concocted specialties of her own. Spinach pizza, Portabello, the Chicken Caesar, the Cheeseburger pizza, and the Barbeque Chicken. The Waldorf had garlic, apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, bacon, and Tastebud’s ubiquitous four cheeses. The Taco pizza included salsa, beef, black olives, jalapenos, tortilla chips, and sour cream.
For the first time, not one of them appealed to Kaycee. But she really needed to eat.
“I’ll take the Cheeseburger.” Liz knew to hold the dill pickles.
“You didn’t bring in an Ale-8-One today.”
“Didn’t even think about it. I’ll just take water.”
Staring at the gray countertop, Kaycee spooned down her soda while Liz made the pizza.
Night was coming. Hannah was still missing. Her watchers were out there, lurking. And Kaycee would have to go home.
Time blurred. The smell of beef, red onion, and tomatoes filled the air as Liz slid Kaycee’s pizza before her. “There you go, hon.”
“Thanks.” Kaycee looked out the window. The sun would set around eight-fifteen. The thought of herself at home, alone — even with two officers nearby — filled her with dread.
Robotlike, Kaycee ate the pizza. Halfway through, she’d had enough, but she forced herself to eat more. Who knew when she would eat again? It was going to be a long night.
Stomach full, Kaycee headed back down East Main to the police station. She knocked on the door, and Rich let her inside.
“Find anything more on the video?” she asked.
He shook his head. “We got two officers going door-to-door through Jessamine Village right now. And they looked in that barn again. So far — nothing.”
As Seth had said, Hannah reached a spot on Walters Lane — and simply vanished. She was either hidden somewhere in the area or she’d been driven away.
A scene flashed in Kaycee’s mind. Hannah, bound in the trunk of a car. A dark, closed place. Like the place Kaycee had been trapped in her dream. In that dream she’d seen through someone else’s eyes.
Could those eyes have been Hannah’s?
Kaycee pressed a hand to her forehead, as if to force the horrific thought away.
“Officer Statler dusted your car,” Rich said. “He’s down in the basement. He’ll be up in a minute, ready to go to your house.”
The basement. Kaycee shivered. Another dark, closed space.
“Okay.” She wandered up toward Emma’s work area. The secretary had already left for the day. The stack of flyers on her desk had now dwindled to half a dozen. Kaycee picked one up and stared into Hannah’s eyes. They looked frightened, pleading.
“We’re going to find you, honey,” Kaycee whispered.
Even before she finished forming the words a whirlwind of screams and running feet careened through her head.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Nico hunched over a steak and potatoes in his kitchen. From the TV in the next room he heard canned laughter from some comedy. Noise to keep him company, not that he was really listening. Nico had spent the day in his house, nearly climbing the walls. Stupid Bear, ordering him to stay here. What was the point? If the cops thought he had anything to do with Giordano’s murder, this was the first place they’d look.
In the back of his mind, Nico knew the score. Bear didn’t trust him anymore.
Nico snorted as he cut off a huge bite of steak. He chewed the rare meat, barely tasting it, glaring out a sliding glass door into his backyard. He pictured Bear’s hand trailing down his scar. Nico supposed he should count himself lucky. At least he had a chance. Deliver that money before dawn, and maybe he’d live to see another day.
The phone rang. Nico snatched up the receiver from the counter, steak still in his mouth. “Hello.”
“The cops are outta Giordano’s place.” Dom’s voice.
Nico swallowed. “Everybody?”
“That’s what I hear.”
“Any talk who did the murder?”
“Didn’t hear none of that. I don’t think they gotta clue.”
“Okay, Dom. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Nico finished his steak before calling Bear with the news that Giordano’s place was clear.
“All right. Take the boxes down to the Harding warehouse by the wharf. Put it in the storage area at the back. Bring me a million in hundred dollar bills early tomorrow morning.”
Bear wouldn’t keep all of the million, Nico knew. Well over half would be kicked up to the boss. “It’s done.”
“I hear the cops got no leads on Giordano.”
Nico’s gut twisted. Bear had someone else reporting to him on this? Was Dom informing Denny, not even his own captain? Maybe Denny had his own soldiers on it. Either way, Bear’s message came through loud and clear. He hadn’t relied only on Nico’s boys.
“Yeah. True.”
The underboss paused, letting his unspoken words sink in deeper. “See you in the morning.”
Bear’s house. The million-dollar drop-off would force Nico to prove he’d removed the money from the storage unit. At least Bear hadn’t ordered him to take Denny along with him. That would have signaled the nail in Nico’s coffin.
On the other hand Denny could be waiting for him at the warehouse.
“I’ll be there.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
In the apartment Lorraine could barely breathe. The smell hit her as soon as she walked in the door. Coppery mixed with sweet — and something utterly horrible.
Death?
Her mind turned inward. She wasn’t here. Not really. She wasn’t smelling her husband’s blood, seeing the stained hallway flooring from the corners of her eyes.
She looked toward the kitchen — and saw red spots on the wall.
The black chasm within her yawned open. Terror and grief wrapped skeletal fingers around Lorraine’s throat. She couldn’t stay in this place. Not for a minute. Never again for a night. No matter how much professionals cleaned, even if every bit of carpet and floor and every piece of furniture was replaced — none of that could erase what had happened here.
Heart drumming, Lorraine edged toward the hall, both hands drawn to her chest. Part of her wanted to wail out her pain. Part of her wanted to scream with rage. But she did neither. Once she started she wouldn’t stop.
At the edge of the living room carpet she stared at the stained floor. The bright red she remembered had muted to rust. Tears squeezed from her eyes. For a crazy moment she nearly dropped to her knees and raked her fingers through the gore. Yes, it was blood, but it was
