We drive back to Spring Brook and get right down to business. I grab all the drawings that I found in my cottage, plus the three pictures I took from Teddyโs bedroom. Adrian has the one drawing left on his desk, plus all his photographs of the Maxwellsโ den. Heโs already output the images on an inkjet printer so we can add them to the sequence. There are less than forty-eight hours before Russell comes to pick me upโand before that happens, Iโm determined to convince the Maxwells weโre telling the truth. We arrange all the pictures on the pool patio, using stones or pinches of loose gravel to hold them in place. Then we spend half an hour moving them around, trying to arrange them in order, looking for some kind of narrative
that makes sense.
After much trial and error, we arrive at this:
โThe first picture is the hot-air balloon,โ I begin. โWeโre in some kind of park or field. An area with a lot of wide-open space. Big skies.โ
โSo definitely not Spring Brook,โ Adrian says. โThereโs too much air traffic out of Philly.โ
โWe see a woman painting a picture of the hot-air balloon. Letโs assume for now this is Anya. Judging from her
sleeveless dress, Iโm guessing itโs summer, or maybe weโre in a warmer climate.โ