Anne Doss plopped on the sofa. Confession is good for the soul, they say. Why not just blurt it out? Well, for the same reason she couldn’t confess to Cherry, she didn’t have the courage to say the words.

She said, “I must pay for what I did. I’m responsible.”

The young cop took an envelope from his breast pocket, opened it and took out a sheet of plain lined paper that might have come from a school notebook.

“You might not know about this, Ms. Doss. Cherry left a note.” He handed her the paper, on which had...