“Of course I did,” Mason said. “I would have gone to the police. Casey talked me out of it. She thought I’d do something stupid like confess. Maybe I would have. I couldn’t help but think that if I hadn’t gone to the bluff, if Scarlet hadn’t seen me, I wouldn’t have startled her and she wouldn’t have died. I’m sorry I never told you.”
“Casey has known this whole time?” Luna said.
Mason nodded. “She called 911 from town and told them there was a body.”
Luna had heard about the 911 call. The consensus at Markham was that she’d made it.
“You should tell Owen.”
Mason picked at a hangnail. After a long pause, he said, “Owen knows. I told him years ago.”
“When?”
“Remember when I went to visit him in London? We were at pubs every night. I was either drunk or hungover. Casey wasn’t there to stop me. The guilt had been eating away at me. I’m sure I told him what she was wearing. I guess it stuck with him and he slipped up. I kept talking because I was afraid of how angry he’d be. But when I finally stopped, he wasn’t upset. He was, but not that much. He was really cool about it. I think that’s when we actually became friends.”
“You all kept this from me. Why?”
“You know how Casey is with secrets. Steel trap. But, also, she said you wouldn’t be able to keep quiet. You’d have to come clean. After I told Owen, we thought about it again, whether to tell you. Owen agreed with Casey. He said it was better if you didn’t know.”
“Why are you telling me now?” Luna asked.
“Because you keep thinking Owen did something, and he didn’t.”
Luna finally understood that her current stance on Owen had to change, but she wasn’t yet ready to release all her pent-up anger. “The thing with Owen and me isn’t just about Scarlet,” Luna said. “He completely sabotaged my relationship with Griff.”
“Sure,” Mason said. “That was bad. But his own brother thought he was a murderer. You can’t destroy a friendship because of one small mistake.”
“It wasn’t a small mistake,” Luna said. “It changed everything.”
“He lied to the cop for you. That has to count for something.”
“What are you talking about?”
“After Scarlet was found and they brought him in. The detective saw Scarlet’s texts. He wanted to know what your secret was. Owen refused to tell.”
“He didn’t know. Not then.”
“Yes, he did. Griff told him after that weird Scarlet visit over Christmas. Owen knew what it would do to you if it really got out at school. Anytime after that, he could have changed the story, he could have told the truth and been spared a lot of shit. If anyone knew who you were, you would have been the suspect, not him. Maybe he told one lie a long time ago that was bad and fucked things up. But he also told another lie that probably made your life a whole lot easier. It’s time to stop being angry.”
Mason heard a creak on the stairs. “We cool?”
Luna nodded. Mason slipped out of the bedroom.
“What are you doing?” Casey whispered from the doorway.
“Checking on Luna.”
Casey turned to Luna. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Luna said.
“Come to bed, Mason.”
It was quiet for the rest of the night. But Luna still couldn’t sleep. She had to rethink her whole life yet again. She’d spent decades itemizing her sins, tracking her conscience like a loan shark. Guilt was a form of debt, and she was always in the red. Luna wasn’t clear on whether that was the right or wrong way to live. She didn’t have a strong opinion on what Owen, Mason, or Casey had done. When it came down to it, Luna’s debt would always be greater than theirs.
In the morning, Luna was woken by the sound of whispers and rustling. She got out of bed and found Casey and Mason dressed and packed, with their suitcases waiting by the front door.
“Morning,” Luna said.
“We were trying to be quiet,” Casey said.
Mason gave Luna a tentative kiss on the cheek. Casey gave Luna her usual bear hug, which isn’t advised with someone who’s recently been shot.
“Ouch,” Luna said.
“Sorry,” said Casey. “What are you doing today?”
“I’m going to see Griff.”
“Is he coming here?”
“No. We’re meeting in Hyde Park.”
“You’re allowed to drive?” Mason asked.