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Brody had pointed out that the killer could’ve taken that picture at any time. He was right. Chances are the killer hadn’t found another victim after two in the morning when Elise had escaped.

      Sergeant Curtis crunched across the gravel and faced the crowd. “Did anyone else see anything out here?”

      Elise dropped her head and pulled the sweater up to her chin, not that he’d notice her after their brief encounter in the interrogation room.

      People murmured and mumbled, but nobody stepped forward with any information.

      Undeterred, Sergeant Curtis continued. “If anyone was here earlier, if anyone was taking any pictures, give us a call.”

      A few people began peeling away from the group as the cops continued to scour the ground. A coroner’s van had pulled up on the gravel, but still nobody made a move to retrieve the body.

      They might be here all afternoon.

      Elise spun away from the scene, her stomach rolling. Her presence here had served no purpose except to confirm how close her own brush with death had occurred to an actual death.

      She reached into her purse for her cell phone before she remembered that her phone was in the possession of the SFPD with a picture of the dead woman below on it.

      She meant what she told Brody. She wouldn’t return to her house, not yet, especially with Oscar still out of town.

      She tapped the arm of the woman next to her. “Can I borrow your phone for a minute? It’s a local call.”

      “Sure.” She dipped into the pocket of her sweatpants and pulled out a smartphone.

      Elise tapped in Courtney’s phone number.

      “Hello?” Courtney’s voice, low and seductive, purred over the line.

      “Court? It’s Elise.”

      “Elise?” The dulcet tones turned to a squeak. “Where are you calling from? I thought for sure you were Derrick from last night when I saw the unknown number.”

      “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

      “Are you okay? I texted you earlier but you didn’t respond.”

      Elise took several steps away from the rubbernecking crowd, out of everyone’s hearing. “All hell broke loose when I left you at the club last night.”

      Her friend paused for two beats. “Tell me you’re okay right now before I have a full-fledged panic attack.”

      “I’m okay.”

      Courtney blew out a noisy sigh. “You scared me. What do you mean all hell broke loose? Where are you and whose phone are you using?”

      “After I left the club last night—” Elise closed her eyes and squeezed the phone “—I was attacked.”

      “Attacked? What are you talking about?”

      Her friend’s voice screeched over the phone and Elise pulled it away from her ear.

      “Someone pretended to need help and when I went to help him, he knocked me on the head and stuffed me into his trunk.”

      Courtney’s breath rasped over the phone. “Elise, you’re joking. Tell me you’re joking.”

      “I’m not joking, Courtney. I got away. I’m okay.”

      “How can you be okay after something like that? Where are you?” She sucked in a breath. “Oh, God, you’re not in the hospital, are you?”

      “Not anymore.”

      “Not anymore? Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

      Elise switched the phone to her other hand and wiped her clammy palm against the seat of her jeans. “I was hoping you’d say that. There’s more to the story.”

      A lot more to the story. She caught sight of Detective Brody’s head as he clambered onto a rock, his tie dancing over his shoulder in the breeze.

      “I don’t need a ride, but I was hoping I could crash at your place for a night or two. Your brother’s out of town again, and I don’t feel like staying in the house alone.”

      “Absolutely. Do you have your car?”

      “I do. Are you home now? I’ll drive over.”

      “I’m not home. I’m shopping, and I was going to grab some lunch. Why don’t you meet me for lunch?”

      “I can do that. Where?”

      “I’m at Union Square. How about Chinatown?”

      “I don’t know how I’m ever going to find parking there, but I’ll give it a try. Han Ting’s?”

      “I’ll meet you there at around one o’clock. Is that enough time for you?”

      Elise agreed to the time and ended the call. She held the phone out to the woman. “Thank you.”

      “No problem.”

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