A three AM phone call about a locked room changed everything

his expensive wool coat unbuttoned, his face unusually tight.

“Have you spoken to Stacey today, sweetheart?” he asked, using the old nickname to deflect the tension in his shoulders.

“No,” I said, keeping my voice level. “Is she not at home?”

“She is not answering her phone,” he said, checking his silver watch again.

“She said she was going to her mother’s continue reading …