Once we hit our stride, he spoke. “How’s Biz this morning?”

“Probably mad we didn’t bring him. I’m sure he’s already figured out you’re here.”

“Still limping?”

“Not that I’ve seen.”

“I think those little girls gave him a workout. I’ll check on him when we get back.”

Our pace was now in sync. Somewhere between slow to medium, arms swinging gracefully—at least I hoped so. Ominous clouds were gathering forces to take over the sky. I mentally mapped a route through the streets that wouldn’t take us too far from the town house, in case the heavens opened.

“I’m sorry if the girls are responsible for the strain,” I said. “But Biz is helping them loosen up, so I hate to set limits. You ought to see them at the park tossing balls for him, or a Frisbee. They even roll around on the ground. They’re not very good at any of it, but they sure love the activity.”

“He’s good for them. You’re good for them.”

“Wendy may not think so when she comes back and takes over.”

“When...”

He was right. The word was wrong. “If.”

“That’s a big step. Semantics, maybe, but still.”

“She’s the one who nudged me to talk to Claire Durant. Do you think she hoped Claire would drop the bomb she’s my biological mother?” Saying that out loud felt odd, even distasteful. But disloyal? I wasn’t sure anymore.

“It’s an interesting question. Does Bryce know?”

I hadn’t asked my mother, and I hadn’t asked if Wendy ever wanted to tell me the truth. “I have a lot of questions for later,” I said, “after I’ve absorbed the answers I got today. But let’s say she did want me to find out, or at the very least, she isn’t worried that I might. What could be her reason?”

“You’re exploring new territory here. Do you really want my help?”

“I have to get to the truth, whatever it is. I have to know so I can protect Holly and Noelle.”

“And your parents.”

I nodded. “So if Wendy wanted me to figure out she’s my mother, why?”

“I think you already know.”

I did have a theory, and I could see he wanted me to be the one to voice it. I watched the road more carefully than I needed to. “Because if I know she’s my mother, not my sister, I may be even less likely to turn her in if I think she’s guilty of murder.”

“Does that seem like a real possibility to you?”

“That I’d walk away and let a murderer go free?”

“Not what I meant, and I don’t think you’ll know the answer to that until you’re faced with the question.”

I moved down a notch to the less challenging one. “If she’s hoping for greater loyalty from me, maybe revelations are coming that require it.”

At the end of the block we turned left, then left again, circling back to my street. I moved over to the side, off the bumpy pavement to a well-trampled path beside it. Grass and spongy soil made running here easier, and I knew that from this point to the town house, there were no real obstacles.