Page 141 of Nobody's Fool

“Yes.”

“What did she say?”

He swallows. “She asked me if I was okay.”

“And what did you say?”

“Nothing coherent. I just blubbered.”

“So your sister left her party to check on you?”

“Yes.”

“Because she was worried about you.”

Thomas squeezes his eyes shut and doesn’t answer. Archie fights to keep his expression blank.

“You were in bad shape.”

“Yes.”

“So I assume Victoria drove you home.”

Thomas manages a nod. “We wanted to get back in time to watch the ball drop. There was no traffic on the road, so we thought we could make it. I remember the car radio was on. An AM news station—1010 WINS.” He deepens his voice and mimics a radio announcer. “‘You give us twenty-two minutes, we’ll give you the world.’” Thomas looks up at me. “They still around? That station?”

“I think so,” I say.

“Victoria drove. I was slumped next to her. I was pretty out of it, but I remember that radio station. She was staring at the road. You know. Concentrating. And I say to her, ‘I’m sorry I’m such a fuckup,’ and she says that we’re about to enter a whole new millennium, and we both need to make resolutions. I said okay, like what? She said I had to stop drinking and doing drugs. Pleaded with me, really. I said I would. But I didn’t mean it. She probably knew that. Wasn’t the first time we had this conversation. She said she was going to be stronger too. More honest. And even in my state I could tell something hadhappened at the party. I asked her what was wrong, and she just said, ‘Caroline, everyone knows about that now.’”

I stop midpace. “So you already knew about your sister and Caroline Burkett?”

“Yeah,” Thomas says. “I was the only one she told. That’s what we were like, Vic and me.” He gets lost in that thought for a moment or two, but then he shakes it off. “Anyway, we were on Route 95 listening to that radio station when it got to midnight. I remember watching her face as she counted down out loud with the radio. I tried to count out loud too, but I was so wasted. I just sat there and smiled instead. Here I am, on the biggest party night of the year, and I’m watching my sister’s face going light and dark in passing headlights.”

I nod and start pacing again. “So then you two arrived home.”

“Yes.”

“What time?”

“Don’t know. A little after midnight, I guess.”

“And then what happened?”

Silence.

I can feel the entire room shut down. I turn to Archie. “You told me you were home that night.”

“I was.”

“How did you welcome in the new year?”

“Watching Dick Clark on TV with our dog Winslow.”

“Just you two?”

“Just us two. I told you. I was worried about Y2K.”

“Did you hear them come home?”