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“And, you know that I wasn’t afraid to-to take a hard look at everything that happened.”

“Exactly. You believed Dylan was innocent.”

“I did. But even if he hadn’t been—”

“You wanted the truth.”

“Yes!”

“Do you see what I’m trying to get at?”

“No. You’ve just proved that I’m not afraid of an investigation that might involve people I care about.”

“But you don’t want this crime investigated?”

“Because there’s nothing there. There’s nothing to find after all this time. How would you possibly hunt down this unknown driver?”

“I think thereissomething there,” Jack said. “My instinct tells me that there’s something there. And I think, deep down, you—allof you—know it, too. Which is why none of you want to touch it with a ten-foot pole.”

Ellery was silent.

“You weren’t afraid to help Dylan because you believed he was innocent. But youareafraid for me to look into a decade-old closed case. Why? Because your instinct is telling you someone you’re fond of is probably involved.”

Ellery wanted to deny it, but Jack had unerringly put his finger on the problem. A problem Ellery did not want to acknowledge even existed.

He said unwillingly, “It’s a long time ago, Jack.”

“So, it’s okay if someone killed one of your friends a long time ago.”

“You know that’s not what I’m saying.”

Jack said quite gently, “Isn’t it, though?”

“If—if—anyone I know had something to do with it, it would have been an accident.That, I’m sure of.”

“Okay, well, if you’re sure, don’t you think it would be a relief to that person to have the truth come out? To be able to accept responsibility and clear their conscience?”

After a moment, Ellery said, “I wish you hadn’t told me.”

“Is that true?”

Ellery let out a long breath. “No. It’s not true. But.”

“I know. This is a tough one. And like you said, I’ve been wrong before. I could be wrong about this.”

“I really think you are, Jack.”

He really didn’t, though. That was the problem.

Jack said, “But to be on the safe side, don’t share this conversation with anyone. In fact, try to avoid the subject of Noah.”

“Right,” Ellery said automatically. It was a little late for that.

“Good. If someonewasinvolved in Noah’s death, maybe it would be a relief to have the truth come out. But they’ve been hiding this secret a long time. We can’t be sure what they might do to make sure the truth stays buried.”

Chapter Fifteen

SUBTERFUGE