Having an action plan calmed Jordan’s nerves, but it did not banish her worries. Someone had been in her house, and despite what the cops thought they knew about Rawlings, until she figured out who had invaded her space, she would remain on edge.

“Where were you?” Jordan asked.

“Remember I said I lost my cell phone?”

“You bought the disposable phone until you found it.”

“Because I knew it would turn up. My friend Maisy found it. Nice to have it back. God only knows how many messages I’ve missed. It’s charging now.”

“You were gone for hours.” She sounded like a mother, but given her state, she did not care.

“We lost track of time. Maisy was telling me about her recovery. Wanted to talk to someone who’d been down that road.”

“And?”

Avery sighed. “Before that I went to find my old friend Stacey.”

“I remember Stacey.”

“I wondered if she had seen anything that might connect to the dead girls.”

“And?”

“She said there was a guy who worked with Walker. He took the girls as a form of payment. Stacey said he could be rough.”

“You need to be more careful now, Avery.”

“I was careful. I know these people. It was my world.”

“Not anymore.”

“You were at a crime scene, Jordan. Talk about being careful.”

“I’m a cop. And it might not be safe now.”

“You just said Rawlings is dead.”

“From an apparent suicide. Nothing about Rawlings’s death has felt right to me. Walker’s death could also have been a setup. Nothing is a given right now.”

“I’m not going to stop living because there’s a nut running around. Because honestly there’re always crazy people on the streets.”

“This one kills women that look like you. Big difference.”

“We look alike, Jordan.”

Jordan drew in a breath, trying to find the words that expressed the frustration chewing her alive since the day of her attack. Before, she was fearless. Other than losing Avery to the drugs, she was not afraid of much. Now fear was always present, and it took effort to keep it away.

“I don’t want to fight,” Avery said.

“Please be careful. Text me when you’re gone for more than a few hours.”

“Text me when you go to a crime scene.”

“I will as soon as I master this damn phone.”

“You’re smart, Jordan. And if I can stay sober, you can learn to use your phone and tackle braille.”

“Has it been hard for you to stay sober since my attack?”

Avery did not speak immediately. “I’ve always had days that are harder than others, but the last few weeks have been tough. And in full disclosure, I’ve missed a few meetings lately.”

“That’s not good.” She pulled her phone from her pocket. “You keep going to meetings, and I’ll figure this out.”

“Teamwork.”

“Something like that.”