wake me to tell me she was gone.”

Joe just nodded and said nothing. After a moment he looked up at her and said, “You are not to blame for this. You did nothing wrong.” Mrs. Rodriguez nodded. Joe smiled. “I know this has been hard for you, but I just have one more question for right now, okay? What do you remember from that day?”

“I got up in the morning and then in my head I said, ‘It’s Saturday, why not make it a party?’ So I had some vodka . . . I don’t remember anything else until Ashley woke me up.”

“So you were out of it from around 10:00 A.M. until right before the police arrived at 2:00 P.M.?”

“Yes,” she said.

Joe said, “Thank you so much, Mrs. Rodriguez. I think we need to go talk to Ashley now, but I’ll try to come back and visit with you some more.” She nodded gratefully. “Just keep working those steps,” Joe said.

They walked away toward the nurses’ station. Once out of earshot Gil asked, “Do you really believe that Mrs. Rodriguez isn’t to blame and did nothing wrong?”

Joe snorted. “Hell, no. She was an absent mother who let her own child get molested and her granddaughter get killed. She’s as guilty as anyone, and I hope she rots in hell.” Gil smiled. The old Joe was back.

“How do you know so much about AA?” Gil asked.

“My mom,” Joe said. Gil didn’t press the issue. They stood at the nurses’ station and told the woman in charge that they wanted permission from Dr. Santiago to interview Ashley.

“Our suspects are dropping off the list like flies,” Joe said.

The nurse came back, saying Dr. Santiago had approved their visit, but warned them that Ashley might be groggy. She led them into the ward, which was very secure due to baby theft concerns. They went down the hallway, where they heard a tiny baby’s cries interspersed with grunting sounds coming from another room. The music of labor and delivery.

They went into the next room on the left. Ashley looked tired but strangely awake for someone who had just had a C-section. She was sitting up in the hospital bed, holding a tightly swaddled baby. She was cooing at him as Justin leaned over her shoulder, smiling. Joe and Gil watched them for a moment before Joe cleared his throat and said, “Hi, Ashley. Congratulations.” She looked up at them, surprised but happy. As if this were her first time being a new mom.

“Thank you,” she said, looking back down at the baby, who stared at her intently without making a sound. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

“He sure is,” said Joe. “I heard the labor was pretty hard.”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was bad.”

“Where’s Laura?” Gil asked. “Is she here?”

“Yeah,” Justin said as he played with the baby’s fingers. “She went to the cafeteria to get a Coke.”

“You know, Ashley,” Joe said, “we do need to ask you a few questions.”

“Actually, Joe,” Gil said, “why I don’t take Justin here outside while you two talk?”

“Sure,” Joe said, confused. He must be, Gil thought. They had been waiting to interview Ashley for three days, chomping at the bit. Ashley was the one who held the answers, although she had proven capable of lying to them and everyone else. She held the key to everything. Now when they finally had her, Gil wanted to leave.

In fact, as soon as Gil walked into the hospital room, he realized talking to Ashley wasn’t the only way to get to the truth. Because what Gil saw in that room was Justin and Ashley framing the new baby in their arms. It was the picture of happiness. The picture of a family.

Joe had been right. They knew nothing about Justin. At that moment, though, Gil saw Justin for who he was. Because a father can recognize another father.

Lucy walked into the yoga studio and immediately felt like a hippo in a lily patch. Everyone else was wearing tight cropped shirts and pants. She was in sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt. She didn’t know there was a dress code for meditation.

She had swung by home, glad to be finally kicking her way out of her EMS uniform. She had decided on the road back from Tamara’s that a meditation class might do her good. She tried to keep herself from questioning it too much, knowing her tendency for wanting to avoid uncomfortable situations. Meditation definitely sounded uncomfortable. Just yourself, sitting.

On the walls of the yoga