I move through the kitchen, peeking in cabinets, opening the fridge. Nothing has changed. There is the same amount of orange juice as there was when I left. The same amount of dirty dishes in the sink. The same amount of bread and sliced cheese. I turn to Daniel. “I don’t get it. What did she come back here for?”

“Maybe she needed a change of clothes,” he suggests.

“You’re probably right,” I say as I make a beeline for the bedroom, but the words feel sour on my tongue.

Her shopping bags still sit on the bedroom floor. Her closet doors are pulled together. Her dresser drawers all closed. Her bed made. But I can smell her in this room—her perfume or detergent, maybe her deodorant—like stale flowers and patchouli. And I can feel her like the shadow of a shadow. I quickly take inventory of the clothes hanging in her closet. I shuffle through drawers in her dresser. It’s possible she grabbed a T-shirt or two, maybe some underwear. I can’t really tell. But nothing obvious is missing, and certainly not much if anything at all.

Daniel is standing in the doorway. “Any ideas?”

I shake my head. The feeling of dread is growing like leavened dough in my stomach. “I know she was in this room. I can smell her.”

“Okay. Let’s just think. Take a breath and think. I’m sure it’s not as bad as it feels.” He’s trying to be upbeat, and I’m grateful for it, but it doesn’t help the fist tightening around my heart.

Why would Moony’s watch just stop like that?

I look to her dresser one more time and notice the collection of pictures across the top. The order has been changed. The picture of her at Mardi Gras should be over to the left. And the one of me should be at the end. I pick it up, and the back flap of the frame falls open. It’s been unlatched. The picture of my mother with the baby is gone.

I look at Daniel. “Something isn’t right.”

“What is it?”

“The picture of her and the baby, the one I showed you at the café…It’s gone.”

He recoils. “Why would she take that?”

I don’t know, but I don’t like it.

I go back into the living room and pick up Moony’s watch, check the time. It stopped just over an hour ago—while Mom was here. Did she do something to it? Did she come all this way just to torment me?

“Maybe try calling her again. I mean, she responded to Gary. And she came here for something. So she’s coming around. She might answer this time.” Daniel looks hopeful.