The paramedic closed the back door of the ambulance, and the siren clicked on.

Through the little window, I saw a police officer walk up my front steps with his hand out at his side.

The last thing I saw before the ambulance pulled away was Charles looking down at his phone, his ring turning, turning, turning.

An officer took the phone out of Charles’s hand before he could put it to his ear again.

Samantha Vance came up the walk behind the second cruiser, her gray tote on her shoulder, and spoke to the paramedic first.