I froze, my hand still gripping the doorknob.

A shadow moved against the wall, stretching long and thin in the dim light.

Then, a phone began to ring from inside the dark kitchen.

The kitchen door was a swinging slab of dark wood.

I let go of the front doorknob and walked toward the sound of the ringing phone.

Daniel followed me, his leather shoes clicking softly on the marble floor.

The light at the top of the stairs remained still, casting a long, grey shadow across the high ceiling.

I reached the kitchen and found the wall-mounted rotary phone in the darkness.

I lifted the heavy black receiver to my ear.

“Hello?” I said.

My voice sounded small in the high-ceilinged room.

“Emily, it is Detective Harris,” the voice on the other end said.

The line crackled with static.

“We have executed the warrants,” the detective said.

I gripped the plastic receiver tightly, my knuckles turning white.

“Gavin and Brooke were detained at the private airfield north of the city,” he continued.

“They had three suitcases and the offshore account ledgers.”