The memory is fuzzy; I can’t remember what my parents were even arguing about. All I do know is that my plan had been to go unnoticed, to simply collect information and then return it to June. But what I heard caused me to rise up out of hiding and charge out into the bright light of the living room.

My appearance brought shock to the faces of both my parents. “I heard you,” I yelled at them. “I heard you.” I don’t remember what happened next. The memory refuses to reveal itself entirely, stopping there in the midst of the anger and tension.

It leaves me frustrated but relieved at the same time. Inserting myself into the middle of my parents’ argument might have only brought on a scolding. Maybe I was just sent back to bed, only to wake up the next morning to find my father had left us all.

It doesn’t feel that simple, though. I can sense that the rest of the memory hidden down there in the dark is much bigger than that. Why else would I have buried it so deep?

JUNE

The ringing of my phone wakes me. I’ve spent a restless night on Ezra’s couch, going over everything in my mind and getting only a few hours of fitful sleep. Grabbing the phone from the coffee table, I manage to croak out a hello before the caller hangs up.

It’s the female police officer who came to the island yesterday. She says they circled the island several times last night but didn’t see any activity at all. I ask if she’s spoken to the woman from animal control about the birds, but she says she hasn’t. I tell her exactly what the animal control woman told me, and the police officer says she’ll follow up with them right away.

Before hanging up, she asks me if the cross in the clearing could be a grave for a family pet or animal we buried as kids. I tell her we didn’t have any pets growing up. I also remind her that I got rid of the cross twice and it reappeared.

“Ah, right,” she says. “That’s quite the mystery, then, isn’t it?” She goes on to apologize for not having any substantial information for me and promises to get in touch as soon as they have anything else.

I’m only half listening, my mind already back at Avril Island doing my own detective work. She didn’t have anything specific for me, but she made me realize that there may have been a crucial piece of the puzzle sitting right there in front of me this whole time and I didn’t even realize it.