Chapter 5

The morning after Conrad took Grace from school, I sat in Mara Ellis's office at six with my daughter's false statement between us.

I had not slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Grace holding out her lunchbox while a police officer kept me from touching it.

Mara placed one of Grace's spelling tests beside the court filing. Grace had written every lowercase s backward. The statement ended in smooth adult handwriting.

"The signature and filing time give us grounds to demand the original and an emergency interview," Mara said. "They do not guarantee the judge will return…