On the refrigerator was a photograph from a community fun run: Eli riding on a man’s shoulders, Teresa laughing beside them.

Across the bottom, in a child’s uneven writing, were the words BEFORE DADDY WENT TO HEAVEN.

Lena felt the familiar weight of an investigation changing shape.

She had arrived expecting to ensure a child was safe.

Now she was beginning a search for an adult who might be in trouble.

At the station, she requested a missing-person report immediately rather than waiting for an arbitrary number of hours.

Teresa was a primary caregiver, her young child had been left alone, and the circumstances indicated a possible emergency.