“You know what Bob told me,” I said. “That there are all sorts of nutcases out there on the net, hoping to track you down. Maybe even get a cash reward. Every time you go on a phone—particularly one registered to you or your mom—or go on Facebook, or any of those other goddamn sites, you’re just helping them. They’ll find a way. For all we know, even the press is doing it. What did I say to you yesterday, about whether you liked Charlene? That if you did, you better not get in touch with her, because you’re exposing her to risk. I swear, Jeremy, you just don’t get it, do you?”

“I was real careful,” Charlene said. “I made sure no one was following me.”

I opened Jeremy’s door. “Let’s go,” I said. “And give me that phone.”

He handed it over.

“If you put that one in a fryer, my mom’ll be real mad,” Jeremy said.

“I’m not going to do that,” I said. I dropped it onto the pavement and stomped it with the heel of my shoe. Then I bent down and picked it up to check that the screen was damaged to the point of unusable. It was.

“God, you really are an asshole,” Jeremy said, getting out of the car.

“Goodbye, Charlene,” I said, taking Jeremy by the elbow and steering him back to the hotel entrance.

“This is not fun,” he said.

“No shit.”

I regretted my language. I was supposed to be the adult here. I hadn’t been hired to turn Jeremy into a likeable kid, just keep him safe. The truth was, I wasn’t making much progress on either front. I’d held out the possibility of taking him into Manhattan to explore some art galleries, but now I was reconsidering. If he got away from me there, I’d never find him.

We were nearly to the main entrance when Charlene came up alongside in the Miata, the engine revving in first as she slowed the car to a crawl.

“I’m sorry,” she said. I wasn’t sure which of us she was talking to. Maybe both.

I wasn’t looking at her. Instead, I raised my hand and pointed a finger in the direction of the exit. Maybe, if I’d looked her way, I would have been better prepared for what happened next. I might have seen what was coming and been able to stop it, although, honestly, I don’t know how. At the very least, I might have yelled at Charlene to hit the gas.

Just before the crunch of metal on metal, I heard the gunning of a car engine. Then the red Miata jumped forward.

Charlene screamed and her head snapped back and whacked the headrest. Jeremy screamed, too, and took a leap in the direction of the hotel, instinctively trying to get out of the way.