She looked up at the front window, tossed her ponytail back, and walked toward the porch stairs without waiting for her father.

Daniel turned off the engine, gathered his leather briefcase from the back seat, and stepped out into the afternoon air.

He paused at the edge of the lawn to adjust his jacket collar, then walked up the three concrete steps to the front door.

He reached into his right coat pocket and pulled out his usual key ring.

He separated the front door key from the rest of the metal cluster and lined it up with the brass lock plate, completely unaware that the cylinder had been replaced three hours earlier.

I stayed on the sofa in the quiet room, watching his hand move forward.