“Valerie, if you get into that ambulance, don’t expect to come back into this house,” Beatrice called from the foyer, her voice fluttering with panic.

“Think about how this looks to the neighbors.”

I walked past her without looking at her face.

In the back of the ambulance, the doors slammed shut, cutting off the bright daylight of Pinecrest Manor.

The driver switched on the overhead fluorescent tubes, flooding the metal interior with a stark white glow.

Dave fastened the safety straps across Toby’s chest while the siren started its long, rhythmic wail above our heads.

“How bad is it?” I asked, resting my thumb on the inside of my wrist as I tracked my own rising pulse.