“We’ll work from evidence.”

During the next week I visited the house with Laura to collect personal belongings.

Kenneth wasn’t there.

Gertrude was in the sitting room with a blanket over her knees, watching a daytime talk show.

She didn’t greet me.

I went upstairs, put my mother’s jewelry and some clothes into a suitcase, and returned to the kitchen for the recipe book I had left in the drawer.

As I passed the hallway mirror, I saw Gertrude standing behind me.