Oddly, this thought cheered him a little, and on the Underway ride out to Queens, the hot pain in his head cooled, receded. By the time he arrived at the twins’ house, he felt almost as chill as he normally did, as he used to, before all of this Cipher stuff happened. Though it was still quite early, Aunt Esther seemed pleased to see him, and so did Mr. Biedermann, who was at the kitchen table eating a bagel.

“Ah, Jaime,” said Mr. Biedermann. “How’s your morning been?”

“As good as yours, probably,” said Jaime. “Any news about Nine?”

Aunt Esther harrumphed and banged a mug on the counter. Mr. Biedermann frowned at her back. “No, not yet. But my wife is working on it.”

Aunt Esther grabbed a handful of silverware and jammed them into a drawer. “She could work a little faster.”

“It’s been twelve hours, Esther.”

Aunt Esther sniffed. “Like I said.”

Mr. Biedermann closed his eyes as if taking a moment to pray for patience, then opened them again. He ate the last bite of bagel and got up. “I have to be off to work. Feel free to have a bagel, Jaime, or anything else you want. The twins are already up and should be downstairs in a few minutes.” Before he left, he placed a hand on Jaime’s shoulder. “I’m always glad to see you, but I’m especially glad today. Tess is going to need a friend.”

Jaime didn’t know what to say, so said nothing. He nodded instead. It was enough for Mr. Biedermann, who gathered a stack of file folders and headed out of the kitchen. As he walked, his pocket started ringing. Literally ringing, like the bell between classes at school. Mr. Biedermann fumbled with his folders and his phone. “Hello?” he said.

Then he stopped in his tracks.

“What? Well, where is she?”

Pause.

Mr. Biedermann stiffened, and his voice did, too. “And why are you asking me this?”

Another pause.

“My daughter has been home all night. Crying, I might add. She is utterly devastated. A little girl, utterly devastated.”

Pause. A quick glance over his shoulder at Aunt Esther.

“No one from this house has been anywhere near that place. And I don’t appreciate your accusations. I’m calling my wife. Also? You better send some people out to look for her, because if you don’t . . .” Mr. Biedermann turned off the phone, came back to the table, dropped the phone and his files on top.

Aunt Esther said, “What is it, Lawrence?”

“Nine,” said Mr. Biedermann.

“What about Nine?” said a voice from the doorway.

Tess. Her eyes red. Still in a nightgown. Theo right behind her.

“Honey,” said Mr. Biedermann. “Why don’t you sit—”

“What about Nine?” Tess repeated.

Mr. Biedermann took a deep breath, then said, “She’s missing.”