Julian was already standing by the back door, his fingers twitching against the brass handle. He looked back at me over his shoulder, his expression masked by the shadows of the entry hall.
The cold metal of the porch railing chilled my palm as we walked down the wooden steps into the dark driveway. The evening air was crisp, carrying the sharp scent of woodsmoke from a neighbor’s chimney. The dry grass of the lawn crunched beneath our boots with a fragile, hollow sound.
Julian unlocked the family sedan with a sharp double click of his key fob, the yellow hazard lights blinking twice against the concrete. The sound was too loud in the quiet neighborhood, echoing off the wooden side of our garage.
I leaned over the passenger seat, holding the heavy metal flashlight while Julian crawled onto the floorboards of the driver’s side. The yellow beam cut through the dusty space beneath the pedals, highlighting a stray cough drop wrapper and a copper penny. I moved the light slowly, tracing the dark carpet.
