THE DOG THAT BROUGHT HOME A CHILD’S SHOE CHAPTER 1: THE SHOE IN THE GRASS Emma Lawson remembered the smell of the river before she remembered the shoe. That was how she would explain it years later, whenever people asked how a farm dog, a pink sneaker, and an old…

ACT 1: THE EMPTY KENNEL Claire Whitmore adjusted the rearview mirror, not to check the gray Kentucky highway slipping away behind the Volvo, but to catch the reflection of the boy’s eyes. He wasn’t looking back at her. He hadn’t looked at her since they crossed the county line three…

PART 1: THE INCIDENT I remember the smell of engine oil first. That probably sounds strange, considering what came through the door that night. Most people expect a story like this to begin with the child. Some expect it to begin with the deputy, or the rain, or the moment…

PART 1: THE INCIDENT I remember the humidity first. That probably sounds strange, considering what people usually remember about their wedding day. The dress. The flowers. The music. The way the groom looked when the doors opened. But when I think about that morning now, I remember the air before…

I think it was a Tuesday, though Phong still says it was Wednesday because that was the afternoon the old vending machine swallowed his money twice. He had been complaining about it for nearly an hour, tapping the glass with two fingers as if the packet of peanuts inside might…