“No, she’s got to be here somewhere. Give me a minute and I’ll find her.” A pause. “Yes, I know what time it is, but the longer I stand here, talking to you, the longer I’m not looking for her.”

I sit positively still, my mind buzzing. What is happening here?

He sighs. “Just tell me how it’s going there. What’s the latest?”

I take in his cryptic words, imagining some stranger stalking Cam around town the way the man-bunned man did me, taking note of his bag of cash, watching it grow fatter and fatter after each visit to a restaurant safe or the bank, reporting back on his progress. I think of all the preparation a home invasion plot like this would take, all the scouting and scheming. This operation would have demanded weeks of planning, sketching out every possibility, thinking through every potential consequence. And even the best quarterbacks have a deep bench of players and coaches to support them. Whoever’s on the other end of that phone call must be one of them.

“Lemme talk to her.” The man glances up, frowning when our eyes meet.

My gaze flits away.

“Hey, pumpkin, how you doing?”

Five little words, yet filled with so much meaning. Caring. Concern. Whoever this pumpkin is, he or she is loved.

“I know. Try to get some sleep, okay? I’ll be home soon, and I promise to come—” He pauses to listen. “I’m at work, why?” Another pause. “Because I stepped outside to call you. The kitchen was too loud.”

The word kitchen rings like a gong through my head, and I look up. Our eyes meet again, and he holds a finger to his lips. Shh.

“Good. Now get your booty back to the couch, and put your auntie back on the phone, will you?”

The compress has started to drip icy rivers down my neck, and I pull it away from my face. The skin underneath is on fire, part smashed cheekbone, part freezer burn.

“Make sure she takes a nap,” he says, his voice going hard again, “but before that do another check of her levels. If they’ve dipped even the slightest bit then call our cousin, get her to come over. She’ll know what to do. In the meantime, watch her like a hawk, and keep me posted. I don’t like the sound of this.”

Another long pause as I wonder who this cousin is, what problem she’s coming over to solve. Surely it can’t be worse than the problem currently brewing in this house.