“Tomorrow afternoon, this is over for good.”

I lifted the main evidence binder off the patio table, squared up the thick paper edges, and snapped the brass latch neatly shut.

At three o’clock on the afternoon of Labor Day, forty neighbors crowded onto the cul-de-sac lawn while six kids dashed back and forth through the spray of an oscillating sprinkler.

The heavy smell of grilled burgers and charcoal smoke drifted over the common grass under the late summer sun.

Emily stood next to Nora Hayes by the long plastic folding tables, listening quietly while Nora talked about the library’s autumn book sale.