She flipped on the bathroom light and positioned herself in front of the sink, then slowly lifted her head. Her eyes widened, then squinted. She lifted a finger and ran it under one eye. The dark circles were almost completely gone. And the skin was firm, not even remotely puffy. What the hell? She’d always been told drinking would make her skin worse. Obviously she’d been lied to all these years. Or she was still drunk and wasn’t seeing things right. Either way, she’d take it. Especially given her first order of business this morning.

She headed into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee and when she poured the first cup, Halcyon came shuffling in, looking as if she’d been to war. Her long, blond, and usually straight hair was frizzy and sticking out in every direction. Apparently, she spent her nights scooting around her silk sheets, because the amount of static electricity she was carrying could probably power the coffeepot. Maybe even the toaster.

“You want some coffee?” Marina asked.

“Nope. Just a handful of aspirin and a Diet Coke. Then I’m going back to bed until next week.”

She grabbed a bottle of aspirin and dumped a pile of it in her hand. Before Marina could caution against taking that many at once, Halcyon had popped the handful into her mouth and then stuck her entire head under the kitchen faucet to get a drink. Then she stood up, hair dripping with tap water, and stared at Marina.

“What are you doing up this early?” Halcyon asked.

“Couldn’t sleep any longer. I figured I might as well head over to the house and collect my things.”

“You want me to come with you?”

“No. You never liked Harold on his and your best days. I don’t want to have to involve the cops in this.”

“Or the coroner.” She narrowed her eyes at Marina and took a step closer. “What kind of cream did you use on your eyes last night?”

“Are you kidding me? I brushed my teeth this morning with my finger. I didn’t stop to pack a bag when I left yesterday. I just ran out and drove here like a maniac.”

“Then I must still be drunk. Because I swear your skin looks better this morning than it did last night. And I refuse to believe that God would be that unfair while handing out the symptoms of a hangover. I’m going back to bed. Call if you need me. Or something with a higher caliber.”

Marina nodded and as Halcyon headed back to bed, she poked at the skin under her eyes again. Still no puffiness. Weird.

She shot back the remainder of her cup of coffee, then poured the rest of the pot into a thermos. Caffeine and fear might be the only two things that would keep her moving today. She grabbed her purse off the counter and headed outside. It was just after 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, but she didn’t care. If Harold was still asleep, he’d have to get over it. She wasn’t spending one more night without her toiletries and a change of clothes. Or the stash of good chocolate she kept in a frozen peas bag in the fridge. Harold and Avery both hated peas.