Before leaving the house that morning, Mitch had gotten a call from someone at his office, who had told him he heard a new report that Danny actually hadn’t shot Rachel and Evan, but had stabbed them, and that he had committed suicide by shooting himself, even though he was found at the bottom of a ravine. That all sounded too bizarre, so Mitch had put it out of his mind. He purposely hadn’t turned on the TV at home or the radio in the car, because he didn’t want Carolyn to hear these wild rumors. He always wondered how people got through these things when he saw them reported on the local news, but he had no idea how treacherous gossip and rumors were until now, when he was on the other side of it. He was determined to learn the facts, so if there was anything he could do to help the family, he could do it.

Mitch and Carolyn were both overcome with a queasy feeling when they parked behind a black cruiser and noticed the decal on the back window that read “Homicide Investigation Unit.” Mitch took a deep breath and said, “Homicide. What an awful word.” Carolyn glanced at it and looked away. Something about the car lent a horrible finality to the situation.

A brisk November wind greeted them as they headed up the driveway clutching their open coats. Tom Schroeder was standing at the door greeting Maryann, along with Rachel’s brothers, Pete and Sam. When he saw Mitch and Carolyn he waved to them to come in out of the cold. They all huddled in the hallway and engaged in introductions and reunions, each coping with his personal grief, and privately mortified he might inadvertently say something inappropriate to the occasion.

However, since there were no appropriate words for such an occasion, they all took turns hugging one another and mumbling some version of “good to see you, I wish it were under better circumstances.” Carolyn and Maryann held each other for an extra long time and started to weep while they were expressing their condolences to each other.

Maryann remembered all the times Rachael and Carolyn had counseled her on the trials and tribulations of her teen years. She had loved the fact they included her in their circle of two, because she knew it was a very special place. She could tell them anything, and they would always give her excellent advice, of the sort one could expect from older sisters.