“Sadie?” I called into the phone.

“Sadie, answer me!”

The call cut off completely.

I stood frozen in the middle of the warm room, staring out the window at the black sky while my daughter sat locked outside in the freezing cold.

I tapped my thumb against my index finger three times and redialed Trevor’s mobile before the sudden silence could turn into panic.

He answered on the fourth ring, his voice smooth and unhurried over the low murmur of a late television broadcast.

“Val, I was just about to text you,” he said.