The Aldi itself is also a little amazing. She has been there twice now. She puts on her disguise in her car, then wanders the aisles with a cheesy straw tote. Most of the store’s stock is of brands that remind you of regular brands. Savoritz crackers. Chef’s Cupboard soup labels with a definite Campbell’s graphic to them. Other brands seem part of a fictional shopping neighborhood—Millville (cereal bars) where you’ll find Friendly Farms (milk) down by Crystal Creek (chardonnay). But there are also weird outliers, brands that seem to have been born out of a fundamental unfamiliarity with language or concept. Like the scary cans of Gridlock energy drink.

She’s not sure she will recognize the woman’s face, but the jittery way she moved, she’s pretty sure she would be able to spot that. So far, though, she hasn’t seen anyone like her. She doesn’t know how long she’s going to keep coming back, or what she will do if she does see her. Tail her home, then call the cops, but what will they be able to do? Cate’s flying blind, but does not like the idea of the woman being out there, on the loose. On the loose and possibly keeping an eye out for Cate. Or going back to Neale’s.

She feels warm, beefy breath, then a slip of a tongue on her lowered forehead. She sits up and looks around to see Sailor has lost his small cohort. The two of them currently make up the entire population of the beach.

“Okay,” she says, “you’ve definitely got a point.” They walk together toward the car.

hypothermia

“Now?”

Cate is pressed against a cold metal wall between stacks of boxes of eggs, coffee, cartons of half-and-half.

“Not yet.”

She and Dana are in the cooler at Toaster. Dana has one of Cate’s wrists pinned next to her head, part of an erotic strategy.

“Can you hold off a little longer?”

“I don’t think so. I’m too close.”

Dana pulls her hand out but only a little. “You can stop if you really try.”

Both of them go completely still. Then all it takes is the slightest flicker of Dana’s fingertips and Cate is there.

“Oh.”

“There you are.” Dana presses her forehead against Cate’s collarbone. “Now you have to leave. Any second now, Felipé is going to come busting in here looking for coffee beans. He wouldn’t care but he’s a terrible gossip. And by terrible, I mean he tells everybody everything.”