The entire twenty-five-minute drive to Elizabeth’s subdivision, she’d kicked herself for her inability to find that one tiny thread that, untangled, would lead her to a vicious killer, thus hopefully leading her to Addis and Emerson. So far, they’d received no results regarding any possible DNA from the crime scene, nor had they heard back regarding any fingerprints, despite Hal regularly breathing down the necks of the technicians responsible for getting the information to the team. This case may be like no other she’d ever worked on, but that was still no excuse not to have some answers by now. If only real-life crimes could be solved as quickly as the ones on television. As a result of her mounting frustration, Alyssa was a bundled coil of nerves by the time she pulled up to the neighbor’s house.

It was a feeling that only intensified when the door flew open and Brandon’s little form filled the entryway, tears sparkling in his eyes. Directly behind him was a rather nondescript woman, yelling for him to wait. At the same time, another little boy squeezed himself into the space between the door jamb and his friend, reaching out and gripping Brandon’s hand in his own.

Alyssa’s heart dissolved into a puddle on the wooden slats beneath her feet. Both boys bravely stood there wearing their Superman capes and Spiderman shirts, blinking rapidly, reminding her of Isaac and Trevor when they were this age and demanded for two full weeks that they be called by their favorite superheroes’ names.

Even as Nate’s mom opened her mouth to speak, Brandon, his lower lip quivering, beat her to it. ‘Tessa won’t take me to see my mom.’ He straightened his back and planted his little feet apart. ‘When I find out who hurt her, I’m going to beat him up. I’ll be fast like Thor and use my hammer so he can’t hurt anyone ever again.’ One little fist reached up and swiped across his nose.

Beside him, Nate’s neck bobbed up and down in solidarity.

Alyssa didn’t know if Brandon’s proclamation and determination made her want to laugh or cry. So instead, she lowered herself to his height and spoke directly to him. ‘Brandon, I’m Detective Wyatt. I met you the other night when I came over to speak to your mom. Do you remember?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. And do you know what my job is?’

Suspicion filled his wet eyes as he stared at her, trying to decide if she was trying to trick him. Finally, he stuttered, ‘You re… re… ’rest the bad guys.’