"You didn't go home together?"
With a sheepish grin, Theo shook his head. "What can I say? I got lucky that night."
Ryan couldn't help but think that a best friend disappearing wasn't all that lucky. Apparently, the reality of what Theo had said dawned on the other man and the color drained from his face. He'd gone from smiling to almost crying in less than sixty seconds.
"Shit, that didn't come out right. You know what I mean. Of course, I don't think that it was lucky that Brad died. He was my best friend. We were like brothers. I loved him. I really did. If I had known something would happen to him that night...fuck. I never would have left him. I thought he'd be okay. It wasn't the first time one of us went home alone. If he'd met someone, he would have done the same."
When Ryan didn't respond right away, Theo hopped up from the couch and began pacing in front of his desk.
"I know this looks bad. I mean...it's such a coincidence...but I swear that wasn't the only time that he and I went home separately. It happened more often than not because he'd either be going home with Caro or some other girl."
From what Ryan remembered, that was true. But it was a strange coincidence.
"Who else knew you were leaving separately? Were you at the bar when you told him? Could someone have overheard you?"
Pausing in front of the table, Theo stroked his chin. "He was at the bar with some girl. Caro had already left. He told me she was mad and he'd make up with her in the morning. I told him I was leaving and he laughed and told me to have a good time. I don't know if anyone could have overheard us. The music was so loud in there. I guess the girl could have overheard."
"Do you remember her name?"
"No, he didn't mention it and she never said. In fact, I don't remember her saying anything. She was pretty, though. A redhead. Petite. Nice figure."
"Had you seen her before?"
Theo perched on the edge of his desk. "Yeah, I think so. She'd been there a few nights before. She was good-looking, someone you would notice, if you know what I mean. I got the feeling that Brad was planning to go home with her."'
Ryan made a mental note to somehow try and find out who that woman was, although the odds weren't in his favor.
"So you left? You didn't see him again after that?"
"When I left, he was still at the bar." Theo scraped his fingers through his short brown hair. "That was the last time I saw him alive. It's been years and I still can't believe he's gone. Every now and then I'll reach for my phone to call and tell him some good news."
"What about other girls?" Ryan asked, already knowing part of the answer. "Brad wasn't exactly faithful to Caroline. How many others were there?"
"A few. They didn't mean anything. Brad just wanted to be free and have a good time. He wasn't looking to settle down. Caro could never understand that. She wanted them to get married as soon as they graduated from college. Then have a kid the next year. She had it all planned out. Brad used to tell me about all of her plans. Hell, she'd even picked out the neighborhood she wanted to live in and the car she wanted to drive."
"Why didn't he ever break up with her if she was pressuring him like that?"
"Because he really did love her," Theo said, his expression turning to a frown. "In his way. He didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted her to back off a little bit."
"And how did Isla fit into all of this?"
"She was a fun distraction. Brad said she was wild in the sack. He wasn't in love with her or anything."
"Was she in love with him?"
Theo's brows shot up in surprise. "Fuck, no. If anything, she hated Brad. I swear they were just hate-fucking each other because they both had the same kinks."
Do I even want to know? Not particularly, but it might be important.
"Kinks? Anything dangerous?"
"They both liked threesomes. And four or fivesomes. Shit, is that even a word? Anyway, they liked to make sex a party."
"How did they find this out about each other? I sure as shit don't remember this coming up in casual conversations."
"The way Brad described it, he didn't know either. The night after he got back into town from school, we saw Isla and Daphne out at The Alleyway. Brad and Isla got drunk and ended up making out. Long story short, he went home with her and she asked if it was okay if the roommate and roommate's boyfriend joined in. Brad was into it, so..."
More names to add to Ryan's list to talk to. Roommate and roommate's boyfriend.
I'm sure they're going to want to unearth some one-night stand from over a decade ago.
"Did Brad and Caro argue a lot about this?"
"She didn't know. She knew he flirted and shit, but she didn't have any idea that Brad was getting his freak on just about every other night with some girl."
Ryan finished the last bite of his cinnamon roll. "She knew. Trust me."
"He never told her."
"He didn't have to. He wasn't exactly discreet. People talk, Theo. Now...were they arguing a lot? Brad had been home from university less than three weeks but it sounds like he'd been a busy boy. Was Caroline pissed about that? She wasn't the happiest person that last night."
Theo's shoulders sagged. "He said that she was riding him hard. Wanted him to straighten up and start making future plans. But I swear, he didn't know that she knew all that he was up to. He always said that Caro would kill him if she'd found out he'd slept with another girl. Wait...you don't think...? No way would Caro do something like this."
"I don't think anything. I'm just trying to figure out what happened that night, and who might have had motive and opportunity. We've always known that Caroline was the jealous type but none of us thought for one single second that she offed Brad after he disappeared."
Ryan didn't tell Theo about Caroline and Trent. One, because he didn't know if it was the actual truth, and two, because it wasn't Theo's business. He was a little surprised that Theo didn't already know. Their social group wasn't known for keeping their mouths shut.
Or was he completely wrong about that? It seemed that some people had secrets that Ryan hadn't known anything about back then. Maybe they weren't the gossipy circle he'd thought they were.
"That's good," Theo replied, relief in his tone. "There's no way Caro would have done something like this. She loved Brad. It took her a long time to move on and it was only because Danny had been there to support her through it all. They were friends first."
"I have to ask this. Did Danny have any feelings for Caroline that you know of? He never mentioned anything to me."
"Not that I know of. He was sort of there for her out of sympathy in the beginning. You know how he is...the kind of guy who would take in a stray kitten. I think he felt sorry for her, to be honest."
"They seem to be very happy now."
"They are. We don't see them much but when we do, they seem to be really in love and happy together."
Ryan didn't have any more questions, at least not for Theo. He stood and pulled a business card from his pocket, placing it on the coffee table.