"Oh, I'm not offering to walk with you. That's just nuts. What I will do is drive around the area where you are, parking at different places for a few minutes at a time."

"He might be looking out for possible witnesses, though. If he sees you sitting in a car, that might be enough to keep him away."

"I won't be within sight of you. We'll keep in touch through text messages. If you don't check in every, say, five minutes, I'll know something's wrong. It's not much, but it's better than you going missing and nobody knowing about it until you don't show up at work."

"I actually really like that plan," said Gertie.

"Let me be clear. If you get into trouble, I'm calling the police. I'm not rushing out there to help try to overpower the guy. That's all on you. But I'll be your, I don't know, protector from a distance."

"That sounds great. I really appreciate it."

"And then you have to buy me drinks when we're done."

"Deal."

"When were you heading out?"

"Right after I go home and get changed. Do you want to go back to my place?"

"Are you—"

"I said that and immediately knew it was a setup for a lesbian comment."

"I'll save the comment for your next setup. Yes, I'd like to go back to your place for some platonic undressing."

* * *

As Charlene pulled into the parking lot of Gertie's apartment complex, she was surprised by how excited she was. She shouldn't be excited. This was absolute madness that could end horribly. Not that Charlene thought Gertie would actually draw out the culprit, but plenty of other things could go wrong when an attractive young woman walked by herself after dark. And if Charlene couldn't even watch her, she wasn't providing that much protection.

Still, it was better than nothing. And what if by some miracle they did capture the piece of shit and help the police find those missing women? That would be unbelievable.

Though Charlene knew it wouldn't work out like that, she still couldn't get rid of the feeling of excitement. She'd had a great many wild experiences in her lifetime, but this was a brand new addition to her resume. It wouldn't be fun—not with lives at stake—but it would be interesting. Very, very interesting.

Gertie got out of her own car, and they walked up the stairs to Gertie's apartment together. "Just to warn you," she said, inserting her key into the lock, "I'm a total neat freak. You're going to see organization and tidiness that may make you uncomfortable, so I apologize in advance."

"Are you saying that you think I'm a slob?"

"I get a 'dirty clothes on the floor' vibe from you."

"I'll have you know that I scrub the grout on my bathroom floor every single morning with a toothbrush."

"Uh-huh."