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“Yes, I hear you. I’m right here, Cody.” From sounding like she was drowning too, in obvious panic, only two seconds ago, Cody now heard the cool and controlled tone of the unshakeable lawyer. “Meet me at the docks,” Kim requested. “I think she’ll be there.”

“I’ll meet you at home,” Cody retorted. “Wait for me.”

“Can’t, I’m already driving.”

“For God’s sake, Kim—”

“It’s okay, just come quick.”

Cody pulled on her boots and rushed out the door, down the stairs of her apartment building.

“It’s two-thirty A.M., Kim,” she reminded her. “The docks aren’t safe at this time. At least wait for me in your car when you get there. You got that?”

Another silence greeted her words.

“Kim!” Cody growled.

“She’s under the bridge.” Again, her voice wobbled.

As she jumped in her car and shot out of the underground garage, Cody got the real sense that she may be in and out of a vision. Definitely not in control. From what she had observed the other day, it would be like being drunk, or even worse, under the influence of a powerful drug.

“Stay on the phone with me,” she instructed.

“Cassie… She’s so cold. So afraid!”

“I’m on my way there now.”

“There’s no time. I have to help her!”

“Kim, listen to me.” Cody spoke in a calm voice, hoping to get through to her as she flicked on her emergency lights. At theupcoming junction, she slowed down just enough to check that the way was clear, then blew through the traffic light on red at sixty mph. “Do not go walking outside on your own, okay? Wait for me. I’ll be with you in ten minutes.”Quicker if I can.“Kim? Are you still with me?”

But Cody found herself talking to silence.Shit!She kept her line open and just dropped the phone onto her lap to be able to grip the wheel in both hands. She kept her foot down and overtook a slow-moving delivery truck. It was a good thing the streets were almost empty at this time of the morning, but also not surprising, given the fact that she was racing away from the heart of the city. The docks were part of a large industrial area on the west side of town. Many construction and manufacturing companies were headquartered there. As such, it was not inherently a dangerous part of the city, and the bridge that Kim mentioned, no longer in use, would be a helpful landmark to help locate her. At the same time, it was also a clear marker of a much more dangerous zone. In recent years, the area around and under the bridge had turned into an unofficial campground for the destitute. Long-term homeless people built their own encampments. Thanks to the mayor’s shocking Laissez-Faire attitude, which was nothing short of criminal as far as Cody was concerned, the whole place had become a slum that existed outside of the system. Cops rarely ventured into ‘Docktown,’ as it was known, unless it was for a sanctioned bust, with lots of guns and plenty of backup. The place attracted addicts and interested dealers. Prostitutes, either daring or desperate, on the hunt for a beneficial hook-up, along with their sordid clients. And the odd murderer after a spot to dump a body; Cody knew this last one from another case she had worked. Would Cassie Winters be discovered here tonight? She picked up her phone again.

“Kim, can you hear me?”

Unnervingly, there was only silence on the open line. Cody raced toward the bridge in the distance, keeping a keen eye out for the woman. The only other car in sight was a white Model S, parked close to the chain link fence on the open side of the road. A former defense lawyer seemed like the type to drive a Tesla. Cody also knew it wasn’t likely to remain untouched for long in this area. She stopped next to it and jumped out of her own unmarked Subaru, leaving the red and blue grille lights on. As soon as she started to advance under the bridge, the signs of people living there were obvious. Tents, cardboard dwellings, and all manner of creative shelters were erected along the sides. She clocked three men, sat in front of a fire burning inside a metal drum. Two of them had their eyes closed, leaning against a piling. The third one was busy pushing a syringe needle into his forearm. He looked up when Cody walked past, staring expressionless into her eyes while he injected his poison. His mouth soon went slack, and he, too, slumped against the concrete piling. She kept going, every sense on alert, and with her right hand lightly on the butt of her weapon. Gravel crunched under her feet. People could be heard talking in the distance, and even the odd bark of laughter. A woman’s voice sounded.

‘I need my fucking pills, Jimmy!’

Rough. Angry. Definitely not Kim. Damn! Where was she? Cody moved the beam of her flashlight, catching bits and pieces of the same sort of thing. More shabby tents, piles of trash lying around, the signs of down-on-their-luck humans who had given up on hope. Desperation hung in the air like a cloud of dust.

“Kim?” she allowed herself to call.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Her weapon was in her hand before the words even fully registered in her brain, and she swung around to face whatever threat may be there.

“Whoa,” the woman half-laughed and half-shrieked. “Take it easy, stranger. I’m no threat to ya.”

Taking the measure of her, Cody realized it was probably true. At first glance, the woman looked as old as time. Missing her two front teeth and with tanned leathery skin, she was dressed in cut-off jeans, unlaced sneakers, and a dirty T-shirt. In spite of her feral appearance, her blue eyes shone surprisingly bright in her ancient face. Cody slowly re-holstered her weapon.

“Hey,” she nodded. “How’s it going?”

“Good! I didn’t mean to scare you, friend, but you really shouldn’t draw attention to yourself around here.” As her gaze fell on her badge, the tip of the woman’s tongue darted out to touch her top lip. “Don’t you know it’s not wise for an agent of the law to be here alone?”

“I’m not alone,” Cody replied, thinking it wouldn’t hurt for her, or anyone else listening, to believe that. “I’m looking for a woman. Dark-skinned, golden-brown eyes, black curly hair.”

“She doesn’t belong here.”