But not anymore. She’d come a long way in six months alone. She’d made peace with a lot of things about who she was and who Jonny was. There was really just one ghost left between them.

Her name was Cindy.

‘You’re the cop, aren’t you?’ said a voice behind her.

When Serena turned around, she saw the waitress from the bar who was a friend of Cat. ‘I am,’ she replied. ‘It’s Anna, isn’t it?’

The girl nodded. ‘Anna Glick.’

Anna was older than Cat. Maybe twenty or twenty-one. She was anorexically skinny, all bones. Her makeup was so dark it was practically Goth, and her look was supplemented by studs in her nose, eyebrows, and lips. Spiky orange hair jutted out from under a wool cap. Serena could see in the girl’s eyes the smart, cynical expression of someone who knew how to read people and calculate the odds of getting what she wanted from them.

‘So how’s Cat doing?’ Anna asked.

‘Fine.’

‘She lives with you, huh?’

‘Yes, she does.’ Serena added: ‘Cat says you helped her out when she was on her own. Found her places to stay.’

‘I did what I could. Not just for her.’

‘I’m grateful. I’m glad someone had her back in those days. But Cat doesn’t need that kind of help anymore.’

Anna’s lips bent into a smirk. ‘In other words, stay away from her?’

‘It’s not about you. I just think it’s better if Cat cuts the cord with her past entirely. I hope you understand.’

‘Yeah, I hear you. Whatever you say. Just so you know, Cat came to see me, not the other way around. And just so you know something else, I have a house and, like, four jobs. Waitressing. Data entry. Medical coding. I’m not going back to who I was.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean anything personal.’

Anna shrugged. She had a chip firmly lodged on her shoulder. ‘You over here talking to Fred?’

‘That’s right. How long have you worked at the bar?’

‘About a year.’

Serena removed the photograph from her pocket of the dead woman in Amsterdam. She showed it to Anna, who didn’t flinch. The girl had a tough shell.

‘Do you remember seeing this woman around here?’ Serena asked.

‘What did Fred say?’

‘Does Fred’s memory affect yours?’

‘He doesn’t like us talking about what happens in the bar. Especially to cops.’

‘Well, Fred’s inside, and you’re out here with me,’ Serena said.

Anna examined the picture again. ‘I don’t think so, but I’m only here three days a week. Welcome to the part-time economy. If she was here, it was when I wasn’t working.’

‘What about the girl who was killed outside the bar? Kelly Hauswirth. You served her that day, right?’