She notices the look that crosses my face at the mention of my dog and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring Whisper up. I know how much you miss her. You’ll see her when this is over. And Bonnie, too. Dao can’t hide forever, and I’m shocked that he’s made it this far. Everyone is looking for him. I’m still monitoring all the news outlets and social media. The forums are lit with speculation about him. I’m going to know as soon as the fucker turns up. I’ve got that Fugitive Task Force number on speed dial.”

“Thank you.”

“What are friends for?”

Ever since she found me standing at her door with my wrists bandaged from the zip-tie abuse, she has been gentle with me. I explained that I didn’t try to kill myself and, after a while, she believed me. Her hair, nails, and lips are as brightly colored as ever, and she seems alright. Not great, but alright. She’s getting more vibrant by the day, which means rehab gave her back some of her spark. She has spent hours in her office catching up on her work contracts and monitoring the net. Like me, Simone prefers to be alone, but she leaves her door slightly ajar to let me know she’s there for me.

I want to ask about Brazuca, to have her describe him. I can’t think about him without picturing what he looked like bleeding in his car. Which reminds me of the car, and what happened.

Sitting there in the darkness with my wrists bloody and raw, it took me a split second to realize the man in the basement with me wasn’t Brazuca. It wasn’t Dao, either.

“I waited as long as I could,” Edison Lam’s man said. “Had to make sure no one else was in here. Had to make sure, also, that no one was going to show up anytime soon.”

He led me up the stairs and to a sliding door out back. I stumbled to the car and climbed into the rear seat. I put my hand over my heart to slow it down. I was nothing but a heartbeat in a rigid skeleton. If it wasn’t for that thump threatening to pound right out of my chest, I would have thought I was dead.

“I don’t think you were honest with us, Ms. Watts, when Mr. Lam asked you about his son’s death,” the bodyguard said, from behind the wheel.

“How did you find me?”

“I followed you to the apartment. Saw them take you. Then followed you from there.”

Of course that’s how it happened.

“They had me for a long fucking time!”