“It’s not your fault,” I reply. “He would have waited until you left anyway.”

“What did the police say?”

I pause while I consider telling Danny the truth. But I don’t want him or Adrian flipping out, so I say, “They’re looking into it.”

“Are you going to continue?”

For a minute, I think all he’s worried about is losing my audience, but before I can answer, he says, “No one would blame you for leaving the show.”

I’m not so sure about that, not when he tells me my subscribers have doubled in a week. But why would I stop when it’s working? I only have one guaranteed week left, and I need to take advantage of that, not throw it away.

My story is back in the news, with more reporters waiting outside every day, gobbling up the comments I toss them and reminding everyone what the Magpie Man did to Mom and twelve women since.

“You shouldn’t have gone after him,” Danny says.

“At least I wore my head cam,” I joke.

He huffs and says, “Well, there is that.”

I don’t tell him about the drawing and the number. If he thinks I’m in real trouble, he could tell Adrian to pull the plug, and then I’d be back at square one.

“I keep thinking, what if you were my sister?” Danny says. “I wouldn’t let her do this. It’s too dangerous.”

“You have a sister?”

“Yeah, she’s just like you—headstrong, confident. She doesn’t take no for an answer.”

I feel disappointed and realize he doesn’t know me at all. I was scared that doing the show would let people see how weak I am, how my entire life is balled up in one horrible moment and every day since then is me trying to pull free. But they think I’m some kind of hero. They think I’m a fighter.

And maybe I am sometimes. Maybe I should have gone into the alley after all.

“If you need to talk, remember we have professionals on hand,” Danny says.

“You mean psychiatrists.”

He laughs, just a quick air puff down the phone, and says, “Or you could talk to me.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

“If it happens again, call nine-nine-nine before running after them.”

“I will,” I say, surprised the police haven’t already paid a visit. Maybe they aren’t the big fans I thought they were.

Dad has boarded up my window, and before she left, Nan said the window replacement people were coming tomorrow.

I go into Dad’s room and look out, but the street is empty except for a cat that suddenly darts up the road.