Amber stared at the phone for a second, half-hoping it would answer itself. She didn't want to answer it herself. She was still a slight bit scared about the key being gone, and although the blood at the top of the stairs ended up being the result of a duel between her mother's toe and the wall, she felt… scared. Then again, if she answered the phone and it was the creep who stole the key, he'd know she was home. If she didn't, he'd know she was scared. Finally, Amber decided all this over-thinking was ridiculous and answered it.
Sara was sitting in a car with another police officer, obviously undercover. The whole exercise had taken a lot longer than planned, but she couldn't phone her daughter, so she just let it go, and tried to focus on the job. There was still no sign of the suspect, and both officers were getting impatient.
"My daughter's gonna think I've been shot," Sara laughed.
"My wife is gonna hope that." The other officer said humorously. Sara winced.
"She's still pissed?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"And she's not keen on divorce?"
"No. She doesn't want to be 'one of those people'."
"Nobody wants to be one of those people, Sean."
Sean smiled painfully and looked out the window, tapping his fingers irritably. Sara glanced in the rearview mirror, still nothing but rain pouring down.
"Do you wanna go 'round the block once? Perhaps we can park over on the street, there… you can see more from there." Sara suggested. Sean nodded in agreement and Sara pulled out and waited to turn left.
"Does Amber know?" Sean asked. Sara sighed.
"Well I wouldn't put it past her deduction," Sara said. She pulled into the right lane and slowly drove around the block. "The thing is, that she knows… she knows about it, she just doesn't know anything specific and I'd like to keep it that way until I'm ready to talk about it with her, because it's a sensitive topic and sooner or later it needs to be discussed." Sean nodded. "I don't want to rush it, and frankly I am truly hoping the day will never come, but that hope is fighting a losing battle." Sara said. She pulled into a space at the curb of the road, and resumed their observations.
Amber fiendishly dialed her mom's cellphone, but it was off. That meant she was undercover, or in trouble. A part of her wanted to smack herself in the face and scream "YOU'RE A FREAKIN PARANOID!" but she always believed in feeling safe rather than sorry. She finished her toast, tried her mother's cellphone once more, and went to get dressed. She came out, dialed her mom's phone to no avail, searched for her wallet and keys, and froze when the doorbell rang.