“Hey, Soph, it’s Melanie. It’s Tuesday night…well, Wednesday morning really, about a quarter after twelve. Got your message, tried to reach you, but now I guess I’m going to sleep. I’ll try you in the morning. But…um, if it’s really an emergency, you can call anytime. I’m home now, okay? Bye.”

It worried her that she couldn’t reach Sophie. She threw the rest of the arroz con pollo into the trash, then double-locked the service door off the kitchen. In the foyer she double-bolted the front door and put the chain on. Turning out lights behind her, she went to her room and snuggled beneath the covers, leaning over to snap off her bedside lamp.

The second the lights went out, she knew she wouldn’t sleep that night. She lay there, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. You never get true dark in a New York City bedroom without blackout shades, which she didn’t have. Dim bluish gray light filtered through the drawn blinds, allowing her to see just well enough to set her nerves on edge. Familiar pieces of furniture seemed to loom at her like attackers. Every creak from the old walls echoed in her ears like footsteps.

The sudden shrieking of the phone on her bedside table startled her. Heart racing, hands shaking, she grabbed for the receiver and nearly dropped it.

“He-hello?” she said, breathing rapidly.

Dead silence on the other end.

“Hello? Hello? Who’s there?” she asked, a tremor in her voice. She could hear someone breathing, then a click, and the line went dead.

Now she was really scared. She sat up and looked at her digital clock. Jesus, it was almost one o’clock in the morning. Who would call her and hang up at this hour? The caller ID was lit up in the dark room; it read “Private Number.” It couldn’t have been Steve. Or Sophie. They would never hang up like that. Slice? Light-headed with fear, she sat paralyzed on the edge of her bed for a long time, afraid to breathe, watching the red numbers change on the clock. She couldn’t even bring herself to get up and turn on the light. She knew this feeling too well. Years of it. Insomnia, terror. After her father was gone, when she was still living in that same apartment with her mother and sister. Not like Bushwick had gotten any safer. Every night, lying awake in the top bunk listening to Linda breathe, thinking about the office downstairs, the place where it happened. Wondering when that animal would come back.

IT WAS NEARLY ONE-THIRTY WHEN MELANIE GAVE in and dialed Dan O’Reilly’s pager number from the phone on her bedside table. She couldn’t handle the anxiety any longer. He called back immediately.

“You’re still awake,” she said, relieved. She got under the covers, pressing the receiver to her ear in the darkness. It felt good to lie down.

“Melanie?”

“Yes.”

“I almost didn’t return the beep. I didn’t recognize the number. We need a beeper code, you know.” His voice was low and husky. She wondered if he’d been sleeping or if that was just how he always sounded late at night.

“Beeper code? Isn’t that for drug dealers?” she asked.

“Nah, it’s for anybody who uses pagers a lot. That way you can beep me to any number and I’ll know it’s you. This is your home phone, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not sleeping? Because your lights are out.”

“I’m in bed, but I couldn’t sleep. How do you know my lights are out?”

“Really? You’re lying in bed right now, while we’re talking?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“But I couldn’t sleep. Listen, I beeped you because I’m scared.”

“Where’s your husband?”

“Mmm, traveling.”

A flirtatious note crept into her voice despite her best intentions. Lying in the dark, overwrought, terrified, she was too weak to fight it. Talking to him made her feel so much better. She curled and uncurled her toes under the blanket.

“He left you all alone?” Dan said. “A very foolish man.”

Her heart raced, in an exciting way this time. She should hang up. But what the heck, they were just talking, right? What harm could it do?

“Yeah, well, anyway, I’m by myself. I got scared of Slice coming after me. I figured I’d call so you could tell me I shouldn’t worry.”

“You shouldn’t worry.”

“Why shouldn’t I worry? I have good reason to, don’t I?”

“Because I’m sitting right out here in front of your house, watching the door.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. I dropped you off before and never left. Think I’m gonna take a chance on you ending up looking like Jed Benson?”

“You’re really in front of my building?”

“Yes, ma’am, and the service entrance is visible from here, too. So nobody can get in without me seeing.”

“You’ve been sitting there all this time? You’re crazy!” It moved her deeply, that he would spend his own time watching out for her like that.

“What’s the big deal? Sitting up all night in my car is what I do for a living. Besides, after what happened tonight, this is probably the best spot to catch the bad guy.”

She laughed breathlessly. “Oh, thanks a lot! You’ll give me nightmares.”

“I don’t wanna give you nightmares. Only sweet dreams. Hey, think you’ll dream about me?” His voice as he asked the question was endearingly nervous, as if he feared he’d gone too far. He had gone too far, and it surprised her. Could he really be interested in her like that? Wow. But if he was, she really shouldn’t lead him on.

“Dream about you? We only met this morning,” she said.

“Huh, that’s right! We only met this morning. It’s funny, I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. Do you feel that, too?”

“Well, it’s been a long day. So in a way, it has been a long time.” She yawned, exhaustion catching up to her. “Listen, I should get to sleep.”

“Don’t hang up. We can just talk until you fall asleep.”

“What, and leave my phone off the hook? I can’t do that.” What if Steve called and couldn’t get through? Hah, it would serve him right! But really, how would she explain it? Didn’t she have enough problems?

“You really know how to shut a guy down, you know that?” Dan said. But she could hear a smile in his voice.

“Good night, Agent O’Reilly,” she said, unable to resist smiling herself.

“Wait, don’t go,” he said. “What’s your favorite number?”

“Um, I don’t know. Seven? Why?”

“Lucky seven. I like that, too. So that’s our code. If you feel scared, you beep me, put a seven in, and I’ll rush up there and rescue you, okay?”

“Okay. So are you really gonna sit there all night?”

“I was planning to.”

“Didn’t we agree we would go to Otisville first thing, so we’d have time to interview Delvis Diaz before Rosario ’s grand-jury testimony?”

“Yeah, so? I was gonna pick you up at your office at eight. But I’ll just pick you up here instead.”

“But then you won’t get any sleep. You won’t even have a chance to shower.”

“You’re a very high-maintenance girl. Expect a guy to sit up protecting you all night and still find time to shower and shave and show up looking fresh as a daisy.”

She giggled. “I have high standards. We’ll have to see if you measure up.”

“Okay, then. I guess once it’s light, I better head home for some grooming.”

“Seriously, you should go home. I’m fine, really. I feel better now that we talked.” Now, why did she say that? She didn’t want him to leave. She felt so much safer knowing he was out there. But she had to put a stop to this. Every second they talked was drawing them closer, and she felt it.

“I feel better, too,” he was saying. “It’s good. Talking to you, I mean.”

“So you’ll go home?”

“I’ll hang out till I’m sure it’s safe. Then I’ll go clean up and pick you up at your office at eight. Me and Randall, okay?”

“Okay.” They were both silent for a moment. She didn’t want to hang up any more than he did, but she’d make herself do it. “Hey,” she said.