I sent her a message from the bathroom: *He’s home.
Not leaving.
What do I do?*
Her reply came in three minutes.
*Detective Reyes is already on his way.
He knows the situation may be fluid.
Stay calm.
Do not let Daniel leave once Reyes arrives.*
I put the phone away and went back to the kitchen.
Daniel was reading something on his tablet at the table.
Ava came downstairs at eight and poured herself cereal and sat across from him.
They exchanged a few words about the weather.
Normal.
Perfectly, horribly normal.
At 9:47, a car pulled into the driveway.
Daniel heard it.
He looked up from his tablet.
“Expecting someone?”
“My sister mentioned she might stop by,” I said.
I moved toward the front door before he could.
Detective Reyes was a compact man in a gray jacket, plain clothes, no uniform.
He had a second officer with him, a woman who introduced herself as Officer Chen.
