“They wanted to know where you kept your Bronco—if you had a storage unit or something. I told them I didn’t think you owned it anymore.”

“Why would you tell them—” Gavin closed his eyes and took a breath. His next words came with a sharp point. “They have access to my vehicle registrations. They know I own a Bronco. Don’t try to help!”

“I’m sorry.” Amy seemed to choke on a cry that was trying to get out. “I’m your mother. I’m supposed to help. That’s my job.”

“It’s okay, Mom. I didn’t mean to yell.” Gavin paused to let his aggravation settle. “Was there anything else?”

“They wanted to know if you ever wore a beard.”

Something cold ran through Gavin’s chest. A beard? Why would they ask about that? He grew one after high school to try to give shape to his rounded chin. He’d hated the way it itched, and he’d hated the way it filled his shirts with dandruff. Still, he kept it for a while because he’d liked the way it put bones into his gelatinous face.

Then came the night he ran into Eleanora Abrams again.

He hadn’t seen her since he left for Indiana. After high school, he started his photography business and got hired to take pictures at some fraternity’s Halloween party. He went, dressed as the Phantom of the Opera.

He had been working for about an hour before he saw her, dressed as a nurse, her uniform short and tight. At first, he wanted to throw up. His second reaction was to hide. But as he circled the room, his camera flashing away, a dark confidence took root. With the mask and the beard hiding his features, he walked up to Eleanora and snapped her picture. She thanked him and gave him a smile that assured him that she had no idea who he was.

That’s when a plan began to form, one that involved the GHB left over from his night with Lila Nash. It had been tucked in a boot in the back of a closet, where it had continued to call to him.

After the party, Gavin quietly followed Eleanora back to her apartment. She would, no doubt, head to the bars that weekend—it’s what college girls did, especially girls who filled out their costumes as well as Eleanora did. When she left her apartment to hit the clubs that Saturday, Gavin was waiting and followed her.