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  Char sank into a chair and put her hands on her belly. “Got myself knocked up. Think Al’s going to kill me?”

  “If it’s the delivery boy’s.”

  Char laughed, but grew serious quickly. “He’s going to think I did this on purpose, but I didn’t. Remember last month, when we went camping?”

  “You mean when you guys went for the overnighter specifically to ‘do it in the woods’? Yes, I distinctly remember the feeling of my brain matter coming out my ears as you told me how great it was.”

  “We got carried away before using a condom.” Char sighed. “But these things happen.”

  Mel thought of yesterday, and how after facing down that gun in their faces, she and Bo had pulled over on some deserted Mexican road, and right there in the heat and the dust had ravished each other in order to remember they were alive.

  They’d gotten carried away as well. “Yeah. These things happen,” Mel said weakly. Oh, God. What if it happened to her, too? “I thought you were getting hot flashes. Doesn’t that mean you’re done with all this stuff?”

  “Apparently not.” Char smiled. “Look, we’re married. We have a decent home and we love each other. Now we’ll have something to show for that love, that’s all.” She paused. “Did that sound good, or did I rush it?”

  “Depends on Al’s mood.”

  “Yeah, well, let’s hope it’s a good one.”

  “So, you happy?” Mel asked.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Mel hugged her tight. “Then I’m happy for you.”

  Char patted her still-flat belly. “Thanks, honey. Hey, you notice Dimi skipping around this morning? She didn’t even light her candles or incense. And she was smiling. She looks so pretty when she smiles. Anyway, I’d say she must have gotten lucky, but you know what? I think in her case, it’s the opposite. I think she’s finally learning to make herself happy.” Char leaned in and hugged Mel. “One down, now only one to go.”

  Mel frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “You, honey. I mean you. You have to learn to make yourself happy.” And then she left Mel alone to wonder how exactly to do that.

  At the end of the day, Dimi buzzed Mel in her office. “Line one,” she said. “It’s him.”

  Mel stared at her phone as if it was a coiled rattlesnake. She didn’t have to ask who. It was Matt, with possible news on Sally.

  “Tell me exactly what he says,” Dimi instructed. “Every word.”

  “I will.”

  “Unless it’s bad news. Oh, God, do you think it’s bad news?”

  “Bad in comparison to what, Dimi?”

  “Right.” Dimi drew a ragged breath. “Right. Maybe…I know this sounds crazy, but maybe he’s calling to tell us he found out it’s all some sort of mistake.”

  Mel had no hopes left, false or otherwise. “What kind of mistake involves taking money and property that doesn’t belong to you?”

  “Yeah,” Dimi sighed. “Wishful thinking and all that.”

  “I’m going to take the call now,” Mel said gently. “I’ll just buzz you when I’m off—”

  Before she’d even finished her sentence, Dimi opened Mel’s office door and slid inside, breathing heavily. “Well?”

  “Uh, I haven’t taken the call yet,” Mel said dryly, then clicked over. “Mel Anderson. Can I help you?”

  “How many aliases for Sally are you expecting?” Matt asked.

  “Well?” Dimi whispered. “Is she alive?”

  Mel held up her finger. “As many as you can find, Matt.”

  “I’ve unearthed four without any effort,” he said. “I’m not a betting man, but you can be sure if it was this easy, there are more.”

  Four aliases, minimum. If there’d been only the one, someone could make the argument that Sally had had a good reason for vanishing under a different name. Fear, danger…

  But four.

  Four.

  “There’s more,” Matt said. “The last alias on record, Tara Louise? She was married for two years to a man who just recently died in New Orleans. Suspiciously. She’s wanted for questioning but has vanished.”

  Mel gripped her phone tight. “Oh, my God.”

  A man dead.

  Until Bo had arrived, Mel had faced only a moral dilemma. Yes, Sally had vanished, but she hadn’t done anything to Mel, at least nothing criminal. So what right did she have to dig?

  But now…Now there were many reasons; for the rights of the victims, for one.

  For Bo’s father.

  For Bo himself.

  The thought came out of nowhere. Mel wanted answers for Bo, for that eighteen-year-old who’d lost so much, for the man who’d never lost his belief in his father.

  And then there was the fact that Sally had instructed Mel and Dimi to act criminally without their knowledge.

  “Melanie?” Matt asked. “You there?”

  “Yes, thank you. I’ll get back to you.” She hung up and stared at the phone.

  “Four aliases?” Dimi sounded as dazed as she felt, and staggered to a chair. “Four,” she said again, stunned.

  “Maybe more,” Mel told her. “Probably more. And let’s not forget the coup de grâce: an ex, dead under suspicious circumstances.”

  “Two,” Dimi whispered. “Two ex’s dead, if you count Eddie. Do you think…my God…Do you think she somehow killed Eddie?”

  It was too terrible to even think about. “We have to face facts right now, Deem,” Mel said, her voice trembling. “Together. Sentiment doesn’t have a place here. Sally’s in big trouble and we both know we can no longer help her. But we can help the people she’s hurt.”

  Dimi reached for Mel’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not falling apart. And I’m all yours, at least for the duration of this disaster.”

  “For the duration? That sounds a little…temporary.”

  “Yeah.” Dimi stared at their joined hands. Hers were smaller, more delicate, with a perfect manicure and silver bracelets lined up her left wrist, jangling prettily. “You remember I told you about wanting to be a nurse.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve decided to go to a nursing school and the one I want to go to is in San Diego. I’ve registered, just today. Classes start in the fall.”

  Just two months away. “I see.”

  “Do you?” She scooted closer. “Do you really, Mel? You’re not mad, upset, freaking out? Because I freaked out at first, the thought of leaving here, of being separated from you, but it’s just…” She paused, her eyes misting. “Damn it, I don’t want to cry.”

  “It’s okay, I get it. It’s what you have to do.”

  “Yeah.” One tear escaped and with a sound of frustration, she swiped at it. “But I’ll be back. I want to work out of the hospital in town, only ten minutes away. That won’t be so bad.”

  “It’ll be good,” Mel assured her, and they hugged hard, Mel feeling her own eyes go damp. “Shit.”

  They laughed a little over the waterworks, then Dimi spoke. “See, so I’m not leaving you for long. Or Danny.”

  “Danny?”

  “We’re going to try things out.” She smiled with her entire heart in her eyes. “It’ll be from a distance at first, but that’s okay. I need the time.”

  “You and Danny?” Mel repeated, surprised.

  Dimi’s face closed a bit, her shoulders straightened. “I’m not going to hurt him, I wouldn’t do that. Why do you think I resisted facing the truth about my feelings so long? The last thing I’d ever do is hurt—”

  “Oh, honey, I’m not worried about him. He’s a big boy, and he knows what he wants. I meant you. I’m worried about you.”

  “You shouldn’t be. I’m a little fragile, I know, but like I said, I need some time.” Dimi shook her head. “What Sally did sucks, and it hurts…” She pressed a hand to her gut. “Hurts like I didn’t know I could be hurt. But with Danny, I just feel…alive. Like I haven’t felt in a long time.” Her eyes were clear. Happy. “Whatever happens,” she said with int