A Second Call No One Could Explain
Two patrol cars arrived within minutes, their red and blue lights washing over the quiet street in pulses of color that made the night feel theatrical and unreal. Officer Dana Whitfield and Officer Jared Pike approached with measured steps, flashlights sweeping across the yard before they reached me.
“You’re the caller?” Whitfield asked.
I nodded and repeated what Tessa had told me, every word feeling more fragile when spoken aloud.
Pike tested the doors while Whitfield remained with me. After a brief exchange over her radio, she turned back to me with a look that tightened something in my chest.
“Ma’am, we received another call from this address tonight at 11:42,” she said carefully.
“Another call?”
“Yes. It connected briefly and then was canceled. The person on the line stated it was a mistake.”
A chill crept across my skin despite the warm desert air.
“Who said it was a mistake?”
Whitfield hesitated before answering.
