Finally they round the corner and reach Linda’s body. Miranda tries to go one way around it, Javier the other. She loses her balance, and her foot lands in Linda’s blood. They keep going, but her shoe slaps wetly. Miranda looks down. She’s leaving a trail of footprints. Her stomach twists. Even if they make it back to Culpeppers, the security guard will know exactly where she is. Where all of them are.

“Wait!” she whispers to Javier. She toes off her shoes, making sure not to get blood on her socks.

Each door is marked with a stenciled store name. Still, Miranda is so panicked that she almost misses the door marked CULPEPPERS.

She wrenches on the handle. But the door refuses to open.

No! Grace or Cole must have pulled out the wad of paper keeping the lock from catching.

Javier taps on the door lightly with the knuckle of his index finger. Will they even hear? And if they do, why should they risk opening the door?

Then it moves a couple of inches, revealing one of Cole’s gray eyes. The door swings wider. He leans out, grabs Javier, and drags him inside. Miranda darts in after them. Grace quickly closes the door.

Once she’s in the store, Miranda drops her coin-filled sock and puts her hands over her wet face. Her shoulders heave as she cries silently. She can’t stop thinking about how the killer took Amina. How Amina clawed at his arm. How her eyes met Miranda’s. And how Miranda turned and ran away. How all of them ran away.

Finally her tears slow. She wipes her nose on her sleeve.

Javier is leaning against the wall, shaking his head, his mouth tight and turned down at the corners. He’s still clutching his useless gun. Grace is trembling so hard, she looks like she might fly apart. Cole paces between two of the shelving units, up and back, up and back.

Parker’s probably dead. Amina’s been taken. Now there are only four of them. Is this how it will end? Each of them picked off one by one? Which is worse? Miranda wonders. To die first or to be forced to face death by yourself?

She breaks the silence. “You guys left us out there. You left us all alone.”

Cole passes a hand over his face. “I’m sorry. All I could think of was to run.”

“And we all left Amina.” Grace’s voice breaks.

“He’s gonna kill her,” Javier whispers. “Maybe he already has.”

Miranda can’t take this. Every change is for the worse.

“But we haven’t heard any shots. I think they must have pretended they were shooting hostages so they could lure those cops into an ambush. I don’t think he’s going to kill Amina,” Cole says authoritatively. “I’m betting he put her with the rest of the hostages.”