January 2022

Suzy Weatherton is on a local gambling boat playing slots. Everyone around her is excited over LSU’s big win, but as a University of Alabama alumna, Suzy does not share their enthusiasm for Louisiana sports teams. She is focused instead on the slots. She is in luck that night and takes home a sizeable prize. On her way out to her car, she drops her keys. As she stoops down to retrieve them, someone comes up beside her. She is momentarily blinded by the flash of a polaroid camera. The flash will be the last thing she remembers seeing.

Broken Bayou, Louisiana

August 2018

Psychologist Dr. Willa Watters returns to Broken Bayou, Louisiana, the small town where she spent her childhood summers. Her aunts, who lived in Broken Bayou, died recently, and a box of her mother’s things was discovered in their attic. Willa is there to fetch it. She is also in Broken Bayou to lie low. After years of private practice, Willa began to write a newspaper column focused on helping parents of children with autism. The column turned into a radio show, and eventually Willa pivoted to podcasting. She wrote a best-selling book, also on children with autism, and it seemed as though her star was rising.