Only then did he notice the tremor in her voice. He glanced across at her. Her dark eyes were flitting back and forth.

“He’s gone,” he said. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

She sat down next to him and locked the door. Clasped her hands together on her lap. Picked at her nails. She was doing her best to act calm, Ralf noticed, but the shock was profound.

“So, it’s someone you know?” she asked.

“Not very well.”

She drew a deep breath. “Why is he following me?”

“Because he’s angry with Brian.”

She reflected silently for a moment. “It’s not a coincidence, is it? Brian’s disappearance, that car . . .”

“This is something different,” he said quickly.

“What makes you so sure of that?”

He stared ahead blindly. He would never be able to tell her the whole story, but he had to reveal a small part of it now. “When we went to Brian’s place on Monday, that purple BMW was parked next to the entrance. Didn’t you notice it?”

She shook her head.

“It belongs to Brian’s dealer, Mikey. He lives there too, in the same building.”

Naomi’s eyes opened wide. “Dealer?”

He nodded. “It seems Brian owes him money. He doesn’t believe Brian is missing, and now he wants me to pay him back.”

“Why?”

Ralf shrugged. “Because that’s how it works with guys like that.”

“Do you owe him money too?”

“No.” He looked away as he added, “He says he’ll do something to you if I don’t bring him the cash. It’s three grand. I don’t have that kind of money.”

“We have to tell the police.”

He turned his head toward her with a jolt. “No! No cops.”

“Jesus, you sound just like Brian with his phobia of the police. It’s not like you’ve done anything wrong.”

Ralf rubbed the inside of the steering wheel. A huge weight would lift from his shoulders if only he could confide in somebody. This was too much to cope with on his own. But in the final analysis, he had been an accomplice to robbery, and he couldn’t risk Naomi’s giving him away.

It was impossible.

On the other hand, did his fear of a criminal record really outweigh Brian’s disappearance, the three grand he had to cough up, and the risk of something happening to Naomi? Wasn’t he being incredibly selfish?

“Dealer,” whispered Naomi beside him.

He didn’t respond.