The sudden surge of warmth for this virtual stranger took Alicia by surprise. There’d never been a chance that she’d cave in—on something else, maybe, but never on anything like this—and he’d recognized that. For some unfathomable reason, she found herself smiling.

“How could you know that?”

“I don’t know. I just sense it. It’s part of what I find so attractive about you.”

Uh-oh. There it was, out in the open, flopping around on the table. She chose to ignore it.

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” she said.

“No. I think you’re principled.”

She wished it were principles. She wished it were that simple.

And then he reached across the table and covered her hand with his.

“And I want you to know that I admire you for it. And you should also know that you’re not alone in this. There’s still a few things I can do.”

“Like what?”

“I learned a few things in Vice. One of them was that these pedophiles don’t change their spots. You can’t cure them. A stretch in the joint, years of couch time with an army of shrinks, nothing changes them. The minute they think nobody’s watching them—or sometimes even if they suspect they’re being watched—they’re out on the prowl, hunting.”

“Compulsive behavior.” Alicia knew all about it.

“Right. And that can work to our advantage.”

Our? When had it become his problem too?

Easy, she told herself. He wants to get this guy as much as you do. Don’t get your back up. He wants to help. Let him.

She wondered why she found that so hard to do. Maybe because she’d been on her own for so long, taking no help from anyone, making all her own decisions, solving all her problems by herself. Was that why an offer of help seemed almost like… an intrusion?

“How?”

He smiled. “Leave that to me.”

Alicia straightened and found herself smiling. “You know, Will, I think I’m getting my appetite back.”

Oh, no. Had she just called him “Will?” Where had that come from?

But it was true. She was hungry again. And she had to admit, it felt good to know she had someone on her side.

They finished off the shrimp and green sauce, argued over who paid, with Will winning because he had longer arms and had snagged the check. They parted at the front door with Will promising to keep in touch.

Alicia was halfway back to the Center before she realized she’d never got around to telling him about her serious long-term relationship with that up-and-coming importer, Joseph Hermann.

4.

4.

Before sifting through the pile of “While You Were Out…” message slips piled on her desk when she got back to the Center, Alicia checked her personal voice mail. She had one message.

“This is Benny. Call me.” He left a number.