I have some idea. “All these men have committed crimes…”

“This is different. Nelson is different. He’s… he’s really manipulative.”

It’s the same thing Elise wrote in his chart. And she underlined it. “I haven’t seen him act that way.”

“Right, because he’s manipulating you. He’s making you trust him, but you shouldn’t.”

I crane my neck to look up at Hunt’s face. Whatever else I can say, I don’t think he’s making this up. He seems to really believe it. But the question is, do I believe it?

“I’m not going to let him manipulate me,” I say.

“That’s what Elise said. Now she’s probably going to prison herself. Or at the least, she’ll lose her license.”

What is he saying? That Shane tricked Elise, and that’s the reason she got in trouble? I find that hard to believe, especially after what she wrote in his chart. And Shane hasn’t manipulated me. I even offered him pain medication last week, and he refused. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried.” He glances over my shoulder at my Toyota. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this in the parking lot. Why don’t we go get a drink together and we can, you know, talk about this more?”

Oh. I get it now.

“No, thanks.” I adjust the strap of my handbag on my shoulder. “I have to get home. The babysitter is waiting.”

“Another night then?”

The concern on his face has vanished, and now he has a hopeful expression. So this is his game. He’s torturing Shane to impress me and get a date. It’s despicable, but I don’t want to outright humiliate him. I do have to work with him, and I’m also counting on him to protect me if I’m ever in a dangerous situation.

“Maybe sometime next month,” I say vaguely. “I’m just really busy now. And my sitter can’t stay late.”

“Oh, right, sure.” Hunt rubs his shaved head. “Yeah, I have a busy month this month too. We’ll have to do it next month. Or the month after. Whatever. No big deal.”

“Yeah…” I reach into my purse for my keys. “Anyway, I’m going to get going. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure.” He nods. “And Brooke?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful.”

Chapter 20

I can’t sleep.

It’s much quieter here than it was when I was living back in Queens. The block that we lived on had a lot of traffic at night, and at least once a week I could be guaranteed to be woken up by a car horn, or worse, an alarm that wouldn’t stop sounding off for the better part of an hour. But on this quiet block in our small town, the only thing you can hear at night is a few crickets chirping.