Mara does not call during work hours unless something is bleeding, on fire, or legally complicated. I answered with my mouth still full and said, “Hey, what’s up?” And all I heard was wind and her breathing like she had been running. You need to come home right now. There is a tone people use when they’re trying not to panic. That was her voice.
Tight, controlled, failing. What happened? Just come home, Eli. I did not even shut my computer down properly. I grabbed my keys, mumbled something to my manager about a family emergency, and drove faster than I should have on a two-lane county road that already makes me nervous in the rain. It was clear that day, blue sky, bright birds probably chirping somewhere.
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