Chapter 1
Nearly one year later, October 2017
It was hot for the last week of October, muggy and gross for the day before Halloween. Sure, we didn’t live in one of those northeast places where Thanksgiving, my favorite of all the holidays, was snowy, and Christmas was always frigid enough for snuggling beside a warm glowing fire with a cup of hot cocoa and a special someone. There was usually a nip in the air, however, by the time I thought about throwing droopy jack-o-lanterns into the back of my garbage truck or was forced to scoop up their orange guts splattered by some delinquent kid. I used to be one of those kids. Now, with a different perspective, I regretted that.
“Morning, Junk.”
“Hi, Mrs. Dannifer.” I answered to Junk at least fifty times a day, five days a week. If anyone ca
