* * *

EVERETT PUSHED THE WINDOWS up, the edges scraping wood against wood in high-pitched resistance, his papers fluttering on the table, the sound hypnotic.

I spent the rest of the afternoon wrapping the china in old newspapers, my fingertips black and sooty, and loading the car with boxes for Daniel. When it was time to go to Daniel and Laura’s, I shut and locked the windows Everett had opened.

“It’ll be like an oven when we get back,” Everett said.

“It gets chilly at night. You’re in the mountains. Go ahead and start the air in the car,” I called.

I heard the engine turn over, and I peered out the kitchen window once more. Then I dragged the chair from the kitchen table and wedged it under the handle of the back door. If someone tried to come inside again, I’d know. The chair would be moved. Or the windows would be unlocked.

I’d know.

* * *

THERE WERE BLACK SMUDGES under Laura’s eyes as she greeted Everett, and Daniel was rubbing the back of his neck like there was a kink he couldn’t work out, but Laura was nothing if not a Southern hostess. She’d reached the size where it was impossible to hug without coming at her from the side, which Everett was doing, her expression switching to a practiced glow. “I’ve heard so much about you,” she said to Everett, her swollen fingers on the back of his neck as she air-kissed his cheek.

“You, too,” he said, backing away, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. “I’m so glad I finally get to meet you.”

“Same,” she said. “I can’t wait to hear all about the wedding! Nic’s been too busy with the house since she got back.” Playful grin in my direction.

Everett fought a smile as I raised an eyebrow at him. “When are you due?” he asked.

She ran her hands over the floral dress stretched across her stomach. “Three weeks.”

“Do you know what you’re having?”

Laura cut her eyes to me. “Girl,” she said.

“Any names picked out?”

Again with the look at me as it became obvious that I had not actually told Everett much about her. “Shana.”

“Pretty.”

She cocked her head to the side. “After Dan and Nic’s mom.”

Everett nodded too quickly and Daniel waved his arm toward the living room, rescuing us both. “Nic said you needed to send some emails?” Daniel led him to the couch and Laura dropped the act, her shoulders slumping as she rested against the wall.

“Is this a bad time? Are you okay?” I asked.

Laura pulled me into the kitchen, eyes wide. “Oh my God, Nic,” she said. She was like this—she believed that having the label of sister-in-law meant we were officially confidantes, neither of us having to earn it. Never mind that she’d ignored me all through high school and then after, until she’d started dating Daniel four years ago. It was like she’d suddenly decided we would become close, and was now determined to make it so.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

A timer over the stove started beeping, but Laura didn’t seem to notice. “The police were just here,” she whispered. She was nearly pressed up against me, and the timer was getting more insistent, and I felt a dull headache forming behind my eyes. Daniel finally crossed the room and hit the timer, frowning at the way Laura and I were standing.

“What did they want?” I asked, facing Daniel.

“Oh, you mean other than to push me into early labor?” She rubbed her stomach again, letting out a slow breath. “Have they been to see you?”

“Laura, what did they say?”

“Oh, they didn’t say anything. They asked. They demanded. They treated me like . . . like . . .”

“Laura,” Daniel warned.

Everett stood in the doorway, his laptop folded at his hip. “Everything okay?”

“You finished?” I asked, pulling away from Laura.

“It was just pressing send on a few emails.” His eyes moved systematically from me to Laura to Daniel.

Laura shifted her weight. “You’re a lawyer,” she said. “So tell me, is it legal to question someone for no reason?”

“Laura—” I didn’t want to drag Everett into this. I didn’t want this dragged into my life with him.

“Back up a second,” Everett said. “Are we still talking about your dad?”

Laura leaned back against the counter. “The police just came by here, asking me about Annaleise Carter. For no reason! Can they do that?”

His face tightened, then relaxed. “They didn’t arrest anyone, so they don’t have to advise you of rights. And you don’t have to talk to them. But they can still try.”

She shook her head at him. “Of course you have to talk to them.”

“No, legally—”

She laughed. “Legally.” She pushed off the counter, and she moved her hands to her lower back. “If you don’t talk, they’ll think you had something to do with it. Even I know that.”

“What did you say?” I asked Laura.

“There was nothing to say. It was Bricks, you know, Jimmy Bricks. Remember him? But also another guy, not in uniform. I didn’t know him. He’s the one who did most of the talking. He asked if we knew her, and of course we knew her, but not well. Bricks could’ve told him that. Then he asked when we last had interaction with her, and I wasn’t sure. Maybe church a few weeks ago? Maybe she asked about the baby? I don’t know. I barely knew the girl. Then he asked if Daniel knew her.”

“They’re just fishing,” Everett said.

“What about you?” I asked Daniel. “What did you say?”

“I wasn’t here,” he said, his jaw clenched, when I realized what exactly the police were after. Why Laura thought they might come to me next. Daniel. His name was getting dragged out of the box.

“You know what I thought when they showed up? I thought something had happened to Dan,” Laura said, her hands back on her stomach. She took a deep breath. “They shouldn’t be allowed to do that.” Her hands tightened into fists. “This is our life.”

Daniel rubbed her back. “All right. It’s done,” he said.

“It’s not done,” Laura said, her eyes glistening as she looked up at Daniel. “They’re just getting started.”

Neither of us had any words of comfort after that. We’d lived through it once before, after all.