“They’re searching the woods.” It’s Donohue, not liking Dad’s tone. Her footsteps, lighter than the rest, come up beside me. “Sorry. I found it in the road.” She sets my phone on the table. Crushed, the screen shattered, obviously run over. “If you press charges, you could be compensated for it.”

Right now, my one compensation is picturing Aidan’s face when the cops knocked on his door tonight. I didn’t even have to know his last name; apparently, he’s acquainted with the Pender PD already.

The male cop is making leaving sounds now—still searching, etc., keep us posted—making Ma hit her Excuse me? pose. “What’re we supposed to do until you catch this guy? What if he comes looking for her again?” She’s got the officer trapped halfway out the door. “That man was after my child, and you’re telling me you’ll keep us posted? What the hell is going on in this town? You got one kid dead in that marsh—a whole pack of flying monkeys chase my girl around and nobody does a damn thing—and then some crazy person tries to get ahold of her, and you people got nothing but ‘we’ll look into it’?”

“He was after me.” I finally lift my gaze to Donohue, tightening my grip on the blanket. “He was.”

“And we believe you.” She holds up a hand when the other officer starts to speak. “We’re taking this very seriously. But we also have to look into the possibility that this was a stunt pulled by kids in the neighborhood who knew you were locked in there. We’ve got somebody speaking with Aidan and the other boys right now. One of them will probably admit to as much.” I hear Ma’s noise of protest; I told them about his size, how he seemed to be hunting Yellow Hood through the trees. “That said, until you hear from us, stay calm”—raises her voice when Ma tries to interrupt—“and take normal precautions, like keeping your doors and windows locked, leaving lights on. I promise you, we’ll find out who did this.”

When it’s just the three of us Morrisons again, Ma grabs the dishrag and tosses it into the sink, staring out the window at the night. “This is some great place you brought us to, Jay.”

“Didn’t have a whole lot of choice, did I?”

She doesn’t fire back right away, shaking her head. “Just seems to me that a kid’s life goes pretty cheap around here. That’s all I’m saying.” Looks out the window for a second longer, then drops into the chair beside me, pulling me close for a kiss on top of the head. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there.”

For some reason, after everything, this is what makes me cry.