Wren patted her back.

Acrid smoke wafted around the kitchen. Thomas coughed and then leaned over the sink to inhale the cold air blowing through the window.

“Well, I guess we’ll…” Sam flapped a hand and finished dispiritedly, “Figure something out.” He went back to inspecting the disaster on the stovetop.

“Should we call for a pizza?” Thomas asked.

“Good idea,” Wren said.

Maggie patted her hair, weirded out by the shift from murderous tension to “let’s order a pizza.” She looked around and realized something: One of them was missing. “Where’s Kate?”

Sam stopped scraping burnt ingredients into the garbage disposal to glance over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised.

Linnie stepped out of Wren’s one-armed hug and called for her daughter.

Thomas put down his beer. “She was building with Legos in the playroom earlier. I’ll check in there.” He trudged through the dining area toward the basement door. When he headed down, he called, “Kate?”

“She’s probably in her room.” Sam washed and dried his hands. “I’ll go look. My phone’s up there. Pepperoni okay with everyone?”

“Get half with spinach and mushrooms, will you? Actually…” Wren took a hesitant step forward. “Mind showing me the email from Becky?”

“Sure.” He smiled tiredly. “Laptop’s in the den. Come on up.”

When everyone else disappeared, Maggie turned to Linnie.

She was frowning. “Do you hear that?”

Maggie raised her head and heard a soft whine.

“Oh. I must have left the door open.” Linnie headed that way.

Maggie grabbed her wrist. “You did, but I closed it.”

Linnie’s eyes widened. Without a word, she tore her hand free, ran for the front door, and whipped it open. “Kate!”

Darkness had fallen. In one of the trees along Wayside, the moon shone, gibbous and ringed and blurred by snow. It looked like an animal’s watchful eye.

Linnie fumbled with the switches by the door until the exterior light unrolled a short carpet of illumination across the snow. The prints of small sneakers drew a path in the direction of the lake.

“Oh no.” Linnie sprang outside.

Maggie started following but stopped when she realized she wasn’t wearing shoes. Trembling, she stumbled back, ran for the boots she’d left by the door to the garage, and yelled for Sam as she grabbed her coat off the back of the chair.

He flew down the stairs, his face filling with dread. “Is it Kate?”

Wren descended more slowly. “What’s going on?”

“Kate left.” Maggie made for the door. “Took off for the lake, I think.” She didn’t wait for them to follow, just ran after Linnie, straight into the night.