Zachary watched as Mrs. Sox returned to the house and closed the door behind her. He stood in front of the gate for a while before waltzing back to his car.

He sat in silence for a few minutes before starting the engine and driving off.

Zachary arrived at the Soxes’ residence first thing in the morning.

The gate to the Sox family’s home was wide open, and the two hounds were tied to a leash.

Zachary had a bad feeling that he arrived too late.

He pulled up and before he could even get out of the car, Mrs. Sox, who was sweeping the yard, approached him with a broom.

“Mr. York, Jasmine and Serenity are out. They went to Liberty’s diner.”

Zachary asked, “How long have they been gone?”

“Around twenty minutes. Serenity woke up and said she needed to pick Sonny up from her sister’s, so they left early.”

Zachary thanked Mrs. Sox and uttered, “I’ll head to my sister-in-law’s breakfast place then.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Sox answered.

Zachary quickly drove away from the Soxes’ reside