Again, I said nothing.

“I think it’s my way of taking it out on all the men who’ve treated me like shit all my life. My father, Merker, the others. When I abuse those men, when I demean them, when I hurt them, I’m getting even.”

“But,” I said, “they like it.”

“They have their fantasy, and I have mine.”

Back at the house, we could hear Katie laugh about something in the kitchen. Trixie glanced back, and the wind blew a lock of hair across her face. She looked beautiful, but in a more natural, almost innocent way.

“So what about you and Sarah? How bad is it?”

“Not so bad that I’ve given up on it,” I said. “I love her.” I took a breath. “I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone else.”

Trixie studied me. “I’ve thought about you a lot since I left you in my basement. I’m sorry. I’d like to make it up to you.” She took a step closer, and for a moment, I felt dizzy. “Did you like it when I kissed you? When you were handcuffed to the railing?”

“It took me somewhat by surprise,” I said. “A simple peck on the cheek would have sufficed.”

Trixie smiled. “Always with the joke.” The wind caught her hair again, and she reached up and tucked the lock behind her ear. “There’s something I really need to tell you,” she said.

I had a feeling this was not going to be good. At the very least, it was going to be awkward. Was she going to tell me she loved me? Was she going to ask me to leave Sarah? That seemed unthinkable. She was enticing, Trixie was. No doubt. She was beautiful. Exotic, even. She’d have no trouble fulfilling almost any man’s wildest fantasies. I’d be lying if I said none had ever crossed my mind.

But no matter how beautiful, how sexy Trixie might be, there was something she could never be.

She could never be Sarah.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I said. “Whatever it is.”

“No,” Trixie said, her hand reaching up and touching my shirt. “I think, before we go any further, that you need to know my secret.”

I waited.

“That night,” she said. “When Zane Heighton, and Eldridge Smith, and Payne Fletcher, when the three of them got shot at the Kickstart?”

“Yes?”

“I saw it happen.”

My mouth felt very dry. “You saw it?”

“I was there.”

“Then you are a witness. If you tell the police what you saw, you can-”

Trixie touched a finger to my lips. “Zack, you don’t understand.”

“What?”

“I killed them, Zack. I killed them all.”

“Where was that place,” Leo wanted to know, “where we got pizza the other night?”

Sometimes it bugged Gary that, even though the Kickstart served food-some burgers, wings, fries, basic stuff-Leo always wanted to get something to eat from someplace else. The novelty of it, he guessed. The kid could eat, but he never got fat. Just stayed tall and stringy.

“Rocco’s,” Gary said.

“Yeah, it was good,” Leo said.

Miranda listened to all this as she counted up the night’s receipts. The Kickstart had closed half an hour ago, everyone had gone home, including the girls. Now it was just her, Gary and Leo, and Payne and Eldridge and Zane. Those three-sometimes Miranda thought of them as the Three Musketurds-were getting into the booze again. A good night would do that to them, prompt them to raid the bar’s fridge for free beers. And Payne had some coke, and was willing to share.

“We’re going out,” Gary said. “Get some fucking pizza. Anybody want some?”

The others said sure, yeah, bring back lots. Gary and Leo left. Miranda stayed at her desk, working.

She figured this would be the week. She was ready. She had enough put away. About half a mill. It seemed unbelievable, that she’d been able to skim off that much. But so much money went through that joint, and when you didn’t pay the legitimate bills, or paid just enough to keep the creditors off your back, and used the money you actually did have to pay invoices that you’d manufactured yourself, well, it all started to add up.

She’d already emptied out most of the accounts where she’d been squirreling away cash. She’d pulled together some fake identification. She’d come up with a new identity, for someone she’d decided to call Trixie.

Miranda was as ready as she’d ever be. She just had to pick her moment. To go when it felt right. Maybe just after a shift that was followed by a couple of days off. She’d have forty-eight hours’ lead time before Gary started to clue in to what was going on. By then she’d be far away, already be establishing her new life with her baby daughter. She’d change her hair color, do her makeup differently, whatever she could to distance herself from the woman known as Candace.

The guys were getting a bit rowdy. The hairs went up on the back of Miranda’s neck. Don’t let them try anything, she thought. Not now. Not when I’m so close to pulling this all off.

And then there was Payne Fletcher, standing right next to her, a beer in one hand. And touching her hair with the other.

She recoiled.

“Hey, come on,” said Payne. “I’m just being friendly.”

Yeah, said the others. You got something against being friendly? But Miranda told them to leave her alone. She was working. Payne didn’t move away. He put his beer down and placed both of his hands on Miranda’s head, tried to turn her toward him.

“Stop it!” she said. Still in the chair, she tried to pull away, but Payne, standing next to her, was pulling her face toward the zipper of his jeans.

“How about a lollipop?” he asked.

Miranda had sworn to herself that she would never let this happen again. It was this promise to herself that allowed her to keep coming to work at the Kickstart, to share space with the men who’d assaulted her a few months earlier. It was part of the plan.

But she knew, if she was to be certain that it would never happen again, she’d have to be ready. Which was why she now always carried the gun that Eldon had taught her to use. The one she swore she’d never carry. She didn’t like guns. Too dangerous to have on you, she’d thought.

But you had to adapt.

“Come on,” Payne said, still holding on to Miranda’s head. The other two were making whooping noises. Someone said, “Me next.”

“Okay,” Miranda said. “But you have to let go of me.”

That sounded promising to Payne, and so he did. Miranda pushed back with her feet, the wheels of her computer chair sailing her over to the far end of her desk, where she’d left her purse.

Miranda reached into it, her fingers hunting for the weapon. She slipped her hand around the gun’s grip, felt the trigger under her index finger.

“What you doing?” Payne said. “You don’t need no condom for this.”

No, she thought, bringing the gun out of the purse. She didn’t.