“Yes,” Mrs. Darling went on, not noticing Wendy’s sudden change in mood. “But they’re only positioned at the entrances, so I’m not sure what good they’ll do for the search.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “I guess they want to look for anyone suspicious, maybe anyone who might’ve followed him and his parents out of the hospital this afternoon.”

That probably should’ve relieved Wendy—at least there would be no footage of Peter interacting with her or Alex—but would the security cameras have caught him coming in or leaving? She’d never asked him how, exactly, he got in and out without anyone noticing. Would someone recognize him?

Mrs. Darling put the empty Tupperware into the sink but paused instead of joining Wendy at the table. “They’re looking for the boy from the hospital, too, who you found in the road,” she started hesitantly.

Oh no …

“They seem to think that this is all related somehow,” Mrs. Darling continued. “You haven’t seen him, have you?”

Wendy shook her head.

“Well, just keep an eye out. If you do, you call the police straightaway, okay?” Mrs. Darling twisted her wedding ring around her finger, something she did when she was anxious.

Wendy nodded. “Have they—the police, I mean—have they … told you and Dad anything new?”

Wendy watched as her mother’s eyes slid across the room to the door of her father’s study. “I’m not sure…” she said.

“Where is Dad?” Wendy asked.

Mrs. Darling sighed again. “After I was questioned at the hospital, they asked me about the night you went missing, too.” Wendy cringed at her mom’s avoidance of mentioning her brothers. “Then they called your father down to the station, too. He’s there now.” Maybe she could see the alarm in Wendy’s face because she quickly added, “But there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, they’re just trying to get as many details of that night as possible.”

She picked up her plate and sat down next to Wendy. “They’ll probably want to talk to you again,” she said, gently placing her hand on Wendy’s arm. “Who knows.” She stared down into her bowl of soup. “Maybe we’ll finally find out what happened…”

Wendy pushed her food away. “I think I’m going to head to bed now,” she said quietly as she stood up from her seat.

It was possible Wendy saw a flicker of disappointment cross her mother’s face, but she just gave her a small smile and nodded.

“Night, Mom,” Wendy said. She wanted to reach out and give her mother a hug, but she felt like she had forgotten what hugging looked like, or even where to put her arms. She picked up her plate with her half-eaten chicken instead.

“Good night, Wendy.”