Harper had just nodded, unable to repeat the words—even though they were true. Dani had made her feel alive too. But she didn’t say them. She wasn’t even able to say the one word she dreaded the most.

Goodbye.

She had closed the door before the cab had pulled away…closed the door on Dani leaving. That didn’t make it any less real though. She had leaned against the door, her eyes shut. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Dani’s image she saw. It was Jan’s. Jan…back in the day. Smiling. Laughing. Flirting. Back in the day when they were younger, happier. Back when they’d first met and things were simple, before being a detective had consumed most of her time. Before the murders. Before Jan’s death. Jan was smiling. Jan was waving.

Jan was fading away.

Tears had run down her cheeks. Jan was saying goodbye.

Dani had said goodbye.

Once again…Harper was all alone. Old wounds became new again. Even Jan’s ghost wasn’t there to keep her company. She had pushed off from the door and shuffled into her bedroom, collapsing on the bed.

* * *

“Today’s the day, huh?”

She didn’t remember showering, but she was sure she had. She didn’t remember eating, but there were dirty dishes in the sink. She didn’t remember driving to work this morning, but obviously she had. Here she sat.

She nodded, taking the cup of coffee that Reid offered.

“You look like shit,” he said bluntly. “And I’m not even talking about your black eye. Does it hurt?”

She touched her cheek lightly. The swelling had gone down some, and the bandage on the small cut had been removed the next day. The black eye, however, covered half of her cheek.

“No,” she lied. At least it wasn’t broken. For that, she could be thankful.

Instead of sitting at his desk, he pulled a chair closer to hers. “So? You talk to her?”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Since she left. She call or anything?”

“No. Should she?”

“Well, I mean, you two got kinda close while she was here.”

“She was scared. I was the only one she trusted.”

It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. “Is that all it was?”

“What are you insinuating?”

“I’m saying that it looked like maybe you were a little closer than just that. But Harper…Danielle Stevens. I mean, I hope you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Stupid?”

“Like, you know, try something.”

She smiled. “With Danielle Stevens? Right.”

“Yeah, I know. But admit it. You had a little crush, didn’t you? I mean, you spent a lot of time together.”

“You jealous?”

He laughed. “Yeah.”

She took a sip of the coffee, grimacing at the lack of sugar. “So they find out who the clown guy was?”