Athena arrived home, alone. She waited until the morning to make the call to the police station.

With tears in her voice, if not on her face, Athena asked for the line for missing persons.

A: Hello, I would like to report…a missing person. [sniffle]

???: Alright, let me redirect your call to our head of department, Detective Carrera.

A few moments of silence passed before the detective answered the phone.

M: Detective Matais Carrera speaking.

A: Hello Detective. I’m Athena Craven, and I would like to report someone as…[sniffles] missing.

M: I’m sorry to hear that, Miss Craven. What would you like to report.

A: Mrs, actually. And the person missing is my husband. [voice cracking through the ‘tears’] We went camping in Granite Falls and on a hike we got separated and I haven’t seen him since. It’s been three days, and I don’t know what happened to him. [hysterical] What if he fell off a cliff?! Or was eaten by a bear! There was a warning at the ranger station that there had been bear sightings! What if he’s lying in a ditch somewhere dead!

M: Calm down, Mrs. Craven…look, this isn’t procedure, but if you’ll tell me your address then I’ll come to you and we’ll talk through what happened on your vacation, alright?

A: Thank you Detective. [sniffle]

Athena told the Detective her address and was told to expect him in an hour. She hung up the phone and smiled to herself. Unbeknownst to her, Bethany had walked into the room.

B: Momma? Where Daddy?