If she’s heard anything about the Crimson Cryer, I can’t tell, and I’m not going to be the first to mention it. I don’t want her to know what people are saying about me. I don’t want her to realize it’s my fault Mom went back to work.

For a moment, I think she’s going to ask about the case. She’s going to make me lie to her, or at least avoid the question. But then she just heads into the pantry with a canister of smoked salt.

“Chicken gets tough when you warm it up.”

“Then I’ll eat Mom’s meat, and I’ll save her my veggies. Need some help cooking?”

“Nope. Cleanup is all yours, though.”

After dinner, Penn unloads the dishwasher, then he heads to his room to do his calculus homework. I hurriedly reload with everything that can go in the dishwasher, and I’m scraping cheese off the bottom of a baking dish when the doorbell rings.

Amira stands on the front porch, holding a bag of pretzels. “I got the sticks instead of the twists. Those are your favorites, right?”

I can’t resist a grin as I let her inside. Despite the recent distance between us, it’s like nothing has changed.

We grab spices from the pantry, and she preheats the oven while I toss the pretzels in vegetable oil in a plastic bag. But before we can add the spices, the TV comes on in the living room.

We hardly ever use the TV anymore, since Mom canceled our cable. These days, Penn, Landry, and I are much more likely to fight over her old iPad so we can stream a show alone in our rooms than we are to watch anything broadcast on one of the basic networks.

I set the bag of pretzels on the counter and grab a hand towel on my way into the living room, where I find Landry standing in the middle of the floor, staring at the TV with the remote in her hand.

“What’cha looking for?”

“Norah said Clifford’s on the national news, but I don’t know what channel that is.”

“We don’t get those channels anymore. Come here.”

I head back into the kitchen and unplug the iPad from its dock on the counter, while Landry turns off the TV. She and Amira watch over my shoulder while I search for “Clifford, Tennessee news” and click the first video posted by a network I recognize.

“Tonight, all eyes are on Clifford, Tennessee, a town of fewer than five thousand people near the western edge of the state, where, on Friday, the remains of a newborn were found in the high school locker room.”