I never promised an answer that I couldn’t prove.

Those questions had followed us to Colorado.

And now, at last, the adults who’d avoided them were going to have to answer.

PART 5: THE PAPER THAT CHANGED THE ROOM

After dinner, Margaret invited me into her late husband’s study.

The children stayed with Lena in the adjacent sitting room, where a door remained open and we could hear their conversation about the enormous Christmas tree.

The study smelled of old paper and cedar.