“School lets out in less than an hour,” he said. “I need to contact the principal. Have him see that my daughters stay until I pick them up.”

Carmody said, “Do they have cells?”

“Yes.”

“Why not just call them?”

“The phones are off while they’re in class,” Musil said. “It’s the rule.”

Carmody was quiet. Kali nodded to Musil.

“Call,” she said. “Right now.”

“Woodmere Middle, principal’s office,” Giovanna said. She had just sat back down at her desk after coming upstairs. “How can I help you?”

“Hello, I’m Amenjot Musil. My daughters Jani and Raysa are students at your school.”

She wondered if she’d missed something. Maybe he didn’t recognize her voice, which was strange since they had spoken less than an hour ago. But you never knew.

“Mr. Musil...this is Giovanna Walsh. Mr. Hausman’s assistant.”

“Yes, may I speak with him? It’s important.”

“Sir, his meeting’s scheduled to run until late this afternoon—”

“I’m coming for my children. It’s almost three o’clock. Can you see that they stay in the building after the bell rings? And that there’s a security officer with them?”

Giovanna blinked. Things had gone from strange to totally off-the-wall in five seconds flat.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “I thought...you asked us to let them out early...”

“What do you mean? I haven’t spoken to you.”

“Mr. Musil, I’m very confused. I just brought them downstairs to the GoRide. The way you and Principal Hausman arranged.”

Dead silence on the line. Giovanna felt a sudden and profound sense of misgiving. She wasn’t sure why. But it permeated her like a cold mist.

“Mr. Musil? Is everything all ri—”

“I need you to put the principal on the line. It can’t wait.”

“Yes, I’ll buzz him. Give me a minute.”

“Tell him it’s an emergency,” he said. “My girls are in danger. I need to find out what’s going on.”

The Mazda3’s dashboard clock said it was two thirty on the dot as Grigor swung into the dead-end street.

Raysa looked out the window, a confused expression on her face. The turn had been unexpected.

“This isn’t the way my dad takes us,” she said.

He flicked her a glance in the rearview mirror.

“We’re making a stop here first,” he said, smiling. “I told you about it, didn’t I?”

Raysa shook her head.

“No,” she said. “You didn’t tell us.”

“I must have forgotten,” he said, driving on. “Well, it won’t take long.”

She looked up ahead. There were only five or six houses on the block, and the car had passed them all except for the last one before the dead end. It was on the right side of the road and had a sign out front that read For Sale by Owner.