Grant lies there, quiet. He can tell from the increased speed that the car is on Old Travis now, and he can see from the signs that they’re getting close to one of the highways on the western side that loop around Austin. It’s the loop that would take you to 71 and then the airport.

The shock wears off and logic crowds into his brain. “If you think my mom or my dad killed Danielle, why are you helping her?”

“I think it’s this drug dealer Marland guy who killed Danielle and he knew enough about your family from Ned to try to frame your dad. We know now he threatened Danielle. Your sister has it on a cell phone that he gave Ned to use. I can’t let your parents go to jail for something they didn’t do. That’s not justice. We will get this worked out.”

“But, Mike…”

“Right now we just need to get you to a safe place and we can talk with your mother, all right?”

“All right,” Grant says, because he can tell that the car is driving at sixty miles an hour and when he tests the door handle, it’s locked with the childproof mode. But then he thinks about all this: the tree, the messages, all coming on the heels of Danielle’s murder, and it’s all too soon. It all happened too soon.

Maybe someone else is lying to him. Not just his parents. And sometimes parents tell lies for good reasons, not bad ones, and Mike has always been good to him. But he sits up, and sees Mike’s gaze on him for a moment in the back seat, and now he’s afraid.

“I want to call my mom. Give me your phone. Something’s wrong with mine.”

“She’s driving to meet us right now, Grant,” Peter says quietly.

“She’ll pull over and take my call.”

Mike says, “I have access to a friend’s private plane—you know that. I got Ned’s dad here from London faster. It’s going to take you and your mom to Canada. We have friends there who will help you.”

“Won’t you get in trouble?”

“Maybe. But we’ll see about getting you somewhere else where she can’t be extradited until this is over. You don’t want your whole family in jail, Grant.”

Extradited. Grant doesn’t know what that means. But no, he doesn’t want his whole family in jail.

“You trust me, don’t you, Grant?”

“Yes,” he says finally. He does. Mike has always been there for him.

68

Iris

Iris pulls into her driveway, inching past the press vans that are there, honking at them. Iris ignores their questions as she hurries into the house.

“Grant! Grant!”