Her car stopped in front of her and the valet got out and handed her the keys. She gave him a tip and hopped inside, but when she went to put her purse on the passenger’s seat, she realized it wasn’t empty. In the middle of the seat was a bracelet. She let out a cry and the valet knocked on her window.

“Are you all right?” the valet asked.

Emma put the car in gear and squealed away, leaving the stunned valet staring after her. As she pulled out of the garage, she rolled down the window, grabbed the bracelet, and flung it into the street. Even though it was only in her hand for seconds, it felt as if the metal burned her skin. She screeched to a stop at a red light and yanked her cell phone out of her purse. Shaye answered on the first ring.

“He found me again,” Emma said. “He left a bracelet he gave me for my birthday on the front seat of my car. And that’s not the worst of it.”

Emma told Shaye about the mice in the parking lot the night before. With every word she uttered, her breathing grew faster until she was about to hyperventilate. Finally, she finished and sucked in a giant breath, trying to bring as much oxygen as possible into her body. Her vision blurred momentarily and she eased up on the accelerator, then it cleared again.

“Please stay calm,” Shaye said, “especially while you’re driving. I know how frightening all this is, and I don’t blame you for being scared. I’m scared too, but we’re going to figure this out.”

Emma didn’t doubt Shaye’s sincerity at all, but her hope that anyone could help her was rapidly vanishing. “How did he find me again? I was careful this time. I’m sure no one followed me when I checked in. Even last night, when I was ready to explode, I drove around the city twice before going back to the hotel.”

“I have an idea about that. When he found you at the repair shop in Bywater, I had my suspicions, but now I’m almost positive.”

“Positive of what?”

“He put a GPS on your car. That’s how he always knows where you are.”

Emma felt her back and neck tighten. It was something she’d never considered, but it explained so much. And completely destroyed her idea of getting away. Unless she abandoned the car here and flew to San Diego, he’d just track her right to her front door again. Her breathing increased again as wave after wave of hopelessness came over her.

“I can’t get away,” Emma said. “I was going to leave tomorrow. Drive across the country and start over, but he’s taken that option away as well.”

“I think I can help with that, but I can’t do anything until tomorrow.”

“Yes, of course. You’ve got to take care of your mother. I understand.” Given that Corrine’s attacker was almost certainly Emma’s stalker, she couldn’t expect Shaye to keep working on her case. Not today, anyway, but she couldn’t help the feeling of abandonment and helplessness that she felt. In her entire life, she’d never felt so alone.

“It’s not that. I have a line on a guy David served with on his last tour in Iraq. He’s the one who called in a favor to get David his job at the petroleum company. I’m hoping he knows something that helps make some sense of all of this, but I’ve got to make a drive to Fort Polk to track him down. It’s not the sort of conversation I want to have over the phone. You learn more when you can watch someone while they talk. And if he doesn’t know I’m coming, he can’t prepare.”

Immediately, Emma felt guilty for assuming that Shaye had abandoned her, even though she wouldn’t blame her one bit if she did. But as long as Shaye was still working, Emma still held on to a small ray of hope. Given the extremity of her situation and Shaye’s lack of experience, Emma was probably hoping for a miracle, but that didn’t matter. She had to have something to latch onto or the thin thread that held her sanity in the balance would snap in two.

“How is Corrine?” Emma asked.

“Feeling well enough to complain. They’ll send her home later today. Her best friend will stay with her until my grandfather arrives. And I’ll stay at her house tonight. I’m more worried about you. You’re going to need to change hotels again. If you’ll call and have the hotel pack your things, I’ll pick them up after I get back. You can take a taxi to another hotel tonight and I’ll bring your things to you tomorrow morning.”

It was a good plan. She could catch a taxi at the front entrance of the hospital. That way, if he was watching her car, he wouldn’t see her leave. But even the thought of arriving at another hotel in the middle of the night had her anxiety increasing. “I think I’m going to stay at the hospital tonight. There’s a room off the break room with cots for staff to use if we get caught working a double or staying for a specific patient.”

“That’s good. You’ll be safe at the hospital. Tomorrow morning you can either take a taxi and meet me at a new hotel or I can pick you up. Either way, maybe you’ll finally get a decent night’s sleep.”

“Maybe.” Emma had all but given up the idea of a good night’s sleep, but maybe Shaye was right. If she was tucked away in the hospital staff lounge, with Jeremy watching over the security monitors, she would be safe. It wasn’t a good long-term plan, but for one night, it might be the best plan she could come up with.

“I’m about to leave to meet with a New Orleans police detective.”

“Do you think they’ll believe me now?”

“I think he does already. Hopefully, we can make something happen.”

“Yeah.”

Hopefully.

###

Shaye put the cell phone on her dresser and stared out her bedroom window into the alley. Her hands were sweaty and her pulse elevated. Most people couldn’t possibly imagine the horror that Emma was experiencing. They couldn’t understand how terrified she was. How desperate.

But Shaye understood all too well.

She pulled on a fresh shirt and hurried into the bathroom to give her teeth and hair a brush. She checked her watch and cursed because there was no way she would make her meeting with Jackson on time. She grabbed her car keys and hurried out of her apartment. When she’d set the meeting time with Jackson, she’d barely given herself time to get from the hospital back to her apartment for a change of clothes, but she wanted to talk to him as soon as possible and then get on the road to Fort Polk.

He’d left her a message the night before, but with everything that happened, she hadn’t checked her phone until after midnight. Given what she’d found in Corrine’s purse and what Emma had just told her, Shaye was more desperate than ever for information on David Grange and hoped Jackson had come up with some hard information on David’s past. Aside from the Paul Schaffer lead, all she’d managed to do so far was verify things that she already suspected or that Emma had told her. Someone had to know more. And she was going to find him.

Traffic was light, and she made the drive to the café in less time than she originally figured. Only five minutes late. Not too bad. She parked at the curb a half block away and hurried into the café. Jackson was already seated at the back corner table, a black coffee in front of him and a latte in front of the chair across from him. Shaye wasn’t sure if he was returning the favor from their last meeting or showing her that he also paid attention. Either way, she appreciated the drink and the efficiency.

“Thanks for the coffee,” she said as she slid onto the chair. “I haven’t stopped long enough to grab a cup this morning and I’m hovering somewhere between comatose and desperate.”

“Been there a few times myself. How’s your mother?”

She wasn’t really surprised that he knew about the attack on Corrine. Reporters had shown up at the hospital shortly after she’d arrived, and it had taken police threats to get them out of the building and onto the sidewalk where they belonged. They’d hung around for another hour or two, but finally cleared out, most likely when they found out her grandfather was in China on Archer Manufacturing business and couldn’t get back to New Orleans until this afternoon.