Whatever strength was left in me coursed through my veins and I ran into the street just as the dog darted in front of an oncoming car. Tail happily wagging, the husky dutifully locked me in her sight, trotting toward me in the middle of the road. I waved my arms frantically as I ran into the street, hoping to catch the driver’s attention before it was too late.

The screaming tires melded with my screams. Another five feet and the dog would be crushed. I couldn’t look. I turned away, eyes squeezed shut, waiting for that horrible thump any moment now…

My body was knocked back a couple steps as I felt a handful of fur, opened my eyes, and bent down to scoop up the dog in my arms. She rewarded my bravery—or insanity—with a lavish tongue bath as the driver of the car yelled obscenities at me.

“Keep your dog off the street, lady! I almost killed it!” He stuck his arm out the window and flipped me off.

“You’re all class, you know that?” I yelled halfheartedly as he peeled away.

Well, at least one thing didn’t die today.

The phone call—there it was, back fully formed and present. “You are the reason she’s dead. You deserve what’s coming to you.” My first instinct was to call Oliver, the ever-present hero in my life story, the one who held me as I wept and chased away my fears with kisses. But he was no good to me now; I needed professional help. After stowing the dog in the backseat, I pulled out my phone and autodialed Detective Montgomery. Somewhere along the way I had memorized her direct line.

“This is Detective Courtney Montgomery,” she answered.

Clearly she hadn’t yet memorized mine.

“It’s Felicity Portman. I got a phone call at my store today about Vera.”

“What kind of phone call?”

“A threatening one, I think.”

She paused, exhaled into the phone, then said, “I’ll meet you at your store in a few minutes. I have some news for you too.”

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Felicity

“We don’t think the body we recovered from the river is Vera.”