“Hate to ask, but do you think you might also pitch in with the housekeeping? Just ’til I hire somebody else? I’ve still got Anita, thank God, but fourteen units is too much for her to manage by herself. She leaves by three every day, because her dad just moved in with her, and he’s pretty high-maintenance.”

It was Letty’s turn to ask questions. “Has Isabelle ever done any babysitting?”

“She used to watch my niece’s two hellions every summer,” Ava said. “To be fair, that was more like zookeeping than babysitting.”

“Won’t she mind you volunteering her to babysit Maya?”

“I promise you, she’d rather babysit than change beds and scrub toilets,” Ava said. “What do you think? You’d work for me however many hours a week you can manage, and I’ll cut you a break on the room.”

Letty’s mind was already doing the math. “What would I do with Maya in the mornings, while Isabelle’s at school?”

“Same thing I used to do when mine were that age,” Ava said, smiling broadly. “I’d sit them down in the office with a picture book, or a puzzle or some crayons. And yeah, some days they watched more television than they should have, but I don’t think it did ’em any permanent harm. Joe, he was class valedictorian, and Isabelle’s already been accepted to Emory, with a full ride.”

Letty felt her spine stiffen at the mention of Joe, the nosy cop.

“I don’t think your son likes me very much,” she said. “What’s he gonna think about me working for you?”

“Probably think it’s a terrible idea,” Ava said cheerfully. “At first. But he’ll get used to the idea, and he’ll get used to you. Anyway, I’m the boss around here, not him. What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

“Letty?”

Maya stood in the doorway of the room, naked from the waist down, clutching the stuffed elephant under her arm. “I think Ellie did pee-pee in the bed.”

Ava chuckled and handed Letty an armload of freshly laundered sheets. “Looks like you’re gonna need these. How about you start in the morning? Is eight too early?”

“I’ll see you then,” Letty said. “Thanks, Ava.”

8

New York City

ZOEY SPOTTED TABLE TWO THE moment he stepped into the diner. The balls of this guy! He sat right down at his old spot, unfolded the newspaper, and tapped his fingertips on the tabletop while he read.

When Hailey headed that way with the coffeepot, Zoey grabbed it from her. “Hold up. That’s the guy I told you about. The one who used to come in here all the time. Messed with my girl Letty.”

Hailey’s eyes widened. “That girl who killed her sister and kidnapped the baby?”