Chapter 74

“On speaker,” Erika reminded them both. “With Mother.”

“Hello, Kyoko.”

“Hello, Milo.”

“I’ll leave right now,” Tom Alan said. “We’ll see you in a—Milo!” He jumped to his feet.

Erika turned. “What happened?” She’d heard the sound—an awful one—a frightening one.

“Milo?” Tom Alan shook his phone, as if that would get Milo back. The noise had been quite loud, a shrieking of metal, and maybe some shouting. It had lasted barely a second before everything went quiet, before Milo was cut off.13

“What happened, Tom Alan?” Erika was at his side. She wanted to ask again, but a third time wouldn’t help.

“We got cut off.” He poked at his phone screen with urgency. “And now it goes directly to voicemail.”

“Probably just a dropped signal.” Billy joined them.

“Maybe. I hope. You heard that screech. That…crash?” Tom Alan looked right at Erika, his expression dire.

“I wouldn’t call it a crash,” she said, though actually, she might.