Just a phone call to the police.

Two weeks had passed since he had transformed his financial status into that of a millionaire. After seven days in Modesto counting his cash and marveling over the many diamonds—which were all real, and of high quality—he had returned to L.A. to indulge an old habit. But stalking was such a crude term to apply to what he was doing now. He honestly felt as if he was interviewing her for a position that he intended to last a lifetime. That she would be a great mother to his son he had no doubt. But could he trust her to love him through thick and thin? To forgive him for kidnapping her son?

Could he even trust her not to kill him?

Painful questions to be sure, but her obvious pain made him think the answers would be yes. The fact that she had chosen here of all places to have a nervous breakdown reassured him. The bench where she wept was ten feet from where they had first talked. Surely, she must be thinking of him right now.

From intercepting his mother’s e-mails he knew a few things. David’s abuse had reached new heights. He had hit her last week and she had hit back. Divorce was in the air. The names of lawyers were being bandied about. Anger was as much a part of the Techer daily routine as despair. Matt realized he could remove the latter while using the former.

She wiped at her damp eyes. So beautiful.

Still, she could hurt him, in so many ways.

Matt got out of his car and walked into the park. Her head was up now but she was looking the other way. Simon Schiller was a ghost. He had set aside his disguise for the day—by shaving off his beard and mustache, by fixing his hair color, by removing his contacts.

She was dressed in blue jeans and a white sweater. Her thinness accentuated the dark fall of her brown hair. She looked fragile; it struck him with amazement that such a small creature could cause him such huge pain. As he approached, he felt as if he walked toward his grave. Yet his heart pounded with love and joy. God, how he had missed her! Even if she turned and screamed it would be worth it to see her up close.

He sat on the bench beside her. Still, she did not see him. “Amy,” he said finally.