“Wait.” Sarah rushed out of the room and came back with two threatening-looking kitchen knives, one still encased in plastic. “I’ve never even used this one.” She tugged the cover off and handed me the new knife. It had a six-inch blade that gleamed in the light.

“Good thinking,” I said, impressed. If I was wrong about it being Claudia who’d hit me, I’d be glad of a weapon. Sarah took the ice and towel from me and we went to the door. I opened it and Sarah followed me out and locked it behind her. The apartment doors in the building had two heavy-duty locks each, but they didn’t latch unless you pulled them with force. That was lucky now, because I was able to turn the doorknob and walk back into Claudia’s apartment. I’d left the lights on. As I reached for the phone, it stopped ringing. “Damn it! Do you remember what you’re supposed to dial when you want the last number that called you?” I asked Sarah, but she shook her head.

“We should make sure no one else is in here,” she said. We moved together, room by room, knives in hand. The apartment was small but stacked with hiding spots. There were four closets, including the small linen closet in the bathroom, and we checked under the bed and behind the furniture and everywhere something larger than a cat could be. The apartment was empty.

“It’s a mess in here,” said Sarah. “Do you think she did that, or was it the police?”

“I wish I knew.” I went back into the bedroom, pulled the dress over my head and put on my own clothes. My cell phone was still on the floor and I picked it up. The screen had a crack in it, but it was still working. I called Jesse and got his voice mail again. What had happened to him? I wondered if I should call his building and have the doorman check on him. Or should I call the police? Suddenly I was afraid for him.

I returned to the living room, restless and angry now that my fear had ebbed away. Sarah was standing with her back to me. “Thanks so much, Sarah,” I said. She didn’t move or speak. “Sarah?” As I moved beside her and saw that she was clutching a piece of paper with both hands, staring at it with an agonized intensity. “Sarah?” I touched her arm and she flinched.

Her eyes cut to mine and back at the page. “I started to pick things up and…”