“You were exhausted last night. It’s my fault. I kept you up too late with questions, and you got all worked up and insisted on vacuuming the guest room for me even though there’s not a speck of dirt—”

Her cell phone rang, causing them both to jump. “It’s Anne,” Lynn said. She pressed the speaker icon.

“Mom? Are you watching?” It was clear her oldest daughter was on Bluetooth.

“I just saw it. Are you in the car?”

“Me and Chris are headed to Arkansas right now. Brian is driving over to Greg’s to pick him up, and then they’re coming too.”

“It’s best that you stay behind, Lynn,” Chris chimed in. “And Roxy too, once she finds out.”

“Too late, she already knows,” Roxy practically shouted.

“She spent the night,” Lynn explained, motioning for Roxy that she didn’t have to yell.

“Screw that, Chris. We’re on our way as soon as we throw on some clothes,” Roxy said, heading for the door.

“No,” Anne’s husband ordered. “It already looks like a circus there. If you two show up, we’ll have no chance of slipping by to try and get to him. Plus, neither of you should be driving in the dark.”

“We’re old, not blind,” Roxy said.

“Mom, can you stay by the TV? The reports on the radio are sporadic and the live streams on the apps are hit and miss,” Anne said. “I need you to call me as soon as anything new comes on. Can you do that, Mom?”

“I will.”

“Lynn, if you have heard anything from William recently, this is the time to come clean,” Chris said.

“You know I would have told you, Chris, if I had.”

“Mom?” Anne’s voice broke into a higher pitch. “Do you think he’s alright? Why would he be there? In Arkansas, of all places? All this time, he’s been that close and never told us. And why are the reporters there saying they heard gunshots?”

“I don’t know. But y’all just be safe. I know you’re all going to speed, especially Brian and Greg, but it doesn’t do this family any good if there’s an accident on the way to try and find him. You need to call Stella. Tell her what’s going on. I promise to stay right here and keep watching. I will call the second there’s an update.”

“Don’t think about getting in the car, Roxy,” Chris yelled before hanging up.

“He knows I’m just a faster driver than he is.” Roxy waved her hand as Lynn ended the call. “I’ll go make the coffee.”

She paused, looking out the window towards the trees lost in the dark. “Is there a reason this is all happening at the same time? Do you think they’re still out there? The ladybugs?”