Maddox Petersen was even bigger in person than he had appeared on the screen in the hospital. Broad shoulders strained the seams of his dark button-down, and his presence seemed to fill the dining room before he even spoke. His red-and-gray hair was brushed back from his face, though his beard remained thick and unruly, as if he’d forgotten to tame it on the drive over. A pair of rimless glasses perched on his nose, softening the sharpness of his blue eyes and giving him the faint resemblance of a stern, ginger Santa Claus.
“Nice to see you again, Joseph,” the doctor said as he settled into a chair at the dining room table.
Joe folded his hands in his lap and gave a stiff nod.
He had spent the better part of the morning trailing Abby through her house like a shadow. He hated how lost he
