His gaze dropped to his rose bushes. “Huh. That’s weird,” he said. “Maybe her husband told me that.” He looked at me, shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ll have to check my case notes. I dug them out a few days ago after you stopped by,” he said, that aw-shucks smile spreading on his face. He raised an eyebrow. “Her husband’s serving time, you know?”

“You think he was involved with Dawn’s murder?”

He shrugged. “Could be. He molested a few kids.”

I might have winced. My heart ached. It felt torn and pulpy. I pictured Becky, so slender, skin flawless, swimming in the Kenders’ pool while Gary did yard work. All those weeks my mom and I were staying with the Paulsons, and Becky stayed with the Kenders.

“Someone put a dead opossum on my front porch the other day.”

“Well, that’s crummy.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his pile of dirt. “Sounds like someone’s trying to warn you to back off. Threaten you, your family, don’t it?”

Sure did.

I didn’t think the same person would be sending me texts, luring me to Hunther, then dumping a dead carcass on my doorstep. Had to be someone else.

“Thanks for your time,” I said, and headed back to my car. I wasn’t halfway there when he called my name.

“Your husband is Judy Bishop’s son?”

I hesitated, alarm skating up my spine.

“When you stopped by before, you said your mother-in-law was Judy Bishop, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you asked your husband about Dawn?” he said. “He was one of the boys who found her body. Those two, they were a thing.”

*  *  *

Trevor was calling me. The circus theme ringtone, for the first time, sounded ominous. I let it go to voicemail.

I called Visha on my hands-free. While it rang, I peeked in my rearview mirror at Emily. She ate a breakfast sandwich while staring at the iPad screen in her lap. The car was smoggy with syrupy fast-food odors.

“Well it’s about time,” Visha said.

“I have a huge favor to ask.”

“I’ll do it.”

I laughed even though I was falling apart. “Can I drop Emily with you for the day? And for a sleepover?”

“Of course, oh my God, Aradhya will be out of her mind excited, but why aren’t you staying to visit?”

“I’ll tell you when I get there. I’ve got to go.” I ended the call. I’d tell her I was following some thread on my mom’s death, and I was not ready to talk about it. She knew my family was a tender subject.

*  *  *

After I’d dropped off Emily, I pulled into a gas station. While the tank filled, I sat in the driver’s seat and searched the Mayo Clinic’s medical staff on my phone.