“You need to turn on the TV,” Roxy said, opening the door. “And turn on the damn light, who knows where you tossed your shoes for me to trip on. Where’s the remote?”

Lynn barely heard her words, frantically reading the article.

“Arkansas? He’s in Arkansas? All this time?”

“Seriously, I can’t see a damn thing. Brace yourself, I’m hitting the lights. Jesus, what’s the wattage on these bulbs? I’m practically blind now. OK, there’s the remote. I’m opening up the cabinet. You need to see this.”

“When did this come out?” Lynn slid out from her covers, still reading.

“I know I look so beautiful that you’re surprised to know I just woke up too. I just saw it myself when my usual five a.m. internal clock began its usual punishment. It’s the top story on all the early morning news shows. I came up as soon as I saw it. Best stay sitting down.”

Lynn remained standing as the TV flared. “Is he OK?”

“I don’t know,” Roxy said, coming to stand beside her.

The concerned expression of the news anchor spoke volumes.

“… we’re still gathering information from the scene, so it’s unclear exactly what happened.”

“But clearly something has,” noted the anchor’s male counterpart.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Roxy muttered.

“It’s now 5:15,” the female anchor continued. “And if you’re just now joining us, we’re continuing to monitor the situation in Little Rock, Arkansas, where there are reports of some kind of disturbance outside the mobile home that local media are reporting is the home of William Chance.”

A photo of William, taken from a distance during Tom’s funeral, then flashed across the scene alongside a live feed of a trailer lit up like a Christmas tree by the lights of the news crews. “Chance is, of course, the grandson of the late Senator Tom Roseworth. As a boy, Chance went missing fifteen years ago and was discovered by his grandmother under what government officials now describe as questionable circumstances.”

“There’s no question that they’re assholes,” Roxy added.

The male anchor jumped in. “We want to remind you that none of what is coming from that location in rural Arkansas has been confirmed by local police. This is all from the journalists stationed on the road in front of the trailer, who reported hearing what they thought were gunshots far behind in the field. The Associated Press is now reporting that police have yet to respond, as Chance has never been reported as a missing person. In fact, there have been no sightings of Chance himself this morning. The only confirmation that he was ever in the home was from video from an entertainment website that shows him inside the trailer last evening—”

“Of all the nights to have my phone turned over!” Lynn said.