Chapter 1
It’s 2:15 on Monday afternoon, and I’m slowly walking up the sidewalk to Lakeview Elementary, hands shoved into the front pockets of my jeans. My first time here was this morning, when I dropped my seven-year-old son Tyler off for school, and in the bustle of parents and kids and teachers, I didn’t really get a good look around. Now I check out the playground—lots of swings, good, he likes those—and notice the two baseball fields that hem in the blacktop area. Not too bad. At seven, Tyler’s favorite subject is still recess, so I want him to be happy playing out here during the day. If I were his age, I’d have a ball.
Cars line the sidewalk, the women waiting behind the wheels watching me with guarded expressions. I know what they’re thinking—I’m a writer, I can read people as w
