She knew what her mother and grandparents wanted her to do now: to keep lying, to say Leni hadn’t witnessed the murder or the drive to Glass Lake or her father sinking into the icy water.

To say: not me.

She could blame it all on Mama and stick to that story.

And forever be a woman with this dark, terrible secret. A liar.

Mama had wanted Leni to come home, but home was not just a cabin in a deep woods that overlooked a placid cove. Home was a state of mind, the peace that came from being who you were and living an honest life. There was no going halfway home. She couldn’t build a new life on the creaky foundation of a lie. Not again. Not for home.

“The truth will set you free, Leni. Isn’t that what you want? Why you’re here? Tell me what really happened that night.”

“He hit me when he found out about the baby, hard enough to fracture my cheek and break my nose. I … I don’t remember all of it, just him hitting me. Then I heard Mama say, Not my Leni, and a gunshot. I … saw blood seep across his shirt. She shot him twice in the back. To stop him from killing me.”

“And you helped her get rid of his body.”

Leni hesitated. The compassion in his eyes made her say quietly, “And I helped her get rid of the body.”

Chief Ward sat there a moment, looking down at the records in front of him. He appeared ready to say something, then changed his mind. He opened his desk drawer (it made a scratchy, creaking sound) and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “Can you write it all down?”

“I’ve told you everything.”

“I need it on paper. Then we’ll be done. Don’t lose steam now, Leni. You’re so close to the end. You want all of this behind you, right?”

Leni reached for the pen and pulled the paper toward her. At first she just stared down at the blank page. “Maybe I should ask for a lawyer? My grandfather would recommend that. He’s a lawyer.”

“You can do that,” he said. “It’s what guilty people do.” He reached for the phone. “Shall I call for one?”

“You believe me, right? I didn’t kill him and Mama didn’t want to. The law knows about battered women now.”

“Of course. And besides, you’ve already told me the truth.”

“So I just have to write it down and I’ll be done? I can go to Kaneq?”

He nodded.