At first, Erika drove with no sense of urgency and Deven had to struggle to maintain an acceptable distance. It wasn’t like she had experience with this sort of thing. What was considered too close without making it obvious she was tailing? Two cars between? Three cars between? This probably would’ve been something she should have consulted the experts about, like Benji, or Deuce, or Keith. Deven had to laugh at her own thoughts. The idea that she’d been so casually surrounded by criminals here lately, much more than she’d ever been in her life, shouldn’t have been so pedestrian. But the fact that she was now tailing some random woman in hopes of finding out what happened to her missing-maybe-dead sister shouldn’t have been either. And yet here she was, picking up speed as they broke onto the expressway.

When the Mercedes took the very next on-ramp, only to double back, Deven figured she must have forgotten something at the house. But Erika kept driving past the community and kept straight into the downtown district, with its cobblestone walkways and concentration of historic brick buildings with steeples and towers gracing the skyline. Most of the streets were one-way with metered parallel parking strips skirting the curbs. Signage adorned the various windows and entryways to entice residents for shopping, eating, and other pursuits.

When Erika pulled into a parking space, Deven didn’t have any other choice but to pull behind her. She didn’t want to risk circling back through the one-way streets only to find she was gone. Deven held her breath as she waited for Erika to exit, praying like hell she wouldn’t notice her sitting there staring. Thankfully, Erika got out only to spare her an absent glance as she hiked onto the curb to pop change into the meter. Then she crossed the street to a credit union and disappeared inside. Deven sighed and rested her head on the headrest. Still nothing overtly suspicious, if she didn’t count the twenty-minute drive only to turn around. But even that wasn’t too bad. Erika may have just changed her mind with where she wanted to go. Completely normal. But so far, the little trip to the bank hadn’t been worth her time or apprehension.

Deven counted seventeen minutes before Erika emerged and walked next door to the adjoining boutique. Then another eleven minutes before she was back on the sidewalk, only to stroll into the neighboring bookstore. Deven had to swallow her swells of impatience. Just her luck to pick a day to follow Erika when she just peddling away in town. But what did she expect? The woman to burst from the bank in a ski mask with a pillowcase full of stolen cash? She had to confess, part of her did.