Whenever Kelly talked to Matt right after Amy left, he was always down. It was as if Amy hooked him up to an IV line that dripped toilet water into his veins. But Kelly could see he was not normally depressed. She would chat with him a few minutes about books or movies and he would perk right up. But she suspected that unless he had that outside infusion of friendliness and simple decency, he would remain in a dark state. She wondered what it had been like to live alone in his mind after Amy had betrayed him. No wonder the scope of his revenge had grown so intricate.

That was something else she spotted about Matt. He was truly brilliant; in his own way, as unpredictable as the Acid Man.

The comparison worried her. The day after her gallstone attack—lying flat on her back in bed while the sun painted the ceiling—Kelly reflected on the matter. Her initial question had been answered. She should have been satisfied. He had taken care of her as if she were the only thing in the world that mattered. His compassion had touched her deeply, and perhaps saved her life. He was definitely one of the good guys.

Here was the rub, though. Not only did bad things happen to good guys, good guys occasionally did bad things. Matt was too smart for his own good, and he was acting out of a compromised state. Kelly preferred to think of him that way as opposed to disturbed. But the point raised another question that she felt she had to answer before she made her next move. Despite all of Matt’s quality, was he still a danger to society?

Or was the Acid Man right?

Were they both dangerous?

Amy was driving Matt toward a goal. That was her nature—she used people. Kelly had spotted the quality during the time she had spent at the Techer house. What was it Amy wanted? Money, of course—she had dumped Matt to get to David’s wealth. But that answer was too pat. Shallow people were not necessarily easy to predict. Often they acted more erratically than people with high IQs. Amy wanted the cash but how far was she willing to go to get it? The more Kelly thought about it, the more she worried.

Perhaps Amy was the main question mark. Not Matt.

One thing for sure, Kelly was not going to let the bitch get off free. Amy lied to all who loved her. Let her try lying to an impartial jury.

Kelly decided to bug their apartment.

The decision pained her, though, made her feel guilty.

It had felt good to have Matt massage her belly. Simply having him near all night had been comforting. Beyond that, he’d felt familiar. Stars from the same constellation, perhaps, she thought, falling from the same sky. She wondered if she had a crush on him.