we walked out to the quarry, and when we got there, the older boys were waiting. Three of them. They told us if we wanted to prove we were brave, we had to climb along the rocky edge above the water.”
“The older boys were waiting.”
Karen gasped.
“The ledge was narrow,” Barry said. “Loose gravel everywhere. One wrong step and you could fall straight into the quarry lake. I panicked.” Barry closed his eyes. “I took one look at that drop, and I ran. I didn’t even think. I just ran all the way home.”
“And my son?” I asked.
Barry’s voice cracked. “He stayed.”
Karen sobbed harder.
“He probably thought he had to prove something,” Barry said, sadly.
“I just ran all the way home.”
My hands began to tremble. “What happened to him?”
“I didn’t know for years. The search started the next day,” Barry continued. “Police
