Captain Hammond had taken the news far worse than any of them had expected, and they’d expected it to be bad. Not wanting to wait until they reached the precinct, they’d made the call on the drive back. She, Cord, and Joe had tag-teamed telling him. Alyssa had no way of knowing what was thrown, but the resultant splintering crash was deafening enough that she might as well have been standing right next to him.

Afterwards, Alyssa tried Holly again to find out what she could tell her about Adam Campbell. The phone barely rang once before she answered.

‘Hey, Mom.’ The crack in her daughter’s voice betrayed her anxiety.

‘Hi sweetie. Got a couple minutes?’

‘Yes. Sorry I couldn’t call you back last night. That migraine came out of nowhere, and I was down for the count. But it’s gone now, so that’s good.’

‘No worries. Sophie told me you’d gone to bed. And your headache wasn’t out of nowhere, honey. You’ve been clobbered with a stressful situation, and it all manifested itself in the form of a migraine. Which is kind of the reason I’m calling now. What can you tell me about Adam Campbell?’ Given the reason she was asking, even uttering the football player’s name left a bitter taste in Alyssa’s mouth, and she found herself reaching for the drink in her cupholder.

Confusion was evident in Holly’s tone. ‘Not much. We don’t have any classes together, though I see him from time to time on campus. I can tell you he’s the quarterback, and there are rumors about the NFL wanting to sign him. Probably better to ask Isaac. He could probably give you his height, weight, statistics, last girlfriend, and the guy’s favorite food.’

‘His fingerprints were on at least one of the pictures you received – and we found more envelopes addressed to you with additional photos in his house today.’ The temperature in the cab of the Tahoe plummeted as she dropped the bombshell on Holly.

‘But why?’ her daughter finally managed to ask.

‘I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. I promise.’

‘Mom, do I need to be more worried than I already am?’

The tremble in her daughter’s voice made Alyssa want to hit something. Anger at the person responsible for putting it there bubbled inside, threatening to spill over. Because she didn’t want Holly to be so frightened, she was tempted to lie, but keeping her in the dark wouldn’t keep her safe. ‘I don’t know how to answer that question, honey. But I’d feel better if you’d go hang out with Dad and Grandma tonight.’

‘Nick’s still here, and we thought we’d all just stay in, order some Chinese, and watch movies tonight.’