was wearing, right? See if it’s what she wore to the Herd that Monday?” The thought chugged along. I was so tired. “Daniel was pretty sure she didn’t come home that night. Which would mean someone else faked those emails and texts from her the next day. You guys should look into that.”
“We’ll be exploring all leads,” she said again. She jumped and then glanced down at her phone. “Unless there’s anything else you need to tell me, we’re gonna let you get home and get some sleep.” She paused and I fought to keep my expression neutral. There was one other thing, a massive one, but I’d already confirmed this wasn’t about that.
I managed a bland smile. “Will I need to come back in?”
“Not sure yet. Will you be available?”
I sighed. “I’m flying home on the twenty-third. For Christmas.”
“That should be fine, as long as you remain accessible.”
Didn’t realize I needed your permission, I wanted to say. Instead: “Just let me know how I can be helpful.”
* * *
—
Katie was asleep in the waiting room, cheek in palm, elbow on an armrest. I felt a crackle of annoyance that Mikki had left her here. But it was late and I probably wouldn’t have waited for anyone other than my sister either. I woke her and we blurrily figured out that her subway wasn’t running; I was about to order her her own Lyft when she asked if she could stay with me.
At home I set her up on the couch, carrying pillows out from the linen closet even as she crashed her head onto the decorative moleskin cushions there. I collapsed into bed, my door left open a crack, as always, for Cosmo. I was asleep within minutes and then woke, swimming only halfway toward the surface, from pressure on the bed. Not Cosmo—Katie climbed in next to me, then curled away. We’re not a touchy family; we hug hello and goodbye and say “I love you” when we think of it, always with a wide globe of personal space. I was almost nervous as I reached out and rubbed her back. Without turning, she curled an arm across her chest and touched my fingers near her side, held them there and then gave a little pat. I rolled away then and together, we fell asleep.
* * *
—
I woke and lay in bed for a moment with my eyes closed. Then it all came rushing in, like someone had turned on a cold tap: Katie next to me, Ratliff in the station, and, with a dizzying lurch, Eleanor, Eleanor frozen like a venison steak, Eleanor’s neck with its rimy crust of blood.
My stomach seized and I rolled over, clutching it, wishing wildly I could back up into my dreamland, where none of this was reality. A few feet away, Katie snored softly. Trying not to disturb the covers, I slid my legs out and padded down the hall.
I was just squeezing toothpaste onto my brush when, in the mirror, something moved behind me. I jumped and whirled around: Katie was thumping down the hall, holding my phone out in front of her.
“Daniel keeps calling you,” she announced, her brows knitted.
I set the toothbrush on the sink and took the phone from her. “Thanks,” I said, pushing the door closed. She didn’t move, her eyebrows now reaching for the sky, so I basically shut the door in her face.
“Hana?!” he yelped, before I could hear a single ring.
I kept my voice low, pictured Katie with her ear pressed against the door. “What’s up?”
“Get here now,” he said. “I don’t—I don’t know what to do.”
“Are you in danger? Should I call 911?”
“No police. You don’t want police.” He sounded terrified, unhinged.
“I don’t want police?”
“It’s about—Hana, it’s about what happened in 2010.”
It hit me like a force, like a fire hose, shot at all of me all at once. My ears rang and I clutched the side of the bathtub. How on earth did he know? What had he found?
“Listen to me very carefully.” I curled away from the door, my voice just above a whisper and so cold, so bloodless, it scared even me. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Don’t contact anyone else. No one else. Do you understand?”
Another gaping silence and the air itself seemed to lean in.
“Get here,” Daniel said, and then he was gone.
CHAPTER 15
Katie
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 8:10 A.M.
Hana flung the door open and stood centered in the frame. The sconce lights on either side