Brianna slid onto the bench of a booth near the back of the establishment, a quieter spot. On the table, menus were propped between salt and pepper shakers and a small candle burned near a dish of peanuts. Here, the distinctive click of billiard balls could be heard. Bridges took the seat opposite her just as a waitress in a short skirt, white shirt, tennis shoes, and bow tie appeared.

“Something to drink?” asked the young woman whose name tag read TAMI. She wore her red hair pulled to the top of her head in a tight band that allowed a spray of curls to escape. Her skin was clear, her smile infectious. Brianna pegged her for twenty-two or twenty-three, not much older than the Denning twins. Her heart twisted a bit.

Bridges ordered a beer and Brianna, forcing her thoughts from the missing girls, opted for a glass of merlot.

“You got it!” Tami said, and hurried off, nearly bouncing. She was so full of life.

As it should be for Zoe and Chloe.

Dragging her gaze away from the waitress, Brianna found Bridges staring at her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah . . . no. God, I don’t know. What’s ‘okay’ when a friend’s kids are missing?” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, but that didn’t help. Zoe and Chloe’s images kept coming to mind. What had happened to them? Where were they? Dear God, she hoped beyond hope that she was wrong about the 21 Killer.

When she opened her eyes again, Jase was still watching her intently. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s a nightmare. Sometimes . . . sometimes I lose focus.”

“I get it.”

For a second she believed he did. There was a sudden tenderness to him, a concern in his hazel eyes that she’d never expected to witness, and that glimpse of compassion touched her far too deeply.

“So the deal is I’ve spent the last couple hours going over the case against Caldwell. It was thin, but enough to convict him.” He squinted at the small candle, suddenly cautious. “I know he’s your cousin, but the murdered girls were your cousins, too.”

“All the more reason to make sure that their real killer is behind bars. Look, I didn’t really know Delta and Diana. But when the news of their murders broke, it was horrible. We were all beside ourselves even though Mom and her sister, Cathy, were never all that tight. I only met the twins a couple of times. We didn’t live close and were caught up in our own lives. In the beginning, I read about the case in the newspapers and online, just like everyone else. I didn’t have an inside connection.”

“But now you do, as the new advocate of Donovan Caldwell. That surprises me. Even you have to admit he’s off. A loner. The guy has issues. Serious issues.”