‘A memory has been bothering me and I can’t quite shake it. See, something strange happened a couple of days after Roxy went missing, and I didn’t mention it when you two were over. Wasn’t at the front of my mind, I guess, hadn’t linked the events in my head, I’m not sure, but –’

I’m getting impatient. My mind is already frazzled enough without this additional mania. ‘What happened?’

‘The Sunday night after Roxy vanished, I was out for a walk, to have a smoke – I went through two packs that day, awful anxiety, you know. And I was near the woods when I saw someone come out covered in dirt. Hands, face, everything. I was sort of concealed by a tree, I think, and it was dark, so they didn’t know I’d seen them, but I had, and I figured it was police duty but I thought it odd they were there alone –’

‘Who was?’

‘Lee.’

‘Who’s Lee?’

‘Lee Booker.’

I feel the blood drain from my face. ‘And what made you remember?’

She leans in close to me, her eyes narrow and searching, then taps her temple with her ringed pointer finger and in barely more than a whisper, she says, ‘Déjà vu.’

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 28

The parking lot is empty except for the Sandown County police cruiser hugging the edge of the woods.

I know where he is.

I find the cut in the fence from before. The cut that he made.

Follow the ribbons down to the grave and there he is, crouched, folded up and small, like a boy.

A beat passes and he hasn’t moved and there’s still no bullet in me. I savour every moment there’s still no bullet in me.

I don’t move either.

The moment of infinite possibility ends.

‘Booker,’ I say. He doesn’t look up at me but he knows I’m there. ‘You knew I was up to no good from the start. I didn’t come here because I wanted to be a Seasonal. I didn’t accidentally stumble upon some opportune chance to solve a mystery.’ My voice is wavering. So often I’d imagined a moment like this, but my voice had always been so strong and assured. I need to keep going. ‘I came because I wanted to know what happened to Roxy Raines and that was the only reason, right from the beginning.’

I wait for him to react, to do anything, but he doesn’t.