Don’t wash it.”

I put the phone in my pocket and checked the hall clock.

Ten past two.

I had packed a nightgown, my pills, the cookbook with the insurance bill folded inside the cover, and three hundred dollars from the jar above the fridge.

The knock came then.

Four hard beats, and the bell on top of them.

I opened the door with my bag still in my hand.

Ethan stood in the rain.