Page 97

My eyes flick to the gate, to the two crows crouched there. They’ve been here the whole time—there was a crow in the treewhen I talked to Vanessa, that day in school. And more on the road since, alone and in groups.

Miranda follows my gaze. She doesn’t need me to say anything at all; it’s like she knows what I’m thinking. She nods. “Count the crows, Sara. All of the crows you’ve seen along the way. Remember them. Follow them back to this moment, and remember me.”

She stands. The light carves through her. Voices tumble behind us, coming toward the crest of the hill. The others will be here soon.

“And Sara? I have a sister, too. Find her, if you can. She works for a man named Andrew Ashford. They can help you. Tell Abby—tell her I’m sorry. Tell her to stop looking for me.”

And then Miranda is gone.

One of the crows on the gate croaks, shaking his wings. “Two,” I whisper, my finger tapping twice, slowly, against my thigh.

INTERVIEW

SARA DONOGHUE

May 9, 2017

Sara stares down at the page she’s written. Slowly, deliberately, she sets the pen to the side. And then she begins to tear the page in two.

ASHFORD: Sara, don’t—

He reaches for her. She slaps his hand away.

SARA: Don’t! Don’t touch it. You can’t—

They grapple with the pad of paper. He wins, pulling it free of her as she shrieks.

SARA: It isn’t true! None of that is true. I lied. I lied to you. Nothing happened. I sat alone. I sat alone until they came to find me. None of that is true.

With every word, the frantic strain in her voice settles. Her hands go flat against the table. She looks levelly at Ashford. He skims the page, glancing quickly between the words and the girl.

SARA: It’s nonsense.

ASHFORD: Is that so.

SARA: I don’t know why I wrote it. None of that happened.

Ashford remains silent.

SARA: You don’t believe me.

ASHFORD: I believe that you are telling me the truth, as you understand it. Some memories are hard to hold on to. But I think this one is important. I want you to think about the crows, Sara. I want you to count them. They’re bread crumbs, leading you to the memories you’ve lost. Miranda gave you a tool. Hold that in your mind as long as you can. I’ll be back in a moment.

SARA: Where are you going?

ASHFORD: I think it’s time that you spoke to yoursister.

PART V

THE TRUTH

EXHIBIT N

Excerpts from interviews conducted in 1963

“I’ve never stopped waiting for her to come home. Like nothing ever happened. It would be so like her. She was such an imp. That’s why we thought for such a long time that it must be a prank she was playing, because she was upset that her sister was getting all the attention.”

—Irene Callow, mother of Lucy Callow