I laid the phone on the sofa cushion beside me.

The screen stayed lit for thirty seconds, throwing a pale blue rectangle of light on the armrest before it clicked off into total darkness.

A faint creak of floorboards came from the narrow hall by the bedrooms, followed by the soft sound of a sock dragging across the carpet.

I got up from the couch and crossed the living room rug silently so my shoes wouldn’t make noise on the wood.

Sadie’s bedroom door was pulled nearly shut, leaving a thin strip of yellow light across the dark hallway carpet.