The words from the local NBC station alert came into focus. “DISTURBANCE AT WILLIAM CHANCE’S ARKANSAS HOME.”
“Lynn?”
“I’m reading it now,” she said, pressing the link.
“You need to turn on the TV,” Roxy said, opening the door. “And turn on the damn light, who knows where you tossed your shoes for me to trip on. Where’s the remote?”
Lynn barely heard her words, frantically reading the article.
“Arkansas? He’s in Arkansas? All this time?”
“Seriously, I can’t see a damn thing. Brace yourself, I’m hitting the lights. Jesus, what’s the wattage on these bulbs? I’m practically blind now. OK, there’s the remote. I’m opening up the cabinet. You need to see this.”
“When did this come out?” Lynn slid out from her covers, still reading.
“I know I look so beautiful that you’re surprised to know I just woke up too. I just saw it myself when my usual five a.m. internal clock began its usual punishment. It’s the top story on all the early morning news shows. I came up as soon as I saw it. Best stay sitting down.”
Lynn remained standing as the TV flared. “Is he OK?”
“I don’t know,” Roxy said, coming to stand beside her.
The concerned expression of the news anchor spoke volumes.
“… we’re still gathering information from the scene, so it’s unclear exactly what happened.”
“But clearly something has,” noted the anchor’s male counterpart.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Roxy muttered.
“It’s now 5:15,” the female anchor continued. “And if you’re just now joining us, we’re continuing to monitor the situation in Little Rock, Arkansas, where there are reports of some kind of disturbance outside the mobile home that local media are reporting is the home of William Chance.”
A photo of William, taken from a distance during Tom’s funeral, then flashed across the scene alongside a live feed of a trailer lit up like a Christmas tree by the lights of the news crews. “Chance is, of course, the grandson of the late Senator Tom Roseworth. As a boy, Chance went missing fifteen years ago and was discovered by his grandmother under what government officials now describe as questionable circumstances.”
“There’s no question that they’re assholes,” Roxy added.
The male anchor jumped in. “We want to remind you that none of what is coming from that location in rural Arkansas has been confirmed by local police. This is all from the journalists stationed on the road in front of the trailer, who reported hearing what they thought were gunshots far behind in the field. The Associated Press is now reporting that police have yet to respond, as Chance has never been reported as a missing person. In fact, there have been no sightings of Chance himself this morning. The only confirmation that he was ever in the home was from video from an entertainment website that shows him inside the trailer last evening—”
“Of all the nights to have my phone turned over!” Lynn said.
“You were exhausted last night. It’s my fault. I kept you up too late with questions, and you got all worked up and insisted on vacuuming the guest room for me even though there’s not a speck of dirt—”
Her cell phone rang, causing them both to jump. “It’s Anne,” Lynn said. She pressed the speaker icon.
“Mom? Are you watching?” It was clear her oldest daughter was on Bluetooth.
“I just saw it. Are you in the car?”
“Me and Chris are headed to Arkansas right now. Brian is driving over to Greg’s to pick him up, and then they’re coming too.”
“It’s best that you stay behind, Lynn,” Chris chimed in. “And Roxy too, once she finds out.”
“Too late, she already knows,” Roxy practically shouted.
“She spent the night,” Lynn explained, motioning for Roxy that she didn’t have to yell.
“Screw that, Chris. We’re on our way as soon as we throw on some clothes,” Roxy said, heading for the door.
“No,” Anne’s husband ordered. “It already looks like a circus there. If you two show up, we’ll have no chance of slipping by to try and get to him. Plus, neither of you should be driving in the dark.”
“We’re old, not blind,” Roxy said.
“Mom, can you stay by the TV? The reports on the radio are sporadic and the live streams on the apps are hit and miss,” Anne said. “I need you to call me as soon as anything new comes on. Can you do that, Mom?”
“I will.”
“Lynn, if you have heard anything from William recently, this is the time to come clean,” Chris said.
“You know I would have told you, Chris, if I had.”
“Mom?” Anne’s voice broke into a higher pitch. “Do you think he’s alright? Why would he be there? In Arkansas, of all places? All this time, he’s been that close and never told us. And why are the reporters there saying they heard gunshots?”
“I don’t know. But y’all just be safe. I know you’re all going to speed, especially Brian and Greg, but it doesn’t do this family any good if there’s an accident on the way to try and find him. You need to call Stella. Tell her what’s going on. I promise to stay right here and keep watching. I will call the second there’s an update.”
“Don’t think about getting in the car, Roxy,” Chris yelled before hanging up.
“He knows I’m just a faster driver than he is.” Roxy waved her hand as Lynn ended the call. “I’ll go make the coffee.”
She paused, looking out the window towards the trees lost in the dark. “Is there a reason this is all happening at the same time? Do you think they’re still out there? The ladybugs?”
“We will see at daybreak. I need to call Don and Barbara. They need to know. William needs to know. I may be forced to remain in front of this TV, but I’ll be damned if I’ll sit here and do nothing.”
“What the hell just happened?”
With the girl clinging to his neck so fiercely it was starting to hurt, William strained to look back.
“Seriously, what the hell?” the driver of the Porsche yelled again. “One minute I’m twiddling my thumbs waiting for you to come back, and the next thing I know you’re running out with a freakin’ parade behind you and people start dying—”
“Can you just keep driving?” William said, prying the girl off. She let go but immediately sat directly beside him.
Here it comes. He knew his fair skin was already a flushed red. His chest was constricting, his fingertips tingling.
When the attack comes on, recognize it for what it is, observe it like you’re watching it happen to someone else, his therapist advised. That detachment will help you stay calm and realize whatever’s happened isn’t that bad—
Oh, it’s bad, doc. There’s a dead federal agent back there, killed by people who stepped out of the fields and blew out my tires. And it sure as hell looked like when that little girl stared at them, they started to die.
“And who were those people with the guns? I mean—wait. Wait a second. Wait a damn second! They were wearing suits! Black suits! Crap on a stick, that was my proof! Why the hell didn’t I get out my phone?” the driver said, thumping the steering wheel.
Breathe in, breathe out. Long, deliberate breaths. Block out everything. It will pass. Focus on what you can control—
“Man, I needed that video! If I hadn’t hauled ass from Atlanta, I would have totally missed it!”
Missed it. We wouldn’t miss that turn if I were driving—
“Turn left!”
The Porsche swung hard, barely avoiding another row of cotton to head down the intersecting road. “Dude!”
“Pull over and let me drive,” William said.