Peri’s jaw clenched. “Carnac is my cat. Why else would I have him on the back of my phone?”

Rachel knocked on the door and drew back. “Then he’s finding the best way out of here.”

“Come in!” Jack’s voice rang out, muffled but strong, and Peri’s breath caught in consternation. Frowning at Rachel’s smug expression, she pushed open the door.

Relief spilled through her as she saw Jack propped up on the low cot. He was in a pair of scrubs, his bare feet looking knobby poking out from under them. “Jack,” she said around a sigh, glad his eyes were bright and clear in the light of the small desk lamp on the otherwise empty bedside table. The room was tiny, almost a closet, but for a doctor looking to crash for a few hours, it would be heaven compared to an emergency-room cot.

“About time you showed up,” he said, clearly not drunk anymore as he closed his phone out and the TV show he’d been watching went dark. “Did you really go to the mall?”

“I can explain,” she began, and then Jack’s eyes flicked behind her, anger furrowing his brow.

“What is she doing here?” he said as he swung his feet to the floor.

Frowning, Rachel shut the door and set the bag on the tiny, empty desk.

“Jack, it’s okay,” Peri pleaded. “She’s . . . a friend.”

“Friend?” Jack exclaimed, perched on the edge of the bed. “She knocked me out. She was waiting for us in our apartment, and you bring her here?”

Rachel chuckled. “From what I could tell, you knocked yourself out,” she said as she set the half-consumed bottle on the desk. “I’d say you’re a lightweight, but I know this label, and it’s like drinking fire from the sun.”

“Relax,” Peri demanded, her hands raised for patience. “I’ll explain everything later. Did you tell Bill about her?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “No,” he said sullenly, and Peri couldn’t tell if he was lying. “I figured if you left me a note, I should keep it to myself when Bill showed up.” He cocked his head quizzically. “The mall, Peri?”

She frowned at the accusation in his voice, shifting to try to hide Rachel setting up her . . . spell. “Does Bill still have the accelerator?” she asked, heart sinking at Jack’s flash of doubt. “Jack, if you ever trusted me, trust me now. Does he have it?”

Jack flicked a look at Rachel, then back to Peri. “Last I saw it, it was in Bill’s pocket. I doubt he’d courier it over to Opti at this hour. Why?”