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conversation going. “What do you say? We could take a drive out there tomorrow. The weather is going to stay nice. The school is in the country. It would be fun.”
    â€œOkay,” Ashley said in a voice so small that Terri wasn’t certain she heard her correctly.
    â€œGood. I’ll call right now and see when they want us.”
    â€œThat’s fine.”
    Terri nodded, when she really wanted to cry from relief. Ashley was going to shower, dress, and leave the house. After everything that had happened, this was more than she’d hoped for.

Chapter Three
    T he Van Meters had built Glen Oaks, their country estate, in the late 1800s by clearing several acres of oak, maple, and Douglas fir that ran up to the banks of the Willamette River. A stone wall guarded the perimeter of the estate. On the other side of the wall the road ran through a further buffer of forest that soon gave way to well-tended lawns and flower gardens bordered by pruned hedges. Then the road forked. To the left was an elegant stone mansion. A wide lawn separated the house from the road.
    â€œThat’s Henry Van Meter’s home,” Terri said as she took the right tine of the fork. “He founded the Academy. We’re meeting with his daughter, Casey. She runs the school.”
    A boy and a girl on bicycles rode by, and Ashley saw a group of girls sitting on the grass, laughing. The Academy was pastoral and idyllic, the way she imagined one of those English universities like Oxford or Cambridge might be.
    They passed some boys and girls playing tennis. Beyond the courts was a large outdoor pool, and beyond the pool was a modern steel-and glass gymnasium. Behind that was the soccer field. The team was practicing. Ashley stared with longing at the running, shouting girls.
    On either side of a grassy quadrangle that was shaded by well-spaced elm trees were three-story brick buildings with white columns and peakedroofs that housed the classrooms of the Academy. Students were talking on the quadrangle and walking back and forth between the buildings. Everybody seemed happy and engaged.
    The administrative offices were in another brick building at the far end of the quadrangle. Terri parked next to it in a small lot. The admissions office was on the first floor, and the dean’s office was above it. Upstairs, Terri gave the receptionist her name while Ashley looked at pictures of the school that hung on the waiting-room wall. One of them was a black-and-white photograph of a straight-backed, stern-looking man in a business suit standing in the middle of a construction site.
    â€œThat’s my father, Henry Van Meter.”
    Ashley turned. A tall, thin woman with clear blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a wide forehead was standing in the doorway of the dean’s office. She was dressed in a white silk shirt, a blue pinstripe jacket, and matching skirt. Her straight blond hair fell to her shoulders, and a pearl necklace graced her slender neck.
    â€œHe started the Oregon Academy in this building.” She pointed at the picture Ashley had been looking at. “That’s what everything looked like during the first week of construction.”
    The woman held out her hand. “I’m Casey Van Meter. You must be Ashley Spencer.”
    Ashley hesitated, then shook Casey’s hand.
    Casey smiled. “Actually, I didn’t have to guess who you were. I saw you score those goals against us in the quarterfinals of the state championships. I go to all the girls’ games. You’re very good—but you know that.”
    Ashley flushed and looked down, embarrassed. Casey laughed. “And modest, too. That’s a trait I admire. We don’t encourage prima donnas at the Academy.”
    Casey turned her attention to Ashley’s mother. “Hi again, Terri. I’m glad you two decided to look over the campus.”
    â€œIt was Ashley’s decision.”
    Casey nodded. Then she fixed Ashley with a