“Dispatch filled me in,” Bell said, his voice blunt and flat.

“Is your husband’s car anywhere on the property?”

“No,” I said.

“Derek’s sedan is gone, and he left our four-year-old alone for at least forty-eight hours.”

Officer Bell unclipped a little notepad from his breast pocket.

“Any sign of forced entry or missing property?”

“The kitchen’s a wreck, but nothing looks stolen,” I said.

“Come take a look at the hallway.”