Page 112 of Last Girls Alive

“Get a good night’s sleep, okay? I don’t know what’s going on with your cases, but I can see that it’s wearing on you.”

She nodded. “I’m going to bed in a few minutes.”

He kissed her again and headed toward his truck. “Talk to you in the morning.”

“Talk to you then,” she said and slowly closed the door.

Katie stood for a moment listening to the quietness and then she heard Chad’s truck start up, headlights pierced through the blinds, and then he backed down the driveway, the lights slowly dwindling.

She knew that she had missed two sessions with Dr. Carver and that wasn’t the way she wanted it to be. Dr. Carver had expressed that she sensed extra tension and anxiousness so she wanted to talk to Katie more than twice a month. Her work, Chad, and all the recent drama had taken up every minute. But still—she felt guilty—that was the way it had to be… for now.

“It’s bedtime,” she said to Cisco. “C’mon.”

The dog jumped off the couch and followed Katie as she turned off the lights and secured the doors.

After going through her evening ritual, Katie tumbled into bed and fell asleep within minutes. Her dreams were tame. No victims begging for help. No crime scenes needing attention. Just sleep.

Rapid knocking at the front door woke Katie out of a deep sleep. At first she thought it was in her dream, but the knocking continued as she groggily became more awake.

Cisco barked and stood in the doorway of her bedroom. His tail low. A guttural growl. His body tense.

She had left her phone in the kitchen and couldn’t see her security cameras. The knocking continued. Glancing at her alarm clock, she had only been asleep for forty-five minutes. Pulling on a robe, Katie secured her sash and rummaged in her nightstand drawer until she pulled out a gun. Readying it, she moved quietly through the house, leaving all lights off. She used a hand gesture to Cisco and he shadowed her in silence, blending in with the darkness.

Peeking out the window, Katie didn’t see any car and wondered who had so boldly knocked on her door at night. It wasn’t Chad because he would have had his truck.

She stood next to her door and turned on the outside light. “Who is it?” she said with authority.

“Candace,” came the unexpected reply.

Katie took a moment to comprehend. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry, Detective, but I had no other place to go.”

“Bleib,” she instructed Cisco to stay.

Katie opened the door. Candace stood there in the same clothes she had been wearing during their scuffle in the rain at the park. She had a lightweight beige backpack slung over her right shoulder.

“How did you find where I lived?”

“I… I have been following you.”

“Of course,” she said with some cynicism. “You have my number. Why didn’t you call me?”

“I did. It went to voicemail.”

“Oh.” Katie remembered that she was charging her phone.

“Is there something wrong?” Katie didn’t know what else to say.

“May I come in?” the girl asked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please can I crash here tonight?”

Katie blinked in surprise, realizing that she probably didn’t have anywhere to go.

“Please, just for a little while. I can’t get ahold of anyone I know here. They just let me go tonight and it’s late.”