“Let us get a head start,” my father said. “I don’t want to get too close to the house until we’re behind it.”

We crossed the road and sidled along the edge of the property. It was quiet, except for the sound of crickets chirping. I was limping in the boot they’d given me at the hospital.

There was no way of knowing how much security Ben had. My hope was that he hadn’t outfitted the place with booby traps.

“Do you think Ursula is with them?” I whispered.

“I hope so,” my father answered. “She might be drunk, but she loves Teddy.”

Behind the house was an expansive yard that sloped down to the creek. On the other side of the water was a golf course, but no one was playing in the dark.

As we crept toward the house, I saw movement inside and heard the crash of Teddy’s steps. He was running.

“Ice cream!” he called out, delighted.

I could hear a man’s voice, but it was indistinct.

My father moved to the screened-in porch, which allowed him to see into the living room. I took the window that peered into the kitchen. Teddy was sitting at the table, greedily devouring a pint of ice cream. “This is my favorite,” he said.

I gestured to my father that we’d found our quarry. I tried the kitchen door, but it had a pair of solid locks on it. My father shook his head silently. He went back to the porch, pulled a box cutter out of his pocket, and slashed the mesh. He unlocked that door and padded up the steps.

“Where’s Mama?” Teddy asked Ben.

“She wants to be with you more than anything,” Ben said. It was a different voice than I’d ever heard come out of his mouth. Kinder, warmer. “But we’ve got each other, so that’s pretty great, right?”

“Sure,” Teddy said. “Where did Ammy go?”

“She stayed in New York,” Ben said. “But she sent you with me because she loves you.”

It was deeply weird, watching Ben act like a caring parental figure. I wasn’t even sure he was pretending. The man who tried to kill me a few hours earlier had a gentle, fuzzy side.

We watched in silent surprise.

“We need to get you ready for bed,” Ben said.

“I forgot my toothbrush,” Teddy noted.

“That’s okay. I got one for you. Let’s go upstairs.”

They retreated from the kitchen, and Ben turned out the light.

I texted Villaverde that we’d found Teddy with Ben. I didn’t have an address to give him, just general coordinates. It was awkward to type with my damaged wrist, yet preferable to letting my father handle anything tech related.

“What’s that sound?” my father asked.

“What?”

I kept typing. A heartbeat later, my father shoved me to the ground as a gunshot rang out.