She spread them out on the counter. There were eight photos of the old truck from its day, most black-and-whites showing people posed around it. In one, Margot stood next to it with a feather headdress and sequined leotard. “This is the best one.” Marla slid the smaller photo from the pile. Lara noticed that the woman’s nails were meticulous with shiny beige polish. She tapped a color photo. “I think this one is from 1969.” She picked it up, studied it, and then, satisfied, pointed to the date stamped on the side of the photo paper. At this point, the truck looked old, but the logo was still visible. The photo was in color, and it appeared that the black lettering was actually royal blue. The woman paused, her clear blue eyes shining. “I didn’t know if I should give them to you, or if you knew about the truck. I’d tried to find other examples of the logo for him.”

Lara studied the photos and had trouble catching her breath. “I did know,” she said, almost croaking her words. “He showed it to me before…” She let the sentence hang. Gathering up the photos quickly, Lara slid them into the sleeve of the envelope. “Thank you. Do I owe you for these?” Lara didn’t look up, trying to scurry out of the place.

“Of course not.” Marla waved her hand.

Lara nodded and turned toward the door, clutching the two envelopes in her sweaty hands. As she got to the front of the office, the door opened and Kim Landau stepped through.

“Am I too late?” she called, realizing that Lara was blocking her from the counter.

“Just under the wire,” said Marla, her head back down in the file box, searching for Kim’s tickets.

“Lara,” said Kim, rather surprised to find her there, her big blue eyes wide. “You’re going to the gala tonight?”

“I am,” said Lara, turning toward the door in an attempt to pass her. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Kim—she really didn’t know her. It was just that the articles Kim had written about Todd after his disappearance always had a bite to them, like there was some underlying reason that Todd had left Lara, but she was too polite to spell it out.

“I… I was hoping that maybe you’d be up for an interview.”

“An interview?” Lara leveled her eyes at Kim. Her brows furrowed.

“You know,” said Kim, pulling strands of dark, nearly red hair away from her face. “How you’re feeling since the whole Todd thing…” She tilted her head from side to side, like she was selling jeans at the mall.

Lara felt her stomach twist. “How I’m feeling?” she snorted. “Are you kidding?”

Kim looked blank. “No… I—”