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D) CS present at scene (October 4, 2017)

—no record of employment by Hobbes

—apparent theft from property

—disabled security camera

“Do you think Christopher Shaw killed Hobbes?” Pettifer asked.

Still looking at the board, Laurence considered the question. While they were awaiting a precise time of death, it was clear that Christopher Shaw had been in the room with Alan Hobbes shortly before his murder. He had stolen something. He had disabled the security camera. Such things did not weigh in his favor. If it turned out he wasnotinvolved in the killing, they were remarkable coincidences.

But coincidences happened.

“I don’t know,” Laurence said. “What is clear is that we need to find outwhere he is now and establish why he was at the scene two evenings ago. As to the former, obviously, there is no current address for him on the system. He remains as entirely vanished as he has been for the last two years.”

“So we start with the family.”

“Yes,” Laurence said. “Or, rather,youstart with them.”

Pettifer frowned.

“Which is fine,” she said. “But what are you going to do?”

Is anything missing?

Laurence thought of the lawyer looking toward the archway.

He took out his phone.

“Look into the possiblewhys,” he said.

Eleven

Katie slept badly. Every time she was about to drop off, she thought about Chris, and the constant sense of unease had her skimming the surface of sleep for most of the night. Where was he and what had caused him to run away like he had? However much she told herself he wasn’t her responsibility, the question kept her tossing and turning. When the alarm went off the next morning, the trill of music from her phone seemed especially loud, its happy tone almost painfully at odds with how she felt.

She rolled over quickly to turn it off, her head thick and groggy.

“Mommy!”

Siena calling through. Katie sat up and rubbed her face. Beside her, Sam was lying motionless under the covers, facing the weak light streaming in through the curtains. But she could tell he was awake, as the gentle snoring that had accompanied her through most of the night had finally come to a stop.

One of them had slept well, at least.

“Can you get Siena?” she asked him.

He yawned but showed no immediate sign of moving.

“I guess that’s a no, then.”

She went to Siena’s room to find her sitting up in bed, smiling andhappy, as excited for the day ahead as she always was. The sight of her wafted away a few of the cobwebs.

“Morning, Snail,” she said. “Sleep well?”

“Moon.”

Siena pointed across the room toward the window. She had always found the night sky comforting, and Sam had left the curtains open for her at bedtime, the way she liked. Katie could see a stretch of blue-gray sky out there now. Shreds of pale cloud.

“In the night, yeah?” she said.