But someone grabbed me by the wrist and threw me from the cliff that night.

Maybe Cole was right all along. About George.

It’s like I’m feeling my way across that muddy field at Whisper Cove and finding that split-rail fence in my path. When I know it shouldn’t be there.

Glory disappears into the kitchen, and I just stand there for a second. I’m still half-stunned. I listen to her opening and closing cabinets. Pulling things out of the refrigerator.

And I’m desperate for another clue. Something that will tie all this together.

So I open the closet door and pull out that cardboard box. I hold my breath as I dig through it, scared to death that Glory will pop back into the living room. But she doesn’t. I still hear her working in the kitchen. Turning the water in the sink on. Then off. Chopping something.

I’ve almost given up on finding anything in the photos when I catch sight of something blue on the bottom of the box. I move the photos aside and lift the worn spiral notebook out so I can get a better look at it. I flip it over to check the back, and there it is in the upper right corner.

#1

I stuff the notebook in my backpack and slip the box back in the closet.

Glory calls to me from the kitchen. “How do you feel about avocado in your salad?”

“It’s good,” I tell her. “I love avocado.” But my heart is beating so fast. I can barely breathe. I look around the room and see a set of sliding patio doors. “Is it okay if I step out and get some air?” I say.

Glory sticks her head around the corner. “Sure. Of course. I know it’s a lot.” Her face flushes deep red. “I wanted to tell you so many times before. But I just wasn’t sure how.” She glances toward that framed photo on the end table. Me and my mother. Chocolate ice cream. “I’ve never been good at putting it into words, what Nicki meant to me.” She smiles. “What both of you meant to me.”

“I’m glad you told me.”

And I really am. It makes me glad to know my mother had that. That she’d found something special. With Glory.

Except now I’m back to square one. With less than a week left. So I’m praying maybe the answer is in that blue notebook hidden in my backpack.

Everything that’s happened tonight has me feeling dizzy. I just need a few seconds to clear my head.