She had done it, in the end, for a person who did not yet have a name.

And the preliminary results had come back three days ago.

Heavy, deliberate footsteps sounded in the hallway outside.

Adele said nothing.

She only watched the door, and let her mother’s question hang unanswered in the cold air of the room, because the answer to where is he was, at that precise moment, walking down the corridor toward them.

The door swung open.