But what Ben said next made everything shockingly clear.
“I told Aaron that if he doesn’t come clean, I’ll have to report it. I think…” He exhaled hard, then continued in a fearful voice, “I think that was a mistake.”
The recording ended.
I sat there on the floor so long that my legs went numb.
Was Aaron responsible for Ben’s accident?
I thought of all the times he had looked me in the eye and said it was the storm. Just the storm. Instant.
But Aaron had lied. Ben had said he found out Aaron changed something in a case report… Had he changed the details in the report about Ben’s accident, too?
When I got home, I put the recorder in my coat pocket and went through the motions of dinner.
I could barely taste the food. Every time the girls spoke, I had to drag myself back into the room.
I texted Aaron around eight.
Can you come by tomorrow morning?
He answered right away.
Of course. I’ll bring coffee 😘
I nearly brought my dinner back up.
By the time Aaron knocked, I felt hollowed out.
He stepped inside, holding coffee from my favorite place. He took one look at me and set it down.
“Hey,” he said softly. “You look awful.”
“Sit down.” I took the recorder from my pocket and placed it on the table between us.
He frowned at it as he took a seat.
I pressed play.
When Ben’s voice filled the kitchen, all the blood drained from Aaron’s face.
By the end of the recording, he looked like he might be sick.
“It’s not what it sounds like,” Aaron said. “I didn’t hurt him. I just wanted to talk… he must’ve seen me following him because he started driving faster…”
“You… you were there when it happened? You chased my husband in a storm because you were afraid he’d expose you?”
“No!” Aaron shook his head. “He was ahead of me. Way ahead. I drove to the cabin, but he wasn’t there. I waited a while, then I left. I didn’t know about the accident until I got the call. I didn’t mean for this to happen—”
