenagers can be. Grace was Henry’s first love. We really loved Grace, so Hank and I had hoped they might be the rare high-school sweetheart story that made it last.”
Betty smiled as she reminisced. The upward push of her cheeks caused her slivered eyes to close. “It was long ago, but I still remember being happy that my son had found someone who made him feel special. Grace and Henry had planned to attend Syracuse University together.”
Sidney’s mind flashed back to the many photos of JulianCrist she had seen during the creation of her documentary. A sick feeling sat in her gut when she considered what had happened to both of the young men who had loved Grace Sebold.
“Did you keep in touch with the Sebolds after Henry’s death?”
Betty Anderson shook her head. “No. Sadly, we lost touch with many of our friends after Henry passed. Hank started drinking and we had marital problems, so it was easy to melt away.”
“Are you familiar with what happened to Grace Sebold?”
