Boy Finds Hatch in Backyard, Then His Father Sees Where It Goes

Yellow tape

Police cars lined the street outside, casting flashing lights across the once-quiet neighborhood. Voices murmured in Ben’s yard, where yellow tape now crisscrossed the garden. Their sanctuary had become a crime scene. Ben stood in the middle of it all, his arms crossed tightly, his face unreadable. Nearby, Cody sat quietly on the porch steps, clutching his knees. This wasn’t the fresh start Ben had worked so hard to create—it was something else entirely.