“Liar,” Letty croaked. Her throat was like sandpaper. “You killed Tanya. I know you did. She was getting sober. She was getting better, and she was going to leave and take Maya to California with her, and you told her you’d never let her do that. I heard you threaten her, Evan. And why? You don’t really care about Maya. She’s just another asset as far as you’re concerned.”

Wingfield glanced around at the three cops, who appeared more interested in Letty’s deranged accusations than they were in his safety.

“Your white-trash sister wasn’t fit to raise a gerbil, let alone my daughter,” he said angrily. “And you’re saying Tanya was sober? That’s a joke. She was drinking that morning I went over to her place. Stoned out of her gourd. But you already know that, right? Because after I left, you killed her, and then you grabbed Maya and ran.

“Here’s your murderer, right here,” Wingfield said loudly. “You see her pointing a gun at me? Threatening my life? Why isn’t she in handcuffs instead of me?”

Vikki placed her hand on Letty’s shoulder. “Okay, you’ve said your piece. Come on, Letty. He’s not worth the price of a bullet. Think about Maya. You’re all she’s got left.”

Letty looked at the pistol and then at the FBI agent. Her whole body went limp. Slowly, she uncurled her fingers from the trigger and placed the gun in Vikki’s outstretched hand. In the distance, for the second time that day, they heard the ear-piercing wail of an ambulance.

55

MAYA WAS BORED. SHE AND Isabelle had colored and had snacks. They’d read all the picture books Letty brought home from the library. Now, Isabelle was curled up on the sofa, looking at her phone, laughing at something she was reading.

The wind ruffled the curtains at the open sliding glass doors, and she stepped out onto the patio, looking over her shoulder to see if Isabelle would object, but the teenager was still absorbed in her own world.

A squirrel sat on the garden gate, with a ripe red cherry tomato clutched between its paws. Maya tiptoed toward it, but the squirrel scampered away, leaping onto a frond of the palm tree that shaded the patio.

She saw a flash of black fur speed past. It was Midnight! Maya unlatched the gate and stepped onto the thick grass. Were the kittens still hidden under the big tree? She looked around to make sure that this time, no bad men were waiting in the shadows.

Emboldened, she ran to the tree and peeked beneath the saw-toothed plants with their bright pink throats. The nest of pine needles was bare, with only a few tufts of black fur left behind.