He’s looking at Danny and Michael, who exchange a glance, then follow him into the living room.

What now? If Dad is having second thoughts, he’d tell me first. At least I hope so. But he doesn’t waste words these days, so whatever he has planned, it must be important.

Dad sits up, his back straight and his eyes focused, and I remember how big he used to seem to me.

He looks at me, swallows, then says, “I don’t agree with this. But I’ve said yes because of what it means to Jess.”

For a second, I think that’s it, then he swallows again, breathes out, and says, “She’s seventeen. I want you to remember that.”

I can’t help but smile, because he’s trying to intimidate them. If I ever bring a boy home, I guess this is what will happen. I love it when my old dad shines through, even if this time, it’s pretty embarrassing.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Danny says. “We’re good at our jobs. And we only want the best for Jessica.”

“Do you have kids?” Dad asks.

“I have a daughter,” Michael says. “She’s almost six months.”

That surprises me, because he doesn’t look like a father. He seems a few years older than Danny, but a lot messier, like a hipster who’s been living in the wild.

“And you?”

Danny shakes his head. “Maybe one day.”

He looks awkward, and when I catch his eye, he makes a face, and I feel a flicker in my stomach and remind myself to wear clean pajamas tonight.

“We understand,” Danny says. “You want to protect her. We won’t do anything to jeopardize that.”

“I hope not,” Dad says, and although he’s smiling, it sounds like a warning.

Chapter 20

When they’ve gone, I look around my room at the cameras and the empty coffee cups, but I barely see them.

All I can focus on is the picture of me and Mom, taken the day I was born, seven years and fifty-two days before she died. She looks exhausted but also happy.

“I’m scared,” I tell her. “What if this doesn’t work?”

Wherever she is, wherever she isn’t, I talk to her. Or I talk to myself and hope she’s listening.

“I’ve made a choice,” I whisper. “I’m sorry if that makes you angry. I’m sorry if you don’t want me filling our house with cameras and strangers and putting Dad through all this again. But I’ve waited ten years. I’ve waited so long for them to catch him, and they haven’t. I don’t think they ever will…not unless something changes.

“I’m scared I’ll mess it up, Mom. But I’m terrified of feeling this way for a lifetime. If we made the Magpie Man, maybe we can destroy him too.”