Sol nearby, and not to confront the father if he returned.

Mara did not say what she was thinking: Victor would not return without a reason.

Victor never walked into a room unless he already knew the room was ready for him.

She sat on the floor again and held the phone against her shoulder.

—Baby, did Daddy say why you had to keep it with you?

Sol nodded.

—So he could hear if I told.

The apartment seemed to shrink.

Mara looked at the backpack again.

Then she looked at Sol, who was trembling now, not in big dramatic shakes, but in a tiny vibration that moved through her arms.

—Did he say he could hear us right now?

Sol whispered, —Maybe.

Mara turned the phone slightly away from her mouth and forced herself not to swear.

The dispatcher’s voice changed.

Still calm, but sharper now.

She told Mara to place the backpack gently near the front door and move with Sol to another room without opening it.

Mara did as she was told.

Sol followed her into the bathroom because it was the only room in the apartment with no windows facing the street.

Mara closed the door but did not lock it.

She sat on the closed toilet lid and pulled Sol onto her lap only after Sol leaned toward her first.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Sol’s small body was stiff against Mara’s chest.

Then she whispered, —Mommy, did I misbehave?

Mara almost broke.

She pressed her lips into Sol’s hair and took one breath, then another.

—No.

You were brave.

You told the truth.

—But I didn’t tell all of it.

Mara’s eyes opened.

The dispatcher was still on the line.

—Okay, Mara said softly.

You can tell me one piece at a time.

Sol’s fingers found the rabbit’s ear again.

—He made me practice hiding.

Mara looked at the bathroom door.

—Where?

—In his hall closet.

Behind the coats.

He said when people knock, I have to go quiet and not come out.

Mara’s breath caught.

—What people?

—The people who ask questions.

Mara knew then that Victor had not been improvising.

This was not a careless threat said in anger.

This was planned.

Rehearsed.

Wrapped in the word game so a child would not understand the danger.

A knock sounded at the front door twelve minutes later.

Sol flinched so hard her head hit Mara’s shoulder.

—It’s okay, Mara whispered.

It’s the police.

The dispatcher confirmed officers were at the door before Mara opened it.

Two officers stood outside, a man and a woman, both careful with their hands, careful with their eyes.

The woman introduced herself as Officer Reyes and crouched slightly when she greeted Sol.

Sol hid behind Mara’s leg.

The backpack remained exactly where Mara had placed it, near the front door.

Officer Reyes asked Mara to step back.

The male officer photographed the backpack before touching it.

Then he put on gloves and opened the front pocket first.

There was nothing inside but a crumpled tissue and a sticker sheet.

Then he opened the main zipper.

Mara saw it before he lifted it out.

A small black device, no bigger than a matchbox, tucked inside the lining near the bottom seam.

Beside it was Sol’s folded drawing.