Determination flashed in her eyes, and I knew that she meant every single word. Jade would do whatever it took to find Elissa. Still, she would be emotional and vulnerable, no matter how much she tried to keep her worry and fear in check. But I could be cold, hard, and strong enough for both of us. And Jade was right. I couldn’t shut her out. I wouldn’t have been able to stand aside if Bria was missing.

   “All right, then,” I said, picking up my fork again. “Gin’s first rule. Eat your breakfast.”

   Jade opened her mouth like she was going to protest that she couldn’t possibly eat a single bite, but I stabbed my fork at her.

   “Gin’s second rule. Do not argue with assassins carrying multiple knives. Ever.”

   For a second, a ghost of a smile pulled up her lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

   I nodded. “Now, that’s more like it.”

   • • •

   I forced myself to finish the rest of my food. Jade merely picked at hers, but at least she ate a few bites and grudgingly sipped the chicory coffee. Better than nothing.

   After breakfast, we both got to work. Jade called her employees, telling them that she had a personal matter and they should all take the day off. I made a call of my own, then went outside, grabbed a fresh set of clothes out of the supplies in the trunk of my car, and took a shower.

   At nine o’clock sharp, a polite knock sounded at the front door. Jade and I were back in the kitchen, and she almost jumped up out of her chair at the sudden noise.

   “Who could that be?” Jade asked.

   “Reinforcements.”

   We went into the office in the front of the house. The knock came again, a little louder and more insistent than before. I rolled my eyes at his impatience, but I still double-checked to make sure that it was him before I unlocked and opened the door.

   Silvio was waiting outside, his phone in one hand and his tablet case resting in the crook of his other elbow. “Finally. I was wondering if you were going to make me stand outside all morning.”

   “The thought never crossed my mind,” I quipped.

   “Uh-huh.” He arched his eyebrows and stepped inside the house. “Jade.”

   “Silvio.” She nodded at him.

   My assistant looked around, his gray eyes brightening with appreciation as he took in all the desks, computers, and other equipment. “Finally. A real office. This will do quite nicely.”

   He went over to the closest desk and put down his phone and tablet case. Then he headed back outside, returning a minute later with a large cardboard box. Back and forth Silvio went, until a dozen cardboard boxes were stacked in the corner.

   “What’s all this?” Jade asked in a puzzled voice.

   Silvio set down the last box. “Everything that the Ashland Police Department has on the Dollmaker.”

   Jade stared at all the boxes, her face creasing into a frown. “All those boxes, all those files inside. It would take an army to go through all of that information.”

   He flashed her a smile. “Don’t worry. Help is on the way.”

   Sure enough, less than five minutes later, another knock sounded at the front door. Jade opened it to find Finn, Bria, and Owen standing outside. They all trooped into the house and murmured their hellos to us.

   The fourth and final person at the back of the pack surprised me: Dr. Ryan Colson. He’d changed out of his blue scrubs and was now wearing black boots, black corduroy pants, and a dark blue sweater under a black leather jacket. Despite the fact that he’d probably been up all night, performing an autopsy on the Dollmaker’s latest victim, he looked as calm and steady as always. Then again, I supposed that he was used to working hard, long, and odd hours, given his job.

   “I’m sorry to just barge in like this, but Bria told me what you were doing.” He looked over at Jade, who was staring at the boxes of information again. Sympathy and understanding filled his face. “I’d like to help, if you’ll let me.”

   “Of course, Ryan. Come on in.”

   He stepped inside, took off his jacket, and hung it up on a rack in the corner.

   “Any news on the dead woman?” I asked.

   “We got an ID on her—Lacey Lawrence,” he said. “Missing since last week. Vanished after working her shift at a clothing store in Northtown. Xavier’s tracking down her family so they can be notified.”

   “What about your autopsy? Any new clues there?”

   He shook his head. “Nothing that I haven’t seen before with the other victims. She had been dead at least twenty-four hours before you found her, just like I thought. I also sent off a sample of the lipstick to a lab guy who owes me a favor. I’m hoping that he gets back to me today with the color and brand. Maybe I’ll know more then.”

   “Thanks, Ryan.”

   He nodded at me and looked at Jade again. He hesitated, then went over and said something to her that I couldn’t hear. She nodded back at him before her gaze locked onto the boxes again.

   “Now that we’re all here,” Silvio said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, “let’s get cracking.”

   There were few things that my assistant loved more than organizing, whether it was people, information, or both, as in this case. Silvio made us each take a separate desk, and he assigned each of us a single box to start with. We all settled down and got to work, cracking open our boxes, digging into the files inside, and reading through the information, trying to find some clue that would lead us to the Dollmaker and where he might be holding Elissa.

   My box was about Sandra Reeves, the killer’s very first victim, two years ago. At least, she was the first victim Ryan knew of so far. Twenty-three, blond, pretty. Sandra had worked as a waitress at the Cake Walk, another downtown Ashland restaurant, before she’d disappeared one night after her shift. Her body had been found two weeks later dumped in a park that fronted the Aneirin River, not too far away from Lorelei Parker’s shipping yard. Beaten and strangled, with traces of makeup and blood-red lipstick all over her bruised, battered face.