She flipped on a light, grateful it chased away the darkness. She had spent the evening in the shadows, asking the women on the street if they knew of a guy who had a thing for asphyxiation. A couple of the sex workers mentioned a few guys drawn to choking, but no one remembered anyone using plastic bags.

Kicking off her shoes, she dropped her purse and keys by the door. Moving down the hallway, she looked in Jordan’s room. The sheets and blankets were rumpled, and both pillows were creased.

Avery reached for her phone and checked for messages. The most recent were from Jordan, and she heard her sister’s frantic tone. She dialed Jordan’s number.

“Where are you?” Jordan asked.

“I’m home. I’m safe,” Avery said.

“Where have you been?”

“On the streets, asking around.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I don’t know. I thought there was something the cops were missing. But maybe not. I came up empty.”

“Stay at the house. I’ll be there soon.”

“Where are you?”

“Leaving the hospital. Casey was found. She’s alive. I’ll fill you in when I get home.”

“I want to hear it all. Not going anywhere.”

From her nightstand, she picked up her old phone, now fully charged, and saw that she had twenty messages. A few were old messages from Jordan, several from work, and one from a number she did not recognize. She hit play.

“Help me, please. He’s going to kill me. Please save me.”

Avery stilled as she listened and then replayed the message. She double-checked the date and realized the call had come in on March 23. When had Laura Davis vanished? Late March.

“Why would she call me?” she whispered.

Floorboards shifted behind her, and when she turned, she saw the man standing in her doorway. He was wearing black jeans and a hoodie, and his face was covered with a ski mask. “Because I asked her to call you.”

Hands trembling, Avery dialed 911 as panic burned through her body. The man crossed the room in seconds and snatched the phone from her before she could hit “Call.” “No!”

“You don’t want to call anyone, Avery,” he said. “You only just arrived, and we have a lot to do together.”

Her mind tripped back to Walker’s apartment two years ago. He grabbed her arm and she remembered the stranger’s grip on her arm and the intense fear. She tried to break free, but his fingers tightened with bruising strength. “Let go of me.”

“You have a lot more fight in you than I remember,” he said.

“Who are you?”

He grabbed her chin and yanked her face, forcing her gaze to meet his. “You must remember. We had some fun together a couple of years ago.”

Avery stared into the eyes that sparked like shards of dark glass. Again, she was back in Walker’s apartment.