“Let them in, Dan,” I said.

Juliette gasped, her phone slipping slightly in her grip. “I paid you!”

“You paid me what you owed me,” I said, my voice quiet and steady.

“But Marcus is still outside with the deputy, and they still have a report to finish.”

Before Juliette could speak, a loud, heavy knock rattled the front door at the end of the hallway.

Everyone in the kitchen froze.

The sound echoed through the high-ceilinged house, sharp and demanding.

Through the glass panes of the kitchen door, I could see the reflection of the red and blue lights spinning against the dark trees of the driveway.

Dan took a step toward the hallway, his face completely blank.

“Dan, don’t,” Juliette commanded, her voice rising in panic.

But Dan didn’t stop. He walked out of the kitchen, his footsteps heavy on the hardwood floor.

We stood in the kitchen, the four of us, waiting for the sound of the front door opening.

The squeak of the front door hinges carried down the hallway.

I heard Dan’s low voice, followed by the gravelly tone of Deputy Miller.