“Oh!” she said. “What a sight for sore eyes!”

Chief Watkins appeared from the back office. He looked at them, her mother mostly, with gratitude. Molly Clarke had saved his life that day.

“Don’t they look wonderful!” Mrs. Urbansky commented.

Nic managed a new smile. She hadn’t thought about how they looked. Not one way or another. Her mother had let her hair go back to its natural chestnut brown She’d cut it short as well, and changed her wardrobe. She wore skirts and loose tops and pretty much whatever she felt comfortable in. It was the way she’d dressed before Annie died. It was as though she was reclaiming herself, one small piece at a time.

And Nic, she thought she looked just the same. She was still running. Hadn’t changed her hair or her clothing. Those things hadn’t felt important to her. Her father had told her that her face had light. He stopped from saying the word that should have followed—again, your face has light again. But Nic knew what he meant.

Watkins led them to his office where they sat down across from his desk. Nic had a new flash now—back to that first day she’d returned to Hastings. His uniform with the short sleeves. The patches on his chest. The blue tie.

But today was not about finding her mother. Today was about resolution.

“You were very kind to come,” he said.

This was the not their only stop. Her mother had a second meeting less than hour from now.

“It’s good,” her mother said. “Necessary, I think.”

Watkins tilted his head as though he wasn’t quite sure of any of that. But now that they were here, he seemed willing to do what he could to fill them in on the progress with the case.

“Have you read her statement?” Watkins asked.

Daisy Hollander had pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the murder of Jared Reyes. But that was all. She had a hearing later that month and had submitted a statement to the court as part of her campaign for a lighter sentence.

“Does anyone believe her lies?” Nic asked. “What she said about it being self-defense?”

Daisy’s story had been carefully crafted. Reyes had followed her to Hastings after that summer camp. He’d been obsessed with her, even though she didn’t even remember him.

That’s what she said in her statement—though other girls from the camp, women now, had started to come forward with statements of their own, statements about Daisy and Reyes being together the entire summer. About Daisy sneaking out of their cabin at night to meet him.

Daisy denied all of this.