“Maybe not,” I said, but I wasn’t sure that I believed that. “But someone is out there killing girls, and I’d rest a lot easier if I knew who it was.”

“And you think that the police know who it is but haven’t bothered to catch him?” Ezra asked when he looked back at me.

“No.” I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know. But I think they know something.”

“Maybe they do,” Ezra allowed. “What would you do with that information that they aren’t already doing? You’re presuming that they’re hiding something for a reason. What would they hope to gain from this?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed, growing frustrated. All of this felt so logical in the living room with Bobby, but Ezra had a way of punching through everything.

“Just because we don’t understand why they’d cover up something doesn’t mean they aren’t,” Bobby said, and we both turned to look at him.

“Now you just sound paranoid,” I said.

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you,” Bobby said with an expression so serious that I couldn’t help but laugh.

Milo came home a few minutes later, breaking up any chance I had of convincing Ezra that I needed to know what the police were up to. I’m not sure that I did actually need to, and I hated that he had a point.

What could I do that the cops already weren’t? It wasn’t like I had any experience with solving crimes or forensic equipment. My knowledge was Law & Order reruns on TNT, and I doubted that would help me catch a serial killer.

As soon as Milo came in, he started making supper for Bobby. He still loved to cook, and it was a shame that hardly anybody around him could eat it anymore. When Milo asked what we’d been up to, Bobby made a point of not telling him about Jane. Apparently, we’d both decided that it’d be better if our respective boyfriends didn’t know what we were doing.

Jack had to go away for work the next day, so I spent the evening curled up with him. He’d been handling most of the business affairs by himself lately, since Ezra didn’t feel like doing much of anything, and I was really proud of Jack for stepping up. I just hated that he had to be away so much.

We went to bed early since he had an eight a.m. flight, and I still didn’t understand how he learned to handle himself so well in the daytime. I’d gotten much better about being in the sun, but it would never be anything I’d enjoy.

I woke up with him to see him off, and Matilda whimpered as soon as he was out the door. I tried to reassure her by telling her that he’d be back in a few days, but I’m not sure that she understood me. Or if she did, it still hurt too much to be away from him. I agreed with her on that point.

I crawled back into bed and began crying. I hated the empty space left behind when Jack went away. I felt lonelier than I had in a while, and everything felt off-kilter. Not just because Jack was gone, but everything with Ezra and Mae and Jane. Milo was busier with school, Jack was busy with work, and I was just here… doing nothing.

“Alice?” Bobby knocked on my bedroom door, and I hurried to wipe away the tears before he could see them. He opened the door without waiting for me to respond. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah. What do you need?” I sat up in bed and rubbed at my eyes, covering up my sadness by looking sleepy.

“Milo just went to school, and I saw that Jack left for work,” Bobby said, walking into the bedroom.

“So? Shouldn’t you be at school?” I asked, looking over at him once I felt certain my tears were gone.

“Yeah, but I decided to skip.” He bit his lip and shoved his hands in the pockets of his skinny jeans. “I’ve got an idea for a better way to spend the day.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Let’s go find Jane’s killer.”

“Like now? Like right now? How?” I asked as I pushed off the covers. I’m pretty sure Bobby didn’t have a plan, but it already sounded better than anything else I would probably do today.

“Milo and Jack are gone, so it seems like the best time,” Bobby shrugged. “And I thought we could just go downtown, check out the crime scenes. I mean, I know stuff’s gone, but I thought we might find something. I wrote down all the addresses.” He held his hand out to me, and he’d written a couple locations on the back of it.

“Alright. Let me get dressed.”

Wisdom

Bobby smiled and went outside to wait for me. I’m not sure why exactly, but as I pulled on my jeans, I felt better than I had since I’d gotten back from Australia. I was actually doing something. And even if it was a long shot, it was something that actually mattered. Or it would, if we could catch the killer before another girl got hurt.

8

We stood on Eighth Street, with the buildings blocking out the morning sun.  I’d donned a jacket, a hat, and giant sunglasses, so the sun wouldn’t be much of an issue for me anyway. As we walked away from the second crime scene, I felt queasy.

This time of the day, downtown was bustling, and I wasn’t used it. I’d gotten accustomed to the quiet of the night. We brushed past people, some of them bumping into me. Being in crowds didn’t bother me anymore, and the open air helped alleviate the scent of their blood. Lately, my bloodlust hadn’t been bad at all, and Ezra commended my ability to get it under control so quickly.

“I don’t think this is gonna work,” I told Bobby as we waited at a crosswalk for the light to turn green.

“I know we didn’t see much back there, but we still might find something,” Bobby said. “Anyway, it’s better than doing nothing.”

Other than a piece of battered police tape stuck to the side of a pole, there hadn’t been anything at the last scene. The one before had even less evidence than that. I’m not even sure what we were looking for, but we found nothing.

The closer we got to the spot where Jane had been found, the sicker I felt. My mouth and throat felt dry, and it was hard to swallow. The jacket and hat were making me too hot, and cold sweat broke out all over my skin.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head and stayed a step behind Bobby.

“It won’t hurt to look.”

He slipped on a patch of ice, and my arm shot out instinctively. I caught him, holding him by his arm for a second before he got his footing again. A man passing by gave me an odd look. I shoved my hands in my pocket and tried to look inconspicuous as Bobby straightened out his jacket.