As she was coming in the door, she heard the tail end of a message her mom had just left on the answering machine “—so, you need to call me back right away.” That was Carolyn’s first inkling that today was not going to be just another day.

“Well, that doesn’t sound good, whatever it is,” she said under her breath, as she dialed her mother without first listening to the message. Her mom definitely did not sound like herself, so naturally Carolyn started to conjure up a dozen scenarios that might be the cause of her mother’s call.

“Hi, Mom, it’s me. What’s going on?”

“I don’t really know all the details, sweetheart, but like I said on the message, it’s about Danny and Rachel and the boys.”

“What do you mean? Were they in a car accident or something?”

Silence. And then her mother began to weep.

“Mom, Mom, what is it? Are they okay?” Adrenaline shot through her system, and the receiver began to shake in her hand.

It took another minute for Rosemary Hamilton to collect herself, and even then she couldn’t quite believe the words she was about to say to her daughter. They didn’t make any sense. They were too foul and despicable to say out loud. She didn’t want to speak them, because somehow that would make this horrible thing real, and she wanted it to be a dream—but she knew it wasn’t. Every instinct in her body told her to protect her daughter, yet she knew what she was about to tell her would shatter her life.

“Mom, Mom! What is it? Tell me!” Carolyn shouted. She backed up and tripped over a toy, landing softly on the rug in the family room, as if an angel sister had caught her and gently sat her down.

“Rachel’s gone, and one of the boys … and Danny, too.”

Carolyn couldn’t comprehend what her mother was saying. Clearly there was some misunderstanding, because earlier that morning, she had listened to a message from Rachel about passing her real estate exam, and how they would get together that weekend, and how grateful she was for Carolyn’s pep talk.

“No, there has to be some mistake,” Carolyn objected. “I just heard from Rachel!” She tried her best to block out the truth. She knew the message was from last night, but didn’t want to admit it. Yet the fact came worming back to the forefront.

“Mom, I don’t get it. Tell me this isn’t true! Rachel, one of the boys, and Danny dead? I don’t believe it!”

“I’m sorry, honey, but it’s true, and I’m afraid it’s even worse.”

“Worse than that? What? What could be worse?” Carolyn was starting to feel numb.