For a moment, I thought she might refuse. Then she removed them slowly and placed them in my palm.
They were still warm.
I closed my fingers around them.
Vanessa looked suddenly younger without them. Less glamorous. More frightened.
“I didn’t know everything,” she whispered.
Daniel turned sharply from the doorway. “Vanessa.”
She dropped her gaze and hurried inside after him.
I watched them disappear into my house.
Noah tugged my sleeve. “Mom?”
I looked down.
His eyes were huge. “What’s a trap?”
I swallowed.
Before I could answer, Mr. Meyers stepped gently beside us. “Mrs. Carter, may I suggest we let the children sit somewhere calm? My car is available, or perhaps the backyard?”
“The backyard,” I said automatically.
The backyard still felt safe.
The three of us walked around the side gate while the officers remained at the front. My legs felt strangely hollow, as if each step had to be remembered.
