“That’s true,” Mike agrees.

“Did you see anyone with him?” Ponder asks.

After a moment, the woman shakes her head.

Iris wonders: Why did Danielle die in the park? Why not at her own home? Why did she go to meet someone in the neighborhood park? Who did she go see?

And she thinks: She didn’t want Ned to see. She didn’t want Ned to know who it was.

“Thank you for coming forward. Will you give a statement after the meeting?”

“Yes.”

“And your name, ma’am?”

“Carrie Butler.”

Iris stares at her. Carrie and Steve Butler: the woman and her husband who had been denied an adoption and blamed Danielle. She notices now the woman’s sitting next to the brawny redhead who was jogging with Sifowicz when they heard the kids screaming and ran to their aid. The redhead takes her hand as she sits back down.

They moved into the neighborhood, Iris thinks. A few houses down from the woman they blamed for not getting them a child.

“I didn’t want to accuse anyone…” Carrie Butler says. “We’re new in the neighborhood and…” Carrie stops again. “I didn’t want to accuse anyone,” she repeats flatly.

“Coming forward with information is not an accusation. It’s just information. And that’s what we need,” Ponder says.

Iris wonders if the man was Kyle. Could he have followed Danielle to the park, killed her, and then come home and calmly slipped into bed next to Iris? The thought staggers her.

People are asking questions of Ponder. “Should we be locking our doors?” “What do you think happened?” “Was she raped?” (A man asks this as though asking what she was wearing.) “Do we have any sex offenders who have moved into the area recently?” “Have there been any similar deaths in Austin, you know, like it’s a serial killer?” “Do you need a list of all the repairmen and lawn services and contractors who have been in the neighborhood recently?” There was clearly a cadre of residents—mostly older people—who felt that Winding Creek was under some kind of siege and were too happy to point a finger at who they believed to be likely suspects.

When people show you who they are, Iris thinks, believe them.

Ponder and Ames handle it deftly, reassuring people that there is no reason to believe there is a continuing threat; no, there have not been similar murders in the area; yes, Lakehaven and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office deputies are patrolling the neighborhood.

Iris glances back again at Carrie Butler in time to see Steve Butler stand. “We appreciate the patrols, but they can’t have eyes on Winding Creek twenty-four-seven. We can. We are just an informal patrol of home owners. We’re keeping our eyes open, being visible as a deterrent in case this guy comes back…”

Boos suddenly arise from the crowd.