“Yeah, right.” With a wink at Katie, Tiffany gave the door a sharp rap with her knuckles, then twisted the knob and walked into what could only be described as a “healthy mess”—just the kind Katie’s own boy loved. Cards, marbles, shoes and clothing were strewn over the floor, a bookcase was crammed with video games, books, baseball cards, tennis racquets and empty soda cans. Posters of rock stars and baseball greats decorated the walls, and the bed was a disaster, the edges of the mattress visible beneath rumpled sheets and a cover that was draped half on the floor. In the middle of it all, Josh and Stephen were thumbing through a sports magazine while Christina rummaged through the closet. In Katie’s estimation this was a ten-year-old boy’s idea of heaven. “We have a deal,” Tiffany explained. “Every Saturday morning—which is coming up in a few days, Stephen—he cleans this up, changes his sheets and puts everything away to my satisfaction. Then he can go out with his friends and I don’t bug him until the next Saturday.”

“Awesome,” Josh said, showing off his preteen vocabulary as if he knew the meaning of straightening up.

“If you guys need any snacks, I bought some chips and cookies this morning.”

“Cool,” Josh said and the boys, with Christina hurrying after them, scrambled out of the room.

“I quit fighting this mess because I had bigger problems with Stephen,” Tiffany admitted and Katie remembered the boy’s run-in with the police. Stephen had been questioned about Isaac Wells’s disappearance because he’d been hired by the reclusive farmer to do odd jobs and had, at one time, stolen the keys to Isaac’s classic car collection.

“How’s Stephen doing?”

“Better.” Tiffany sighed. “I hate to admit it, but J.D. has been a big help. Everyone told me that a boy needs a positive role model, a man to look up to, but I didn’t want to believe it. After Philip died I wasn’t going to ever get married again.” She picked up a couple of empty cans and brought them with her. “Then J.D. came along—well, actually kind of pushed his way into my life. I had to let him because he was Philip’s brother and the kids were his niece and nephew, but I never expected . . . Oh, listen to me. I’m rambling. Come on, let me show you Christina’s room.”