Another police car had arrived, and officers were stepping out, their expressions serious and focused. Words were exchanged, brief and professional, before they entered the house, leaving me standing in the cold embrace of the storm.

Time seemed to stretch and warp, minutes feeling like hours. I was left alone with my thoughts, my mind a whirlpool of dread and disbelief. My wife had been in a car accident, the officer had said. But then who—or what—was upstairs?