Once Brian had helped her into her car, and watched her pull out of the BestBet parking lot, he ran to his own set of wheels, soaked to the skin, and took off after her. He stayed far enough back that she wouldn’t see him, and besides, all he was in her rear-view mirror at this time of night was a pair of headlights.

She was right. She was a good driver. She got back to her place on Pilgrim’s Way—a small one-story white house with black shutters—without incident. Brian drove right on by. He went to bed that night confident that Jessica was safely in hers.

Hey, it was just the kind of guy he was.

So, now that he was hoofing it, he knew where to go.

Along the way, he thought of all the other people he needed to get in touch with. He wondered if he still had his job at the car wash. He’d gone two days without showing up or making any calls to explain his absence.

They’d be pissed.

He figured he’d have to go to his parents’ house to use their phone to cancel his credit cards. Then there’d be the hassle of getting a new driver’s license. Man, hepatitis was the least of his worries.

He reached Pilgrim’s Way and strode down the sidewalk. It wasn’t dark yet, so the house was not hard to find. Jessica’s car, a blue compact four-door, was parked behind a Ford pickup.

Brian went up the steps to the door and rang the bell. He was thinking he’d have to show Jessica what had been done to his back, but he’d really have to work up to it. Didn’t want to freak her out.

He could hear someone approaching the door. Quick, soft steps.

When the door opened, Brian had to look down. It was a girl, maybe four years old, in a pair of red pajamas. Curly blonde hair, rosy cheeks, bare feet. She looked up at Brian and grinned.

“Boo,” she said.

“Uh,” he said slowly, “I’m looking for Jessica?”

Could this be Jessica’s little sister? She hadn’t mentioned having one. If this girl was her sister, there sure was one hell of a big difference between their ages. More than twenty years, Brian figured. A visiting niece, maybe?

The little girl shouted, “Mommy!”

Brian felt a sudden queasiness in his stomach.

The child stayed by the door as Jessica shouted, “I’ll be right there, Gilda!”

The girl wiggled her nose as she looked up at Brian. “What’s your name?” she demanded.

Brian said, “Uh.”

Suddenly Jessica was there. Her expression was one of instant panic. “Go watch TV, Gilda.”

“There’s nothing on.”

“Go!” she said sharply.

Jessica did not invite Brian in. Instead, she closed the door partway and spoke to him through the crack. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“I . . . I wanted to apologize. I was supposed to meet you and—”

“You have to leave. You have to leave right now.”