Neil didn't know if this was sheer Fox bad luck, if he'd jinxed all of this by his very presence, or if rape and murder were always this complicated. He didn't know; he could barely think anymore. Instinct made him split up the group the only way he could. Kevin wanted to come to the hospital to wait on Andrew's release, but his face was too recognizable. The last thing any of them wanted tonight was to draw more attention to themselves. Neil sent him with Nicky to the station to wait on Aaron. He came here alone the second the police gave up getting anything out of him. He'd been here for almost forty minutes now. He was trying not to clock watch, but he couldn't help it. The crowd around him wasn't changing fast enough to be a proper distraction.

The man who walked through the sliding glass doors two minutes later was. Neil was on his feet before he knew he was moving. The sudden movement drew Wymack's attention, and Wymack stabbed a finger at the ground in front of him. Neil worked his way across the crowded room. Wymack barely waited for him to catch up before heading back outside. Neil hugged his coat tighter around himself and followed.

Wymack led him to a designated smoking section some twenty feet down the sidewalk. Neil looked at the plastic bag hanging off his elbow but forgot to ask when Wymack pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Neil held his hand out in silent request. Wymack arched an eyebrow at him and said, "Last I checked, you don't smoke."

"I don't," Neil said.

Wymack handed him the cigarette anyway and got another for himself. The wind was strong enough it took them work to get their cigarettes lit. Neil took a long drag to make sure the cigarette was actually burning, then cupped the glowing stick between his hands. The acrid smell of smoke, faint as it was on a night like this, should have been comforting. It wasn't.

"What are you doing here?" Neil asked.

"Kevin called me," Wymack said. "I brought Andrew some clean clothes."

Neil did the math in his head, but it didn't add up. Kevin hadn't used his phone in the bedroom, and they hadn't split up long enough ago for Wymack to make it here from Palmetto State. The only way Wymack could be standing here now was if Kevin called him when he first went downstairs to get Nicky. Knowing Kevin, Neil bet Wymack got the call before 911 did.

"They arrested Aaron," Neil said.

"I know," Wymack said.

"Why?"

"Someone died on the other end of his racquet."

"It wasn't his," Neil said. "It was mine. The police took it as evidence. Will they give it back or am I going to have to get a new one?"