Behind him, I heard Rachel say something I couldn’t make out. Then the faint sound of their doorbell. Once. Twice.

Daniel’s voice dropped. “Someone’s outside.”

“Do not open it.”

Ava spoke in the background, bright and curious. “Uncle Daniel, I know him.”

I gripped the phone. “What did she say?”

Daniel didn’t answer. There was a pause, then the soft rustle of movement near the receiver. Then Ava’s voice came clearly through the line.

“Mom, it’s the man from the hospital.”

End of Part One.