“Okay, it’s box number 2149. You go in—well, it can’t be you. But whoever it is, you show your ID if they ask for it, but they might not if you’ve got a key, you tell them the box number, you sign in, they take you into the safety-deposit box room, you use the key to open the box, you take it into a little booth. The money’s in there.”

“Trixie, I don’t know where—”

“I know. You’ll have to find someone. Zack, you have to find someone who can pass as me.”

I was feeling overwhelmed. I couldn’t begin to imagine how we could pull this off, how we could give Merker what he wanted, how we could keep Katie alive.

“Maybe Gary knows someone,” Trixie said. “He knows hookers and dancers all over the place. He can find someone to be me for fifteen minutes. Someone who can wear the wig, do my signature. She has to sign in. They usually check my signature against the one they have on file.”

“Shit,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”

“And I can’t believe they’re gone,” Trixie said, wiping her nose again. “I did it all. I’m responsible for all of this. Gary didn’t really…they’re not really gone, are they? Claire and Don?”

I nodded.

“How…Did Katie see?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t ask her that.”

“You’ve seen her?” Trixie brightened. “You’ve seen Katie?”

“Yes. She’s okay. But she’s pretty shook up.” The truth was, I didn’t want to know whether Katie had seen Don and Claire murdered. “She asked me to tell you,” I paused, having a hard time getting it out, “that she needed you to be her mother all the time now.”

Trixie dropped the phone, put both hands to her face. Her body shook. The guard took note but didn’t move. Inmates getting bad news, of one kind or another, had to be a pretty regular occurrence.

“Trixie, listen to me,” I said, the handset still resting on the counter. I rapped the glass. She pulled her hands away, her eyes red and raw, and picked up the handset. “Trixie, you can tear yourself up about this later, but right now, we have to get this money to Merker.”

She nodded, pulled herself together. “It’s in the box. He can have it all.” She paused. “I need you to let me know when it’s done. When they let go of Katie. I need to know that she’s okay.”

“I’ll let you know,” I said. If I was alive to, I thought.

The guard opened the door, the signal that Trixie’s time was up. She touched her fingers to the glass. I put my hand up, mirroring hers.