Shaina looked at me, tears welling in her green eyes. ″My mom-she pushed me out the door. My mom saved me, Kate,″ she whispered.

″Your mother was very brave.″

″I fell on the side of the road. I think the hijacker got the wheel, and Mom wound up on the passenger side, where I′d been. That′s when I lost sight of them. A few seconds later I heard two shots. Then a car squealing, like it was driving away fast.″

Her entire body seemed to quake with a sob as she added, ″Why did it have to be my mother? She′s all I have in the world.″

A pain ricocheted off my ribs and hit something deep and soft inside my chest. ″Shaina, I know this is a horrible time for you,″ I said to her. ″I′m going to stay with you until your family gets here.″

″My family?″ Shaina made a bitter-sounding noise. ″There′s no one in my family except for Mom.″

″What about your uncle?″

″Uncle Belmont and my aunt?″ Shaina gave me a beseeching look. ″They′re not the same; you know what I mean? We′re not that close. Nothing like my mom.″

She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. ″Then of course there′s my stupid stepfather-Gavin the gigolo. Like he′s gonna care about me at all. Mom told me last night they were getting divorced. She was dumping him. It was about time.″

″Shaina, you can′t help feeling unbelievably sad right now,″ I said, trying to ignore what she was saying about her stepfather. ″It hurts so much. Believe me I know-I lost my mom, too, when I was young. To violence like your mom.″

″You did? But then, you′re still young, aren′t you?″ Shaina gave me a trembly attempt at a smile. ″I don′t think you′re all that much older than me. You just act kind of older.″

″I was thirteen.″

″Oh my God. That was young.″

″Any age is tough to lose your mother.″

I knew this wasn′t the right time to ask her questions, but an irresistible urge overcame me. ″Why were you and your mom out driving so early this morning?″

″Mom was taking me to catch an early flight to Los Angeles,″ Shaina said. ″She was going to follow me out there in a couple of days. We were going to take a cruise together.″

Already regretting the impulse to probe, I quickly said, ″I spoke to one of the detectives, and they′re doing everything they can to track down the person who did this. They′ll find him, and he′ll be punished.″

Shaina studied me. She was no longer crying, and the surface of her eyes had turned as hard and flat as malachite.

″The police don′t need to look for him.″ Her voice was cold and sounded much older than her twenty-one years. ″I already know who killed my mother.″

Shaina′s words sent a cold drip of sweat running down my spine. ″You′re saying you know the man who hijacked your car?″ I said. ″You mean the one who shot your mother?″

″No, but I know who was behind the whole thing. It was my stepfather, Gavin. I′m positive of it. He paid that guy to kill her. Maybe he even wanted both of us dead. I wouldn′t put anything past him.″

Her accusation shocked me. ″Shaina, I know your mother and Gavin had problems, but why do you think he had anything to do with-″

″It was Gavin; I′m telling you. He did it to get her money before she could divorce him. It was Gavin! Gavin!″ With each repetition of her stepfather′s name, Shaina′s volume and pitch rose until she was practically screaming.

At that moment, the nurse reappeared at the doorway. In tow behind her was a tall and kindly looking woman wearing a white doctor′s coat. The doctor moved swiftly to Shaina′s bedside.

″Shaina? I′m Dr. Sanders,″ she announced. ″The nurse is going to give you something to help you feel a little bit more relaxed, and then you′re going to sleep for a while.″

As the nurse prepared a syringe, Shaina writhed on the bed, moaning and calling for her mother.

The doctor caught my eye and motioned for me to step outside the room. She followed me into the hallway, then said, ″I appreciate your being here, but it′s best for Shaina to simply sleep right now. Her stepfather is on his way here, along with someone else in her family.″

″Do you think she should see her stepfather after what she just said about him? She seems to think he′s behind her mother′s murder. I′m wondering if we should-″

Dr. Sanders dismissed my question with a wave of her hand. ″Paranoid thinking is common during the first stages of shock and grief,″ she said. ″Victims want to blame someone, and they often focus on someone with whom there′s been some family tension. It doesn′t mean anything. By tomorrow, she won′t even remember saying any of that.″

As I hesitated, she added, ″You should probably head home for a while-we′ve given her enough medication to make sure she′ll sleep for at least eight hours. I suggest you come back around two o′clock this afternoon to see her.″

When I looked in on Shaina again, her eyes were closed and she was pulling in deep, rag gedy breaths, as if she were still sobbing in her sleep. Then the medication must have kicked all the way in, because her breathing rhythm gradually evened out.

The nurse who′d been monitoring Shaina′s pulse looked down at her and made a clicking noise with her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

″This poor little lamb is going to have a very hard time,″ she said to me. ″Imagine a young girl losing her mother like that. It′s a horrible thing. It should never happen that way.″

″I know.″

″There′ve been so many carjackings recently,″ the nurse said. ″It′s getting to where we′re all afraid to drive around at night.″

Reluctantly, I decided that the doctor was right-it was time for me to go. There was nothing I could do for Shaina right then. I decided to return in the afternoon to see how she was doing.

I headed back to a space of tree-lined curb stretching beyond the emergency room area, where I′d left my car parked illegally. A few threads of citrine light were beginning to probe the edges of the horizon, but it was still dark in this area.

I was so lost in thought that I didn′t pay any attention to a pillar-shaped shadow behind my car. Then the pillar moved. It stepped forward and grabbed my arm.

I let out a startled scream. Using the hand that was wrapped around my keys, I lashed out with an uppercut.

My jab was stopped in midair by something that felt like a baseball mitt; then my fist was gently lowered back to my side.

″Cripes almighty, Kate; if you′ve been taking self-defense courses, get a refund.″

The voice belonged to Fish, the private detective. He released my hand from his ham-hock grip.

″Dammit, Fish. Let a person know you′re standing there next time,″ I said, struggling to bring my hammering pulse under control. ″Didn′t your mother teach you not to sneak up on people? ″

″My mother was too busy flattening my ass with a frying pan to give me that little tip. And here′s one for you-you should learn to be more aware of what′s going on around you.″