I didn't like his tone, but had little time to contemplate what it meant because a phone started ringing somewhere in his house. He pulled me up by my hair and forced me out of the room, down a hall, and into his kitchen.

He picked up the phone and his facial expressions showed he somehow managed to flip an internal mental switch. His voice sounded calm and reasonable, but I could see the artery in his neck pulsing and knew I was still in trouble.

"Everything's fine. ...