As finals' week approached its end, campus was a ghost town. Evie found a parking spot on the first floor of the garage. Her gaze lingered on the cross and circle Jimmy had drawn in the dust on her dashboard. It didn't make sense that he had never realized something he had seen when he was a little boy--something that had left a major impression on him--was the exact thing his sister-in-law had been studying the entire time he had known her.

It had been too late to call Carlotta, on the East Coast this week, after Evie and Jimmy's late dinner the previous evening. Evie calculated the time difference, and then sent a quick text message. "Call me if you get a break today. In my office for a few hrs. Te amo."

Evie hurried across the quad, shawl pulled tight to block th...

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