As John approached the restaurant he could see that Not-Charlie was already there. She had changed her clothes. He hadn’t really registered what she had been wearing before, but now she had on a tight, short red dress—he would have remembered that. He stopped on the sidewalk, just out of her sight, steeling himself. He couldn’t get the other image out of his mind, the painted face with the soldering line splitting it down the middle. Charlie was sitting back in her chair; there was nothing in front of her but a water glass. She had ordered food when they last met here, but John couldn’t picture her actually eating it. He couldn’t remember noticing her not eating, either.

“Stop stalling!” came a crackling voice from his waist, and he jumped. He extricated the walkie-talkie from his jacket pocket and turned away from the restaurant before speaking into it, just in case Not-Charlie looked out.

“I’m not stalling,” he said.

“You shouldn’t be able to hear us,” Jessica’s distorted voice reminded him. “Did you tape the button down?”

“Right, hang on.” John examined the walkie-talkie: The tape he had placed over the button to transmit had come loose. He replaced it, flattening it down against the uneven surface with his fingernail. He slipped the device back in his pocket and went inside.

John glanced briefly around the restaurant as he entered. Jessica and Carlton were huddled together in a high-backed booth, out of Charlie’s sight. “Can you both still hear me?” John whispered. Carlton’s hand raised above the back of the booth momentarily with a triumphant thumbs-up, bringing a real smile to John’s face. John turned his attention back to Charlie, who had not yet noticed him.

She lifted her head abruptly from the menu as he approached the table, as if sensing his presence. She flashed him a bright smile.

“Sorry I’m late,” John said as he sat down.

“That’s usually my line,” Charlie joked, and he grinned uneasily.

“I guess so.” He looked at her for a moment: he had rehearsed things to say, but his mind had gone blank.

“So, I heard you and Jessica visited that old ghost town.” Charlie giggled. “What’s that place called again?” She leaned in and rested her chin on her hand again.

“Ghost town?” John said unevenly, trying to keep his expression neutral. It took everything he had not to turn and look at Jessica and Carlton behind him. Charlie was looking at him expectantly, and he took a sip of water. “You mean Silver Reef?” he said, setting down the glass carefully.

“Yes, I mean Silver Reef.” She was smiling, but her face looked tight, like there was something ravenous waiting just below the surface. “That’s a strange place to go, John.” She cocked her head slightly. “Just out seeing the sights?”

“I’ve always been a … history buff. The, the gold rush—”