Detective Harris reached for his radio.
“What's your mother's address?”
I gave it to him.
He immediately requested officers to respond.
“Emily?” my mother whispered.
“I'm here, Mom. Don't hang up.”
“He knows your name.”
“Don't speak to him.”
A sharp knock echoed through the phone.
Then another.
“Mrs. Parker, please. Emily said this was urgent.”
I heard my mother moving.
A floorboard creaked.
Then the man's voice changed.
“Margaret, I know you're in there.”
I froze.
He knew my mother's first name.
And somehow, the way he said it sounded less like a stranger addressing an elderly woman and more like someone speaking to an old acquaintance.
“Mom?”
She didn't answer.
“Mom, are you there?”
Then I heard glass breaking.
My mother screamed.
The call disconnected.
For one terrible second, everything around me disappeared.
I barely heard Detective Harris telling another officer to stay with Alex.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing his keys. “We're going to your mother's house.”
