I felt every breath I took. My heart rate slowed ever so slightly. Dawn Steiner. She was suspicious and odd. But she’d never been to the house. Not as far as I knew. But her deadline loomed . . . two days away. Had she grown impatient and come by to force the issue?

“Sir?”

“No. Nothing like that. It’s safe here.”

“You haven’t had any problems like this any other night?” the cop asked.

“Nothing at all,” I said.

Both cops considered me without speaking. They were big men—like linebackers with gleaming badges—and younger than I was. They looked eminently capable and smart, which set me on edge.

“Well,” the only cop who had spoken said, “we can file a report, and we’ll be sure to mention the fresh tracks. If anything else happens, feel free to call us. We’ll be patrolling all night.”

“Thank you,” Amanda said. “I hope this wasn’t a wild-goose chase for you all. I know you’re busy.”

“No problem, ma’am,” the second cop said, finally speaking. He had a thick head of hair perfectly sculpted into place. “That’s what we’re here for.”

“Your wife said you were at a basketball game tonight,” the first cop said.

“What’s that?”

“You were at a basketball game, right? At the Y?”

“Yes, that’s right,” I said.

“Must be the Thursday night league,” he said. “My brother plays in that.”

“That’s right.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

My eyes moved between them. They both kept the serious looks on their faces.

“What happened?” the second cop asked.

My throat went dry. I looked at Amanda, who was watching me.

I tried to swallow and couldn’t. “What do you mean?” I asked.

Both the cops smiled.

“At the game,” the first one said. “Your wife says you’re not very good. How did it go?”

Then they were both laughing. And so was Amanda.

And I tried to laugh too, although it felt like coughing up rocks.

“She’s right,” I said. “I’m not very good.”

The cops moved forward, and the second one clapped me on the shoulder.

“Like we said, if you need anything else, just call. We’ll be around.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

When the cops were gone and we were alone, Amanda looked at me, her face growing serious. “Tell me you know I wouldn’t overreact to something like that.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I know you’re not like that.”

“Will you go look around and make sure everything’s okay?”

“Didn’t the cops do that?”

“They did. But you know our yard better than they do. You can tell if things are out of place or missing. Just take a quick look.”