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“Here,” I say, holding out the towels.

“Thanks,” she says, her voice dry and cold again. She gestures to the bedroom behind me. “Do you mind if we use…?”

“No. Go ahead,” I say, turning out of the way.

Anna reaches downward and Charlotte takes her hand out of instinct. “Come on, let’s go get dried off, honey.”

I give an awkward wave as they pass around me. “I’ll just be… out here.”

The door closes behind them. Again, my body jerks to get my attention and I force a deep breath into my lungs.

I walk to the kitchen and open my fridge in search of the nearest shot of alcohol I can find.

Whiskey. That’ll do.

I take a glass from my cabinet and sit down on my sofa. I can just barely hear Anna’s voice in the other room as I fill my glass. It’s oddly soothing, though a mother’s voice usually is.

But when she comes back out again, I don’t know if she’ll be the calm and soothing mother or the hard-ass detective looking for answers.

With my luck? The latter times a thousand. Maybe it won’t be as bad if I’m half drunk.

I take a drink and wait.

CHAPTER 19

ANNA

Ipull the blanket up and lay it just beneath Charlotte’s chin. “You comfortable?” I ask.

Charlotte nods.

I smile as wide as possible. If I show her how I’m really feeling, she’ll sense there’s something wrong. Kids aren’t stupid. They’re more perceptive than most adults.

I lean over to kiss her forehead. “Go to sleep, okay?”

“Can you leave the light on?”

“Sure, honey. But only if you go to sleep.”

She closes her eyes and I let my smile drop a little. I sit still for a few minutes, watching her little chest rise until it’s safe to move. I ease the stethoscope out of her hand and set it down on the bedside table.

Milo Murray’s bedroom. It’s simple, minimalistic. Black sheets and discount furniture. It doesn’t feel like a home. It feels like a hostel, just somewhere he’s crashing until he moves on to the next place.

I look at the door. Once again, I have questions for Milo Murray.

I step out and ease the door closed, careful not to make a sound.

“How is she?”

I take a deep breath before turning around to Milo on the couch. “She’s confused,” I answer. “But doing okay, all things considered.”

“Good,” he says. “I’m really sorry if I scared her earlier. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure she’ll forget all about it. Never stays scared for too long.”

“Tough kid.”

“It’s how I know she’s mine,” I joke. I eye the booze in his hand. “Got more of that?”