s Mercedes didn't ju

f the Blackwell parking lot-the shouting of boys, the rev

led the car, immedi

idn't loo

the steering wheel, knuckles wh

ng composed, on being the

ion in his jaw made

voice small. "What happ

just sat there, staring through the windsh

rbance at the correctional facili

slow, painful t

wasn't a

ory books and often forgot

at the wrong time with the wrong people, or s

he h

" Richard said, finally

but there was something else-a fli

listed as your emergency contact

shame spread

a or a charity luncheon, trying to scrub off the "pr

oring calls from th

" I said, reaching

said firmly. "The fac

ours. And Jane, we need to di

dad is bleeding in a prison hospital

his nose. "Blackwell is

s involved in a prison riot, the scholarship boar

out of the police report, but you have to b

t a girl, not a daughter, but some

whispered, though

in a daze. When we got there, t

about a new caterer she'd hired, and went to the o

wling, looking more like

il I reached the edge of the property where the woods beg

the tears flow. They were

ed, for the mother I didn't recognize anymore, and

ing a mess

Edmund leaned against the trunk of the w

dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, slee

choked out, wiping

ay for twenty minutes before he cam

filtering through the leaves to cast shadows across his face. "H

that conc

hifted between us as it always did.

hed me with

the prison," Edmund

w do you kno

. He collects information l

even hung up the phone. And I know because I make it my

ant to talk to you," I s

ul but firm. His skin felt warm, a stri

verything aroun

d, his tone un

? Do you want to tell me how this affects the Hale na

to that deep pitch that resonated in my bones, "t

struggli

at the distant trees. "Richa

he became 'difficult' for his image, he found a v

raveling. He tells me she

n in him before was back, b

so I would understand the

you, Jane," Edmund conti

in silk so no one c

too much of a problem, t

is arrogance wasn't just a shi

the castle; he was its

me this?" I asked. "I

rm and shoved his han

to place so quickly that

want to see another person cru

small, sad smile creeping

elf," he snapped, but the

happening tomorrow.

ething that doesn't look lik

mund. My wardrobe is all jeans an

y exhaling in frustrat

thank me. In fact, if you mention this to anyone,

ack toward the house w

in my chest that had nothing to do with my father and ever

I pushed open m

large, matte-black

no card,

ayers of white tissu

ds, with delicate straps and a hemline t

ver heels that looked more e

the fabric feeling li

all piece of paper f

n't a

ibrary, the one showing the man

in cramped, hurried handwriting, were the words: He

zation hi

e photo wasn'

rd's private

sn't just a random prison

nds, I understood that the party tomor

a battl

irror, holding the dre

skin look paler. I looked like I belonged in the H

y reflection, I did

nally starting to grasp

was built on secrets, and Ric

e one mistake. He h

silk dress pooling around me, an

e a storm. Down the hall, I heard the faint sound of a

in. We were both playing roles we hadn't chosen, trap

nal facility. I didn't expect anyone to pick up

eceiver. "I'm going to find o

he black box. The party w

Edmund would be the only one who knew that the girl in the gree

, a dog barked, a lonely, mournful sound echoing through the trees. I lay back on the be

tonight, in the dark, I allowed myself one last

crumpled wrapper from a piece of gum my f

c was the only sound in the room, a tiny,

, my last thought wasn't

n was at the prison, it meant my father w

, witnesses didn'

o the sound of somethi

ss hitting a hard floor. I stayed perfectly s

for Richard's voice, for my mother's

eling that, somewhere in the dark, the first pie