I retied the bag, but I could not reproduce the neat double knot. Mine looked clumsy and obvious.
When I returned home, Anna took one look at me.
“There were a girl’s things inside.”
“Clothes, schoolwork, and pictures.”
Anna’s expression hardened.
“That does not mean anything terrible happened.”
“Barbara has no child living there.”
“Maybe she has kept a child locked indoors. I have heard stranger things before.”
“Then why is she giving everything away?”
“The better question is why you opened her trash bag.”
“That is not an apology to Barbara.”