I turned the knob to off, and the sharp metal click sounded too loud in the little kitchen.

“He might just be stuck on the highway out by the quarry,” Sadie said, staring down at her cold saltines.

“The cell service out there is always awful when the big welding trucks are running.”

“He knows where the house is,” I said, wiping the tile counter for the third time with a damp dishcloth.

“And he knows how to use a landline if his cell tower’s down.”

Sadie tucked a strand of dark hair behind her left ear and stared at the black screen.