Emily hasn't spoken a word to me since I made that joke about her being a bad influence. I'd only been kidding, but clearly, she didn't take it that way.

"We're here," Tom calls over his shoulder. He stops and faces us. "All right, so remember, I'm going to take the lead. Don't answer any direct questions, and don't say a thing about Brenda. Okay?"

I nod. I'm glad Tom's taking the lead and handling everything because I don't want any part of it. All I want to do is ...