I took the dress from the closet and dropped it onto the bed, then went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. I had lost a lot of blood. I forced one glass down, refilled it and came back, sipping the water. The dress lay on the sheets, bathed in the last rays of the tired sun. Of a simple cut, it had an unusual color, a nameless shade somewhere on crossroads between peach, khaki, and brass. Anna had picked it out for me. I remembered her going through the dresses hanging on wire hangers, briskly sliding them out of the way one by one, while an impossibly thin saleswoman watched in distress. “You don’t need thinning,” Anna had explained, “or padding. What you need is softening, which is a touch more complicated but can be done with the right dress. Lucky for us, you have the right complexion for the color. It will make you look darker, which in itself isn’t a bad thing.”

I looked at the dress and recalled the unsettling feeling of not recognizing myself when I put it on. I was proportionate, even lean, but not slender. Most women don’t bulk easily, but if I flexed my arm, I could see definition. No matter how hard I tried to lose weight or become thinner, all I managed to do was to wind more muscle on my frame, so I’d quit trying to match the willowy standard of beauty when I was fourteen years old. Survival took precedence over fashion. Sure, I didn’t weigh a hundred and ten pounds, but my narrow waist let me bend and I could break a man’s neck with my kick.

This dress camouflaged the muscle, tricking the eye into seeing soft flesh where there was none. The trouble was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to wear it today for Crest.

I touched the soft fabric and wished Anna would call.

The phone rang.

I picked it up and heard Anna’s voice say, “Hello.”

“How do you do that?”

“What? Calling when you want to talk to me?” She sounded amused.

“Yes.”

“Most clairvoyants are slightly emphatic, Kate. The empathy with the person serves as a bridge for the things we do. I’ve known you for a very long time—I remember when you were learning to walk—and I’ve formed a permanent bond. Think of it as being tuned to a certain radio station that’s off-line most of the time.”

I sipped my water. I knew she wouldn’t mention the vision, unless I asked her about it and I didn’t feel like asking.

“How’s the investigation?”

“I’ve found Greg’s killer.”

“Aha. What did you do to him?”

“Her. I disemboweled her and then crushed her heart.”

“Lovely. What did she do to you?”