Halden stayed still for a while, crouched beside his car with the engine off.
The place felt... paused.
The wind moved through the trees like a whisper. Long grass swayed on either side of the dirt road. Nothing else.
The old man at the market had probably been right—Kael wasn't home.
But Halden trusted only one thing in the world: evidence.
After a minute, he stood and slung his bag over his shoulder.
He didn't go straight for the front door.
Instead, he circled around the property again.
No cameras.
No dog.
That lined up with everything he'd read. This house had been abandoned for nearly forty years, and only recently had someone started fixing it up. New shingles covered half the roof. The porch railing had been recently painted. Even the gravel path leading to the main door was freshly laid.
Even though it was night, there was no light from inside the house.
