“I’m making Tuna Helper,” she said, with far more pride than should ever be attached to that sentence. “I thought we were out of tuna.” I leaned over to pet Abby, who always perked up when I walked in the door.“We are. I’m just making the Helper.” Dawn laughed, and her hyper cheeriness made me feel wary.I asked, “Have you been in touch with Rud Petty?”Her too-big smile collapsed. “Why would you ask me a thing like that?”“You haven’t had any contact with him since the trial, right?” I didn’t know if she would hear, as I did, that I was begging her to convince me.Her lips were as pale as her face. “I can’t believe you would even ask me that, Mommy.” She put a hand up to her chest as if something hurt her there. “I mean, what are you saying?”I opened my mouth and then closed it again without speaking. I was hesitant to mention what Gail Nazarian had told me about Rud Petty being found with a cell phone, or about her cautionary visit to the clinic that day.
