Oliver stayed safely at school with another teacher.
I drove behind the police car, trembling so badly I could barely hold the steering wheel.
When we reached the house, I noticed my father’s car in the driveway.
One officer knocked on the front door.
No answer.
We knocked again.
Then I heard something from inside.
A faint voice.
My father’s voice.
“Just a little longer, sweetheart. Hold still.”
My blood ran cold.
The officers exchanged glances.
I remembered that my father kept a spare key beneath a flowerpot beside the porch.
I handed it to them.
We entered quietly.
The living room was empty.
Then came another sound from the hallway.
A strange, rhythmic tapping.
Followed by my father’s voice:
“Please, don’t move your hands yet.”
I pointed toward the small room at the end of the corridor.
“That’s the back room,” I whispered.
The door was closed.