They were maybe seven years old.

They had come in alone, out of the rain, without a coat between them, and they had come to a police station, which children almost never do on their own unless something has gone very wrong in the place they are supposed to be safe.

Cordell stood up so fast his chair rolled back and knocked the filing cabinet.

Chapter 2 — Are You Here With an Adult

“Are you here with an adult?” he asked, coming around the end of the counter slowly, the way you approach something you don’t want to startle.

The girl nearest him shook her head.