Given the time, he was surprised not to see either of her parent’s vehicles in the driveway. They both should have been there. The bad feeling he’d managed to convince himself was nothing on the way to the house suddenly returned. Daring the front door, he rang the bell. He heard its melodic chime echoing through the house, but heard nothing else. He waited a minute, then rang the bell again. No one came to the door. He tried it one last time. No one answered. A cold sheen of sweat nagged at his forehead and he slid around the house to the back gate. He cast a quick glance over the wooden fence, but saw no one. He stood there for a few minutes, pacing back and forth, as he decided what to do. Finally, his mind made up, he latched onto the top of the fence and pulled himself over. His landing sounded way too loud in the quiet yard. He didn’t want to linger any longer than he had to. He made his way to Cass’s room.
