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“That’s not exactly what you told us last time.”

I smiled, but it felt misshapen on my face. “It’s not?”

“No.”

Caleb gestured to Sam, who moved away from the wall, reaching for the machine on the table in the corner. He pressed the button, and the tables started turning. A scratching buzz sounded in the silence, and all the air left my lungs when I heard it.

My voice.

“…maybe about five?” A pause. “I had to be there early to help Esther.”

My vision tilted just a little, the room around me tipping to one side and making me feel like I was going to fall out of the chair. There was no mistaking that it was me.Myvoice. The one trapped in my throat, ready to scream.

“What did you do at the Faire?” It was Caleb’s voice now. It sounded even deeper on the tape.

“We walked around awhile, danced, listened to the band.”

“I see. And did you leave together?” Caleb again.

“No.”

My stomach dropped. That was what had prompted the look on Caleb’s face. I’d deviated from the story.

“Percy came and found Eamon to let him know Callie had gotten out of the fence again, so he went home.”

“And then?”

“Annie and I followed a little while later.”

“And how did you get home?”

“We rode to the flower farm with Esther, and then we walked from there.”

Sam pressed the button on the machine again and the buzz of the recording cut out, leaving us in silence.

Caleb looked at me, waiting for an explanation.

“That’s right.” I tried not to sound as terrified as I was. “I’d forgotten that he left early.”

“You forgot,” Caleb echoed.

“It was a year ago,” I said. “Didn’t seem like an important detail at the time.”

“I’m afraid that every detail is important when you’re investigating a murder.” Caleb reached for the box on the table, sliding it toward him.

I held my breath as he opened it.

His hand disappeared into the box, and I heard the rustle of plastic before he lifted out what was inside. It was a bundle of something I couldn’t make out.

“Mimi Granger came forward to tell us she saw you that night.”

My brow furrowed. Granger. Somehow, I knew that name.

“She said she saw you running through her west pasture.” He pulled a sheet of paper from inside the folder, setting it down in front of him.

“…running across the field, that baby in her arms, and I could have sworn she had blood on her dress.” He read the statement aloud. “I remember, because when she got to the road, she was wearing only one shoe. One blue shoe.”

The edges of my vision wavered as a rush of cold came over me. The sound of water drowned out Caleb’s words, a pricking dancing on my skin. From the corner of my eye, I thought I could see that field,rolling waves of gold that stretched to the black tar road. I could hear breathing, a ragged sound coming from my own mouth.