But I’d been right about something. When I turned down his street, I saw a police car sitting in front of his duplex. It partially blocked the entrance to the driveway, as though maybe it had just pulled up. Or maybe it was sitting on the house in case Blake or Samantha came by.

I didn’t need to know anything else. I drove past, trying not to slow or stare. But my eyes trailed to the cop car ever so slightly as I rolled by. I saw a lone officer in the driver’s seat speaking on a cell phone. He didn’t seem to notice me, and I kept going, all the way up to the end of the block and the stop sign.

When I arrived and flipped my turn signal on, I took a look in my rearview mirror. The cruiser sprang to life like someone had plugged it in. The lights and siren came on. And then it launched out of its parking spot like a rocket. It came right for me.

I emitted a low noise, something between a gasp and a whine.

It had been years since I’d been pulled over, but I remembered well the feeling of seeing those lights behind me. My stomach felt like a rock, weighing me down in the depths of the driver’s seat. My mouth went dry.

Should I just turn and keep going?

Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t have moved. Maybe the police were looking for me. Maybe Rountree had sent my name and description around because they’d found fingerprints, a witness. One of the things I feared.

The cruiser came up, speeding so fast I thought it was going to slam into me. Then the driver swerved and went around, barely tapping his brakes before he made a left turn onto the cross street and accelerated away.

I remained frozen in place, my hands locked on the wheel. It took a full minute for my body to begin to relax, for my stomach to stop sinking and my heart to slow. I breathed again.

No other cars came up behind me. The street Blake lived on remained empty.

I resolved to get out of there. The cops were watching the place. Obviously. The one in the cruiser had been called away, maybe even for a break in Jennifer’s case. But if not, he’d be back. Someone would be watching the place, waiting for Blake.

I turned right and then turned right again, retracing my route out of the neighborhood and making sure to go in the opposite direction of the cop who’d just scared the living daylights out of me.