Lily immediately became silent.
Mike looked at her, then at me.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Lily said quickly.
She ran upstairs.
I looked directly at Mike.
“What are you keeping from me?”
He smiled.
“Sometimes kids are allowed to have a little secret.”
I did not smile back.
For the next several days, I started paying closer attention.
Every strange look bothered me.
Every whisper made me suspicious.
Then, on Thursday afternoon, a meeting at work was canceled.
I normally got home around five.
That day, I arrived shortly after three.
I did not tell anyone I was coming.
Mike’s car was in the driveway.
The girls’ backpacks were near the front door.
But the house was strangely quiet.
“Hello?”
No answer.
Then I heard running water upstairs.
I climbed the stairs slowly.
The bathroom door was closed.
I tried the handle.
Locked.
Then I heard Lily’s voice.
“Mike, hurry before Mom gets home.”
I froze.
Emily whispered something I could not understand.
