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"Yeah She just left"

"It doesn’thas expired, the statute of limitations"

"But not murder"

"We didn’t kill nobody"

"Tell us about the convenience store clerk you beat up," I said

"Fuck you"

"It’s true, though," Reif said "We didn’t kill her We didn’t touch her We liked her We really did"

"Then as Josie Bloom so upset?"

"Because he loved her," Axelrod answered There was fear in the voices of the other ret "He had loved her his entire life That night in the baseames for Josie It was love When she turned up dead the next ive oson said

"We didn’t kill her, McKenzie," Axelrod said "As God is e"

"She said, before she left" Reif hesitated as if he kneas saying so foolish and decided to say it anyway "She said she was going to ruin everything"

"Shut the hell up!" shouted Hugoson

"What do you oson shouted

"She said she was going to tell Jack e did She said she was going to get her revenge on Jack and then see hoe all played basketball together"

Hugoson slumped in his chair He knew a motive when he heard one

"What happened next?" I asked

"She left," said Reif "We never saw her again"

"We were all together," Hugoson said "We didn’t leave each other until it ay early in the raph, ill"

Dr Peterson nodded his head in agreeoson and others would even volunteerI felt the need to sit down I found a chair at the far end of the table We sat staring at each other for a fewat anything in particular The expression on her face--it seeiven up on civilization once and for all

"You got nothing on us," Hugoson said

"We didn’t kill Beth," Reif said "We didn’t kill Josie"

"Who did?" I asked

"I don’t know about Josie, but"

Reif didn’t speak the words, but they hung in the air just the same

Jack Barrett killed Beth

"McKenzie?" Axelrod reached out his hand as if he wanted to touch ain "You’ll never kno sorry I am I could tell you and tell you and tell you and still you’d never know"

I was in the Audi, driving way too fast for the narrow county roads I had ignored Mallinger’s calls to hen I left Nick’s and sped to Chief Bohlig’s lake home as quickly as I could I found his driveway and turned in The Audi slid on his slick asphalt and nearly raer arrived ’s door He opened it before I had a chance to knock