We didn’t see Danielle much after we got home. Death makes things awkward. We did not enjoy each other’s company. Julia and Ned had become playmates during the adoption process, and sometimes they still asked to play together. The only reminder that Danielle had touched our lives was Grant. And the moms group, where I went because I genuinely liked the other moms, but it was also a way to keep track of Danielle. Keep an eye on her, make sure she wasn’t cracking under the pressure. Sometimes killers just up and confess to a friend, and I could not have that. She joined us sometimes, and it was like a neutral ground between us, where we could observe each other. Take each other’s pulse on how well secrets were being kept. Danielle lived in a different neighborhood in West Austin; we didn’t see her around very much. Playdates with Ned and Julia (after her illness I was very reluctant to cut off Julia from any friends), dinners and barbecues and birthday parties with the Mommy Club and their kids.

Until the day she moved to Lakehaven, two doors down from us.

It was like a cruel joke. Hi, new neighbor! Remember that time we covered up a murder? I’ll see you at the community picnic. Bring your chocolate chip cookies—everyone loves those!

Why would she even want to be near us? We were radioactive to each other. There was no reason for us to interact now. Our business was concluded. Our lives, moving on.

Yet here she was, walking onto our stage.

She hadn’t even told us in advance that she was becoming our newest neighbor. The house was sold (the former neighbor was a widow who spent a lot of time visiting her grown children who had moved to California). The moving van for the new residents arrived. And then a car, with Danielle getting out of it (and Ned coolly strolling toward our house to surprise Julia).

It made my blood run cold. Danielle, flexing her fake smile, and me thinking: You better be a real estate agent now, because there is no other reason for you to be on this street.

I walked out to meet her in the yard. I wasn’t sure I wanted her in my house, and then Grant’s rushing past me to go greet her. Of course he loved her. He thought she was the reason he got paired with us.

Grant hugged Danielle and she hugged him back and watched me over Grant’s head. (This was before the human beanpole caught up and passed both me and Danielle on height.)

“You’re moving in? Here? Really? That’s awesome!” Grant said.