Page 58 of One Step Too Far

“I was desperate to succeed. So I consulted Tim. His idea, turn the next outing into a double date. Less pressure. I’d relax, make a better impression. So I did. And it was way less pressure. Especially once Latisha stopped paying any attention to me. One look, and just like everyone else, she was all about Saint Tim.”

“Awkward.”

“Yep.” Heavy sigh.

“You must’ve been very angry with him.”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. He knew how much I liked her. But then, not really his fault if she didn’t feel the same about me. That’s what I told myself. Once I stopped crying into my pillow.” A feeble smile.

“He could’ve backed off,” I say quietly.

“Not his style.”

“He could’ve excused himself from the date, given you more time to work your magic.”

“Not his style.”

“He wanted what other people had. Even what his best friends had.”

“Tim was one of those guys... you could love him even when you hated him. Which we all did, sooner or later.”

“Love him or hate him?”

“I’m tired. Can’t I just take a nap?”

“No sleeping. Come on, Neil. Keep talking. Saint Timothy who stole your date. What about Scott? Clearly, he wanted Latisha, too.”

“Scott was a putz, pining for something he was never gonna have.”

“But he did end up with her. Once Tim was out of the picture.”

“I don’t think a rock fell on my head,” Neil says abruptly. He rubs his temple, winces, squeezes his eyes shut against the pain. “I wasn’t that close to the cliff.”

“What do you think happened?”

“I heard a noise. I turned. And then...” Neil shudders, shifts uncomfortably. “Water, please.”

I give him the bottle, watching as he drinks deeply. He’s definitely paler now, with a sheen of moisture across his face. My concern ticks up several notches.

“This is it,” Neil mutters. “The four of us, we agreed. After this trip, we’re done. No more looking for skeletons. Once we walk out of these mountains, we’re never coming back. It’s what motivated Josh to crawl out of the bottle. Make one last push. Except then he got out of the trip. Lucky bastard.”

“Why is this the last time?”

“Because we can’t take it anymore. None of us. Josh is the most obvious, but all of us... He knows. I don’t know how he knows, but he knows. And now... This isn’t a recovery mission anymore. This...” He stares at me blearily. “This is a reckoning.”

I have a sinking feeling. Followed by a chill. I have to ask the next question, even though I’m not sure I want the answer.

“What did you guys do, Neil? What really happened five years ago?”

Then, just as I feared:

“We lied. We lied about everything.” Heavy, heavy sigh. “And our lies killed Tim.”

CHAPTER 20

Neil’s eyes shut. He slides sideways. I grab his shoulder before he can hit the ground and jerk him back to sitting.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up.” I’m still in the process of chanting when Nemeth suddenly appears out of nowhere, looking tense.

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