"We’re newcomers here," Nora begins, "which is to say we moved here in 1991. Mom and Dad were both big-shot accountants. They decided we wanted to raise beef instead."

"About Cam getting sick," you say.

"Oh, right. Well. Cam and I are staying at the house while Mom and Dad are in Japan. But Cam went into town for the Fourth of July party."

"What about your older brother?"

"Cord’s at college in Montana. He came home for Memorial Day, then went right back. The university doctor called us twelve days later and told us he was down with Salmonella paratyphi A. He recovered just fine, and hasn’t been home since then."

She flips open a thin Hello Kitty! wallet and pulls out a picture of a sleek young man. "That’s Cord." And next to him, an impish young fellow: "And that’s Cam."