Chapter 1: The Note Left Over

He nodded, but slowly this time.

On the bus he took the aisle seat and kept the bag between his shoes. She sat by the window. The glass was cold enough that she could feel it near her cheek without touching it. When his phone lit up, he read the message and put it away.

At their building, he carried the tools upstairs. She unlocked her door and took out the money she had set aside for him before they left that morning. He accepted it, folded it once, and waited while she opened the door wide enough for the bag.

“Thursday,” she said.

“After school.”

He set the bag just inside, where she liked it, and went next door.

In her kitchen she opened the appointment book to make sure the ink had not smudged. The family name was clear. So was the small instruction underneath it.

She put the customer’s envelope in the drawer with the household bills. Then she filled the kettle for one cup and sat down while it heated.