AS I LEFT MY IN-LAWS’ HOUSE WITH NOTHING, MY FATHER-IN-LAW HANDED ME A TRASH BAG AND SAID, “THROW THIS OUT ON YOUR WAY.” BUT WHEN I OPENED IT AT THE GATE… MY HANDS BEGAN TO TREMBLE

in a trash bag.

By the time Olivia lifted her head again, the sunlight had shifted slightly across the street. Her cheeks were wet. Her pulse was still uneven.

She took one slow breath and looked at the last note tucked into the envelope.

“The key is yours,” Walter had written. “And a man named Frank Dalton in Tucson will help you. Do not come back to continue reading …