Landry comes in first, and she looks so damn excited to see Mom standing in the kitchen. Her joy hits me like a rock slamming into my windshield on the highway. I feel the initial blow with enough force to make me flinch. Then come the cracks splintering outward, webbing across my poor shattered heart from an impact my sister hasn’t even felt yet.

Penn comes in right behind her, and Mom doesn’t even look at Landry. I don’t think she can, in this moment. I don’t think she’s capable of thinking about anything else in the world until she’s performed this dreadful duty.

“Hey, Mom! You’re home early,” Landry says with a frown, glancing from Mom to me. She knows something’s wrong.

She looks scared.

Penn elbows Landry out of the way when she lingers in the doorway.

The back door creaks open behind me just as the front door swings shut behind Penn, and Doug’s boots thunk on the kitchen linoleum.

Finally, Penn interjects. “What’s going on?”

“Landry, why don’t you go next door and—” In that moment, I can’t think of a single reasonable excuse for my sister to go see her best friend, when on any other day, she would much rather have been at Norah’s house than at ours. “Maybe you and Norah could—”

“I’m staying.” Landry drops her backpack on the coffee table and sinks onto the couch.

“Mom?” Penn looks past her, and I turn to see that Doug’s holding the sealed cheek swab.

“Sorry, man,” he says.

My brother’s jaw tightens as his bag slides to the ground. Ironically, it’s his Clifford Cougars duffel.

“It’s just a swab,” my mother assures him.

“Fine. But you have to say it,” he spits. I’ve never seen Penn like this. He’s mad. Really mad. He’s punishing her. And she’s going to let him. “You have to tell us all what’s about to happen, Detective Bergen.”

My mother exhales. “Penn, I’ve given permission for Officer Chalmers to take a DNA sample from the inside of your cheek.” I can see her fall into the familiar words, into the official process, as if it’s part of her costume. As if it makes sense, in a way none of the rest of this possibly could. “This sample will be used to check for a familial match to the remains found last week in the locker room of Clifford High School. To test for paternity.”

Landry sucks in a breath. Her gaze flicks from face to face in sharp, shocked little motions.

“Let’s do this, then.” Penn glares at me while he stomps across the living room carpet toward the kitchen.

“I’m sorry!” I mouth as he passes me, but his glare only hardens.

This is all my fault.

Chapter Twelve

TWELVE