I was buttoning up my coat to go to my husband’s funeral when my grandson burst into the garage, pale as a ghost. “Grandma, don’t start the car! Please don’t!”

“Grandma… I found something in the garage this morning. Something that shouldn’t be there.”

Helen felt the muscles in her neck tense.

“What did you find?”

“A rag. It was stuck in the car’s exhaust pipe,” he said, swallowing hard. “And it was your car. Nobody else uses it.”

Helen felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over her.