I watched Gwen walk into the hotel lobby with the gold ribbon badge box in her hands.

I turned my car off Main Street before the rain started coming down.

The sky had gone the color of wet slate, and cold air was sweeping down through the yellowing maples along Elm Street.

By eleven I was pulling into the narrow asphalt driveway behind Mrs.

Carter’s cottage.

A dark sedan was parked by her hydrangeas, its tailpipe ticking softly as it cooled in the damp morning air.

I recognized the car right away.