“Mr. Hale, we need you to come to the station,” she said. “Why? What happened?” “We’ll explain when you get here. Please come as soon as you can.” She hung up before he could ask more. Evan stood frozen, stomach hollowing out.
They hadn’t told him Lara was hurt—but they hadn’t said she was fine, either. He grabbed his keys with shaking hands and drove in a blur, every stoplight threatening to break him. At the station, an officer met him wordlessly and guided him down a quiet hallway.