“Dad. I’ll be there in thirty to forty minutes,” said Devin. “I’ll grab bagel sandwiches on the way.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.”

He really didn’t sound like himself at all.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“How bad is the rest of it?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Mason. “They say she killed a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy. Shot him right in the face.”

“Jesus. Let’s talk about this at home,” said Devin, but his dad kept going.

“That was after she kidnapped a seventy-six-year-old man from an assisted living facility in Branson, Missouri,” he said, with no hint of emotion.

“Dad. I’m on my way home,” said Devin, shifting the SUV into reverse.

“I don’t even know when or if they’ll release her body. They wouldn’t say much,” said Mason.

“When did they call?”

“They didn’t. A Falls Church officer came by the house a little after five. Tennessee police found an old registration in the glove box with my address. Everyone at the department here knew she had issues.”

“All right, Dad. Just sit down. Do some of that meditation you do every day. And I’ll be over before you know it. We’ll figure this all out.”

“I’ll make us some scrambled eggs with cheese and toast,” said his dad, as though he hadn’t heard a word Devin had just said.

“Sounds delicious. Do you want me to stay on the line? Are you okay?” asked Devin.

“I can’t talk on the phone and make scrambled eggs at the same time,” he said. “I’ll see you in a bit. Sorry I left all of those messages. Do me a favor and don’t listen to them.”

“I’ll delete them,” said Devin, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Did you call Kari?”

“No. I’ll call her in a little bit,” said his dad. “It was too early in LA.”

“I’ll call her with you. We can do it after breakfast or wait until later,” said Devin. “There’s no hurry.”

A long pause ensued.

“She would never have killed a police officer,” said Mason. “Something doesn’t add up.”

“I’ll be right home, Dad,” said Devin. “We can talk about it then.”

“All right. I’ll get breakfast ready,” said Mason before disconnecting the call.

Devin stared at the phone for several moments, perplexed by his dad’s statement about the police officer. None of what he had just learned about his mom’s final hours added up. Not a single word of it. But his dad almost sounded as though he hadn’t been surprised by the kidnapping. Or maybe he was reading too much into the conversation. Devin hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, and his dad didn’t sound like himself.