Describe three excuses Absalom gives to his father for why he killed Arthur Jarvis.

Absalom tells his father that he killed Jarvis unintentionally, out of fear; he did not expect Jarvis to be home, and he had a knee-jerk reaction when the man walked in the room. He then blames his “bad companions” for leading him astray. Finally, he insists that the devil made him do it, and he was too weak to resist.