“And did you and the other kid get out?”
“Shit, yeah. They were the law. Plus, poop in the pool? Gross!”
“What did you do after you got out?”
“I don’t know. I guess we were standing there, trying to explain that wedidn’tdrop a deuce in the pool. I mean, it was bedlam.”
“And where was Hudson? At what point did he get in the pool?”
Michael ran his hands through his hair. “Honest to God, I never did know. The cops kept asking me, but I never saw him get in the water. I think Traci, or maybe it was Shannon, saw him there, and screamed at him to get out of the water. He was, like, flailing his arms and he kept going underwater—you know, like he was pretending to drown.”
The younger man shook his head. “I just thought it was typical Hudson, trying to prank everyone. I mean, it turns out he’ddeliberately put that Tootsie Roll in the water to get us in trouble. And I know those two lifeguards thought the same thing, that he was faking it, because they were yelling at him to cut it out.”
Michael stood abruptly. “Fuck it. I really, really need a drink now. You?”
“Just water,” Whelan said.
Gladys the golden followed her master toward what Whelan assumed was the kitchen. A moment later, Sullivan returned, with a highball glass filled with what Whelan assumed was gin or vodka, with a twist of lime, and a can of carbonated water for Whelan.
He sat back down and sipped his drink, and Gladys joined him on the sofa.
Sullivan placed his hand over his heart. “I swear to God. Nobody else was in that pool when Hudson drowned. For a long time, people thought I shoved him in, or pushed him under or something. Hell, I think my own mother thought that, may she rest in eternal torment, the bitch. But I swear, on Bette Midler’s life, I never touched your brother. I don’t know how or why he drowned. I just know it wasn’t anything I did.”
“Okay,” Whelan said. He popped the top of the can and took a long drink of the cold, bubbly water. “Okay. I believe you. And if it’s any comfort, that’s the same thing Shannon told me, earlier this week.”
“Shannon? The lifeguard? You talked to her? You mean she’s still around?”
“She is. In fact, she’s a nurse. She still lives in Bonaventure.”
“Wow. Just… wow. I can’t believe you managed to track her down after all these years. Come to think of it, how did you track me down? How did you even know about me?”
“I’m pretty good at what I do,” Whelan said. “I found a sympathy card from you in my mom’s things. More importantly, I had to threaten to sue the Bonaventure sheriff’s office, but they finally gave me access to the old incident reports from that day. And you were listed as a witness. Michael Sullivan, age ten.”
Sullivan gulped down more of his drink, then jiggled the ice cubes at the bottom of the highball glass. “Sometimes, I wonder what my life would have been like, if I hadn’t been there that day. If I’d let Hudson win at Ping-Pong, or if I’d told him, sure, come on, you can be in the cannonball contest. Maybe he wouldn’t have pulled that stunt. And maybe…” His voice trailed off, and he finished off the last of his drink. “Maybe I wouldn’t have spent thousands of dollars in therapy. Maybe I would have come out sooner…”
“And maybe, things would have been the same,” Whelan said. “I think something else happened that day. Something that could explain why Hudson died. What you just told me? About that red car? And the guy that handed him a bag? This is the first time I’ve heard anything like this. Did the cops ask you the same questions I just did?”
“No. They just asked about what happened in the pool. That’s all.”
“Figures.” Whelan stood up slowly. His knees, he’d begun to notice, had started to get creaky. He set the drink can down on the table.
“Better shove off,” he said. “And I guess you better let your friend Jill know the stranger didn’t kill you, or cannibalize you.”
Sullivan stood too. “Yeah. Guess I will. Hey, since you know where to find me, can you let me know? If you find out what happened to Hudson? I’d really appreciate it.”
“Sure thing,” Whelan said.
CHAPTER 34
Olivia was running late for work on Monday, so when she stepped outside the dorm and spotted the golf cart, which KJ or Garrett had used over the weekend, with the keys still in it, she hopped on.
On a normal day it was only a ten-minute walk to the Verandah, but it was already hot and sticky, with temps in the high eighties. So she turned the key in the ignition and took off, fretting about being late for her lunch shift.
Her cell phone was in the cup holder, and when it rang, with the distinctive ringtone she’d assigned to her mother, her heart sank.
“Mom, before you start…”
“Jesus, Mary, and Fred,” Shannon cried. “Why didn’t you tell me Parrish Eddings was murdered? Why did I have to hear about it on the news this morning instead of from you? Killed right there at the Saint! What did I tell you, Livvy? Didn’t I tell you those people were evil and that place is cursed?”
