29It was eight minutes before six o’clock on Thursday morning.
I watched the sun crest the horizon.
Balmy air caressed my skin.
At dawn, the northern Virginia temperature was only seventy. In an hour, it would be ten degrees higher.
I’d still be cool in my lightweight gray racerback tank top and black speed shorts.
I’d tucked the Volvo keys into the zippered pocket at the back of the medium-rise waistband. I wore low-cut socks and gray Adidas.
My outfit shouted this woman’s out for a run.
A lie. I don’t run around outdoors unless I’m forced to.
I borrowed my costume from Vicky. She doesn’t run, either, but she likes the clothes.
I stood on a red clay road. Daylight hit the green leaves in front of me. The trees’ slender trunks cast bars of shadow across the clay, darkening the red
