Henry had woken up, and Amanda and then Samantha bounced him on their knees. He loved the attention, looking at Sam with wide eyes like she was the most fascinating person to ever set foot in the house.

“I hope we get to have one of these someday,” she said.

Amanda reached over and squeezed her hand. “You will. Of course. You will.”

“Just make sure you babyproof the lampshades,” I said.

Nobody laughed. I wasn’t as funny as I thought I was.

When Rountree finally arrived, entering through the back door, which Kyle Dornan had pushed against, she looked surprised to see Samantha there. She said, “You’re a tough woman to get ahold of.”

“It’s been a crazy morning,” Sam said, still holding Henry.

We all stood up from the table. Rountree eyed me, her face impassive.

“I’ll say.” Rountree raised her index finger in the air. Then she focused on Henry. “Well, hello there, mister.”

Henry looked just as happy to see her as he had been to see Samantha. Maybe he was already growing bored with our faces. Rountree tickled his belly, then looked at Sam. “You hold that thought. About the crazy morning. I’ll talk to you in a minute. But what about this man you called about? The one who tried to come in the back door?”

Amanda repeated her story, interrupted by a periodic question or request for clarification from Rountree. When Amanda told her that Kyle said it was terrible the girl got killed, Rountree’s eyebrows rose, and she pursed her lips.

“He said it was terrible the girl had to get killed?”

“Yes.”

“Did he say Jennifer’s name?”

Amanda took her time answering. I could sense the wheels moving in her head as she scanned through her memory banks to be certain.

“No,” she said. “It was a stressful situation, and I was worried he was going to get in and hurt Henry.”

“I understand. That’s your first instinct—to protect your baby. And it’s the right one. Always. If someone was at the door like that and my babies were upstairs, look out.”

“I’m just not sure what he said exactly. What I can tell you is that he was talking about Blake and Ryan, and then he said he was sorry the girl had to get killed.”

“Had you ever met Kyle Dornan before?”

“No. Never.”

Rountree looked at all of us. “None of you know him?”

We all shook our heads like obedient children.

“Well,” she said, “we definitely want to talk to him. He’s broken into one home and tried to get into another. He’s making quite a name for himself. We have his description out all over. Even with the state police.”

“Did you find Blake?” Samantha asked.