The follow up

The houses are attached row houses set close to the sidewalk. The street is well lit, and there is a fair bit of vehicular and foot traffic, even late at night. So it is odd that perhaps he's being deliberately misled? that the front door was open.

The forensics team is dusting it for fingerprints now, but somehow Robin doesn't think they'll find anything.

The back holds more potential. Most of the houses, including the Contis', have a single detached garage opening onto the lane—behind the house.

The backyards are long and narrow, fenced-in between, and most, including the Contis', have trees and shrubs and gardens. It is relatively dark back there; there are no streetlights as there are in the front. It's a night with no moon.

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Whoever has taken the child, if he had come out the Contis' back door, would only have had to walk across the backyard to the garage, with access from there to the lane.