words returned with painful clarity.
“What was she afraid of?” I asked.
Elise’s eyes lifted to mine.
“I think the answer may be in something Evan left behind.”
The following morning, Maya called.
Her voice was careful. Too careful.
“Ryker, Owen is asking for you.”
“What happened?”
“He had a difficult night. We think something triggered a memory. He won’t speak to anyone except Lily, and Lily says he needs to tell you something about Captain.”
Captain.
Claire’s fear at the airport flashed through my mind.
The way she had looked at the bear.
I drove to the agency office myself.
No driver.
No Marco.
Just me, gripping the steering wheel too tightly while Chicago moved around me in shades of gray morning light.
When I arrived, Owen sat in the corner of the family room with Captain in his lap. Lily sat beside him, her small hand resting on
