Skyden turned off the blender, leaned to her right, and listened. She was right. She had heard the doorbell. Before she backed away from the kitchen counter, her watch vibrated. She pushed back her sleeve to find the porch camera view of Detectives Orion and Lloyd. She stepped quickly through the living room and opened the door.

The dead serious look in Orion's eyes raised an alarm.

"He's here," said Patrice in a monotone. "Somewhere in the neighborhood."

"What?"

The detective glanced over her shoulder for a moment. "Walter Schmitzer. His vehicle is parked just down the street."

Penetrating fear took hold and Skyden felt her body temperature drop. Her hands trembled.

"I'm advising you to pack some things and get the kids out of here."

"I don't... I don't..." She scrambled to form a coherent sentence but couldn't find the words.

Orion slowed her speech. "Go to a friend's house, a hotel, whatever. You need to leave this house."

Lloyd said, "We'll stick around while you get your things packed."

"Right now?"

"Right now," said Lloyd.

"I'm waiting for my husband," Skyden said. "He dropped off my son at a friend's house. He should be here any minute."

Patrice looked past Skyden into the house. "Is Kelsey here?"

A thump from the second floor drew their attention.

"She's in her room."

Patrice said, "Why don't you and your daughter pack a few things? Quickly."

"What about Cam?" said Skyden.

"Call him and tell him to meet you wherever you're going."

"Come on," said Lloyd. "Let's get moving."

"We'll escort you when you're ready." Orion entered the house and watched Skyden jog up the stairs. Lloyd remained vigilant on the porch.

As she climbed, Skyden felt her stomach lurch. Nausea was coming on, a dizzy, nausea that had her reaching for the banister with a clammy hand. Her cheeks flushed with heat. She couldn't feel her feet on the stair treads. She reached the second floor, made a hard right, and called, "Kels. Hey, Kels."

As she drew closer to her daughter's room, she could see the foot of the bed. She took longer steps, pushed into the bedroom, and spun. For a moment, everything went black. And then, she wished what she was experiencing was a grotesque nightmare. Kelsey lay on her bed, apparently unconscious, a hypodermic needle on the blanket nearby. Kneeling beside the bed, an agitated man wearing latex gloves clenched a box cutter, the point of the blade just below Kelsey's eye.

"Make them go away," he commanded in a hoarse whisper. "Make them go or I'll do it. I swear I'll do it. Right here. Right now." His facial tic wrenched his face in rapid succession.

Walter Schmitzer. Frownie.

She couldn't move. Her throat closed up and she couldn't speak. Her heart banged so hard against her chest she thought she'd black out. She forced herself to nod. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay. Stop. Please don't hurt her. Please." She felt herself coming apart, breaking into pieces that could never be put back together.

"Ms. McKenzie," Orion called from downstairs. "You okay up there?"

Walter jerked Kelsey's head backward, elongating her neck. He jabbed the blade against her throat, his eyes wild behind his thick-framed glasses. Kelsey moaned and slid her feet back and forth against the sheets.

Skyden choked down her scream, her eyes pleading with Walter.