THE PHONE RANG just as we reentered the dark house. I stared at it.

“Regular corded phone. Not connected to the electrical system,” Iggy clarified, somehow knowing what we were all wondering.

I grabbed it. “What?”

“Max—good, you’re there,” said John Abate. “We’ve got some details about Valencia’s disappearance, but I don’t want to discuss them on the phone. We’ve been tipped that your house might be under surveillance.”

“Um, not so much,” I said, thinking of the mess outside.

“To be on the safe side, we’re sending a car for you. It should be there in about an hour.”

“It’ll be dawn then,” I said, suddenly feeling exhausted and headachy and newly upset about my mom. “Better make it an armored one.”