Alyssa peered up just as Ruby poked her head in. Missing was the usual scowl. In its place was a mixture of anxiety and pity – which was the first thing that sent Alyssa’s blood pressure soaring to the ceiling. It crashed through the roof when, in a voice far from her normal growl, the secretary said, ‘Detective, your daughter and her friends need to speak with you.’

Maybe it was Ruby’s delivery or maybe it was the way Alyssa shot out of her seat and across the room like it was on fire, but she sensed her entire team on her heels with Cord directly behind her. One look at her daughter’s pale face and the way her friends surrounded her was all it took for her to latch onto Holly’s arm and corral everyone into an empty interrogation room, grateful that Cord joined them without her having to ask.

Holly fell, rather than sat, in the first chair she came to. Her elbows were pressed tightly into her sides as her body rocked almost imperceptibly. Nick, who would be in Holly’s lap if he stood any closer, rubbed his palm briskly up and down her arm.

On the other side of her, Sophie, pale-faced, eyes glassy with moisture, perched on the very edge of her seat, Holly’s left hand gripped between the two of hers. Across from the three of them sat Rachel and Jersey. Jersey’s eyes darted rapidly around the room before focusing on the door as if cataloguing her only available escape route. Of all of them, Rachel was the least active, but Alyssa could tell by the way she stared down at her upturned palms as if they held all the answers to the questions plaguing them that she was far more affected than she appeared.

Teetering on the edge of losing her cool, Alyssa’s voice was a little gruffer than she intended. ‘What happened?’

From beneath lowered lids, Holly cast a glance in Cord’s direction before averting her gaze and opening the satchel bag clutched between her hands. Her face lost all its remaining color as she placed another photograph on the table, using the tip of her fingernail to scoot it toward her mom.

Her voice was flat and inflectionless when she spoke. ‘I was woken this morning by the doorbell. When I got to the door, no one was there. But this was stuck in the screen. There’s a message on the back.’ Nick squeezed Holly’s shoulder as she shivered.

A pair of latex gloves appeared out of nowhere, and Alyssa was grateful Cord had thought of it. Her hands shook as she donned the gloves and pinched the photograph between two fingers. She read the message on the back first, not even minding when Cord read the uneven script over her shoulder. We can get to you anytime, anywhere.