"Am I back early?"

Nancy's secretary looked up from her desk. "I expected you back tomorrow."

"That would explain the lack of filing," Nancy said wryly, pointing at an unsteady pile of papers on the desk as she unlocked her office. "Anything come up while I was gone?"

"A policeman in River Heights would like to speak to you. He didn't mention any speeding tickets, so I'm guessing it's business related."

"If that's the only thing, I'll head there. I won't be available after 1 today."

Nancy pointed her car back down the familiar street after she'd stopped for a chat with her old friend Chief McGinnis. The house stood with a few more feet of ivy on the trellis, a few more varieties of flower in the yard. Occupied by another family now. Her father had remarried and moved to a house a few streets over; Hannah lived in Chicago with one of her sisters.

She stopped for a second, finger against her lower lip. She hadn't been here in ages.

A few blocks past her house, there was the house still occupied by Bess's parents. George's parents were still a block down from that.

She stared at it a few more minutes and saw a mother and daughter emerge, climb into the station wagon in the driveway. Before they could see her she put the car in gear and started the drive back to Chicago.

"So how was he?" Ned pulled back Nancy's chair.

She was glad she had decided on the pale blue silk blouse and white linen skirt. She hadn't expected to be eating here, an upscale restaurant where she usually took her more fortunate clients.

"He was good," Nancy nodded across the table, her face lit by candlelight. "He's confident that he's found everything, and I'll be seeing him twice a week. I was just curious as to why you'd be able to recommend a psychoanalyst who knows hypnosis. Did you call in a favor or something? I heard he has a waiting list for two years."

Ned shrugged. "What can I say, I just know people."

She raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should come over to my line of work."

Ned smiled at her for a long moment, in which she could feel her heart like a painful weight in her chest, and then looked down at his menu. "I've never had the chance to try the salmon here."

"It's excellent," she told him. She took a sip from her water glass.

After they had placed their orders and she had approved of his wine choice, he sat back.

"So what are we doing here?" she asked, propping her chin on her hand.

He shrugged. "Getting to know each other again."

"Tell me what you do in a day."

"Drive to work—"

"In your Jaguar," she interjected, smiling.

He nodded. "Juggle some paperwork, supervise a few of my middle managers, whom I have selected for their lack of babysitting need."

Nancy nodded and took a sip of the wine. "Sounds like my operatives."

"You have operatives?"

She smiled. "Everyone needs a lazy Saturday now and then."

He shook his head, grinning to himself. "Go out with the guys and drink some nights."

"Until you're drunk?"

"Not so much anymore."

"All Emerson boys?"

He nodded. "Not all, but a lot. Guys from management school like me. Play some pool, maybe poker night since I have the sweet bachelor pad."

She raised an eyebrow. "From what I remember I could wipe the floor with you."

He leaned forward. "Just try it, little missy."

A bottle of wine later, Ned stopped with the keys in the ignition of his car.

"You cool to drive?" she asked, elbow against the window.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm fine."

She smiled. "Want to go for ice cream or something?"

"Maybe a diet soda after that meal." He smiled as she burst into laughter.

"Oh come on. We can split a sundae."

Their spoons bumped as Nancy scooped up the last piece of banana. She smiled. "You have some chocolate..." she murmured, then reached over and swiped it off the corner of his mouth, then licked her finger.

He stared at her a little too long before he dropped his gaze and his spoon. "Now I'm going to explode," he announced.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I had fun tonight," she said.

"I did too."

She looked down, a half smile on her face, and dropped her spoon, then swiped her mouth with her napkin. "Bet all my lipstick's gone now."

He studied her lips. "Is it a bad thing that I can't tell?"

She laughed. "Do you work tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "I have a meeting in the middle of the morning that I have to make it to. Why, want to have lunch or something? Lunch usually isn't a problem."

She looked at him, then ducked her head again. "Lunch would be nice."

He glanced at his watch. "Wow. Yeah, we really have to get out of here."

She smiled up at him as he walked with her to the door of her apartment building. "Thanks. For everything."

Ned grinned. "Everything. That would be a lot of thanks."

"For putting up with me," she amended.

"Just like riding a bicycle." He stretched his arms over his head. "Thanks for coming."

They stopped at the door and Nancy bit her lip. "Want to come up?"

Ned looked down at his watch again for a long moment. "I really shouldn't, Nan."

"Just for a second."

He met her eyes steadily. "I—"

"Look, you're parked in the thirty-minute parking, okay? Why would I tell you that if I wanted to take you upstairs and seduce you?"

He half-smiled. "Because you know it doesn't take that long. All right..."

She grinned and held the door open for him.

"You can sit down," she called from the other room.

She'd taken one look around and made him stand out in the hall for five of the thirty minutes as she hurriedly tidied the living room. After loosening his tie, he eyed a stack of magazines she had piled under the coffee table, then tilted it so he could read the title of an article.

"You're interested in bigger tomato plants?"

Hands on her hips, eyebrow raised, she stood in the doorway of the living room in a camisole and printed cotton pants. The sight of it made his mouth dry. She didn't seem to notice, as she came over to the couch and sat down, indian-style, at the other end.

"Not particularly," he admitted.

"So what do you think?"

He shrugged. His tie hung loose around his neck. She reached out and grabbed one end, then pulled it off. He reached out and took it back, then rolled it up and put it in his jacket pocket.

"It's nice."

"Not as nice as your place, I bet." She was grinning.

"Wow, you recover quick." He half-smiled, sitting on the edge of his seat, his palms flat on the cushions next to him.

"Ned..."

"Nan, I'm sorry," he said, half-rising. "I just..."

"You won't." Her voice was so quiet he had to strain to hear it, over the humming of the fish tank in the corner. "For five weeks more you won't."

He sank back down onto her couch. "Okay," he breathed.

"Stay with me tonight," she whispered.

"Without...?"

She nodded. "I didn't sleep at all last night."

He held her eyes steadily, then tilted his head. "I'll be right back."

"You will?"

He turned back to face her as he opened the door. "Gotta move my car. Let me back in when I buzz?"

She reached over to the table and tossed her key to him. "This better?"

When he opened the door ten minutes later, the couch was empty. The room was dim save the light in the fish tank and a lamp near the fireplace. He walked through and found her in the kitchen, sipping a glass of water.

"Gotta keep hydrated."

She smiled at him, then looked down. "Are you happy to see me, Mr. Nickerson?"

He followed her gaze. "I keep it in the trunk all the time."

"Other girlfriends?" Her tone tried to be light, but failed.

"It's useful when I get stranded somewhere," he replied quietly. "Like after a poker game."

She nodded, then turned away. "Find a parking spot okay?"

"Took me a minute. Hey," he said, and when she turned he tossed her keys back. "I guess you wouldn't know whether your couch is comfortable."

"Actually, it is."

"Had a lot of houseguests?"

She shook her head. "I've slept there before. Fell asleep watching TV."

He smiled thinly. "All right, then."

Nancy took another sip of water. "You can change in my bathroom."

Ned jerked awake and groped on the nightstand for his watch, then pressed the button and read the glowing face. He slumped back down to the mattress and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Can't sleep either?"

Ned looked over at her, saw her eyes gleaming in the darkness. Her face was wet.

He had started a conversation with her, one he hadn't meant to last as long as it did. He'd kept glancing at her bedside alarm clock, watching the time, and then she had been under the covers still talking to him and he'd stretched out on top of the comforter, and he'd just rested his eyes a minute. A long minute.

He didn't question it now. He didn't fight it. He reached over and took her into his arms as she stifled a sob.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be sorry," he whispered, burying his face against her scalp. "Shh."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Her entire upper body was tense, her arms folded up against her chest, and she nestled up against him.

"Nan, it's all right."

"It's not."

"Shhhh..." He rubbed his hand over her back in slow circles. "Nan, it'll be all right."

She looked up at him. "I can't sleep," she whispered. "I put a chair under the doorknob and take three showers a day and I have the best locks money can buy, unbreakable, this place is like a damn fortress, Ned..."

"He's not coming back." He tilted her face back and kissed her ear, her cheekbone, the corner of her mouth. "He's not coming back. He's not. And if I have to kill him with my bare hands to make you stop crying..."

They reached at the same time for her cheek, and she closed her hand over his as she laughed. "Would you do that?"

"Maybe in a week it will be better."

Nancy closed her eyes and drew a trembling breath. "No," she whispered.

He curved his fingers behind her head, traced his thumb over her cheek, then leaned his forehead against hers. "I want you to be better," he whispered. "I want you to be okay again."

"What if I'm never okay again?"

He closed his eyes. "I can't stop loving you. I've tried."

She searched his face. "I'm so tired," she whispered.

"Go to sleep," he whispered, nestling against her, his eyes still closed.

"Will you stay with me?"

He opened one eye. "Sure you set the alarm?"

She nodded.

He closed his eye again and tightened his arms around her. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she replied.

He opened both his eyes. "Do you know how long it's been since you've said that?"

She sighed. "Yeah."

He leaned down and tilted his head, and she reached up around his neck. He breathed in her breath and she kissed him, slow, then harder. She broke it off and he leaned back into her, "More, shh," slow...

She gasped as she broke away again. "No," she whispered.

He ran a hand over her back. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "Nan, last time we were like this..."

She shook her head desperately. "This isn't like that time. You can't touch me. They're going to..."

When she trailed off and looked away, he took her chin in his hand and forced her gaze back to his. "They're going to what?"

"Run a pregnancy test..." Her eyes were wet again.

"You mean..."

She raked a hand through her hair. "I've been on the pill all this time. Ever since you and I..."

He sighed with relief. "So it's just in case?"

She nodded. "But... I can't... do that right now. I just can't."

"Shhh." He ran his hand over her hair as he held her tight again. "I've waited five years. I can wait a few more weeks."

"Miss Drew, someone..."

Nancy opened the door to her inner office. She was shaking hands with a slender girl who had wavy brown hair, and smiling. The client nodded to Ned as she passed through, and Ned returned the look with a smile before turning his attention to Nancy. She was incredibly skillful with makeup; the faint rings he had noticed that morning were smoothed away by her eye makeup, and her outfit was impeccable.

"He doesn't have an appointment," the secretary said, replacing the receiver.

"That's all right." Nancy reached behind her, flipped off the lights, and locked her office door. "I'll be back after lunch."

Ned offered her his arm as they walked downstairs. "My car this time?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "What, does it have a bigger backseat?" He laughed when she smacked him.

She leaned back after demolishing most of her salad. "How has your day been?"

He shrugged, wiping his mouth. "I have to go back in after we finish here. They might want me to go to Paris for a few days and smooth out some wrinkles in a business deal, but I'll see if I can talk them out of it."

"Why?" she asked, propping her head on her hand.

He was quiet for a minute. "Because I'm worried about you."

She smiled, then shook her head. "I'll be fine. Really. It's only a few days, anyway."

"I'll at least ask them if they can't put it off a month."

"That will make you look bad. Just go, Ned."

"It won't make me look bad. There are three other people who could go..."

"Do you want me to be honest with you?"

He nodded. "Always."

"I know I'm asking too much of you. I know that I've been doing that for a long time now—" she gave a self-depricating chuckle.

"Nancy, you've never asked for more than I was willing to give."

She met his eyes again. "What I'm trying to say is that... I want us to have a relationship. A good relationship. Where we talk and do things together and have fun. And there's a lot of stuff that we need to talk about before we can even think about that again. Like whether you're even interested in pursuing a relationship with me. Whether you think it would even be worth it, now..."

He reached over the table and laced his fingers between hers. "Why do you think I followed you?"

Her eyes were shining. "I don't want to be a burden on you."

"You're not."

"You talk about me having my own life. You have your own life now too. Poker night and going abroad and hanging out with people I've never met. Five years' worth of things I don't know about you."

"You know all the important things."

"But..." she looked away, and sighed. "We can talk about the rest of this later. But you should go to Paris."

His grip on her hand tightened. "Nan, let me make this decision."

"You can call me from there at bedtime. Sing me to sleep."

"You won't sleep if I'm not with you."

She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, so her tears would not leak from her eyes and spill onto her mascara. "Please do this," she whispered. "If I stop you from doing things then you're going to start hating me."

"Nan, I won't..."

She shook her head. "Don't say it."

"I don't want to leave you," he said firmly.

"I don't want you to leave me. But I want this to be right. Do this for me, okay? This is what I want."

"For me to call you while I'm there? And when I come back, to sleep on your couch?"

She nodded. "Sleep on my couch. Or in my bed if we can be good. And we can talk about everything."

"I love you," he whispered. "What else is there to talk about?"

"If you tell me to stay right now I'll call them and tell them I can't go, Nancy."

She could barely breathe, she was crying so hard and he was holding her so tightly. But she shook her head. "No," she whispered. "You have to go."

He glanced at his watch. The taxi was waiting downstairs. She was still in her nightgown, about to get ready to go to work, and he had to leave for the airport in the next five minutes if he wanted to make it in time. He wanted to just let the time slip away.

Instead he leaned back to see her, pushed her hair out of her face. "I will be back no later than Thursday," he said, reminding her. He leaned down and kissed her. She tasted like salt from her tears. "I will call you when I get there. And then again at bedtime. And then..."

"When you wake up in the morning," she finished. She reached up and kissed him again. "When you break for lunch."

He nodded. "Are you sure?"

She drew in a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes. Go. The sooner you leave the sooner you'll get back." She tried to smile brightly, but her lips were trembling. "Go," she whispered. Then she shoved him away and hurried into the bathroom, and he heard the door lock behind her.

Once she heard him leave, after she had bathed her bloodshot red-rimmed eyes in cold water to help the swelling go down, she opened the door and almost doubled over again.

There on the bed Ned had placed an enormous teddy bear, almost as big as Nancy's entire torso. Soft, too; she traced her fingers over its fur. She buried her face in it and told herself sternly not to cry.

Her cell phone rang when she was in the middle of a conference. Nancy glanced at the caller ID. "I'm sorry, I was expecting an international call," she murmured, excusing herself to her private restroom.

"Hey."

"Hey," he said. "The flight wasn't too bad. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. The bear... wow. That was great."

He chuckled. "I thought you might like it. Something to wrap your arms around while I'm not there."

She laughed. "So have you had a chance to meet with anyone yet?"

"Actually, I'm just calling a taxi. But I should know more in a few hours. You gonna be busy then?"

"Are you joking? If I were talking to the Pope I'd still take your call."

"Tell me what you named your fish," he said through his yawn.

"Philip and Linda," Nancy replied. She pulled the pan off the eye of the stove and waited for her stir-fried vegetables to cool down. "Ned, go to sleep."

"I told you, I can't sleep."

"You just yawned. You have to be jet-lagged."

"I'm fine."

She smiled. "I have the television on, I'm about to eat dinner, your teddy bear is waiting for me on my bed. Though I doubt he'll appreciate my nightgown as much as you would."

He growled. "You have to wait until I'm a continent away to tease me, don't you."

"The doc gave me a relaxation tape. I'm going to try it tonight."

"So you won't hear me if I call?"

"I'll put the phone on vibrate and sleep with it."

"Like that image won't keep me awake for hours now."

She chuckled. "Go to sleep, Ned."

"Promise me that you'll call me if you wake up."

"I promise," she murmured.

"All right. I love you."

"I love you too," she said, and replaced the receiver, her eyes shining. She rubbed them as she removed the cover from a pot of rice and stirred it, the steam billowing up above her stove.

She picked at her bowl of rice and vegetables as she stared blankly at the television. Midway through her meal, before she gave up on eating entirely, she went back into her bedroom and grabbed an afghan and the teddy bear.

The phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey Nan."

"Hey Bess, how are you doing?" Nancy muted the television with the remote and settled back on the couch.

"Not too bad. You haven't seen Madison yet, have you?"

Nancy shook her head. "Not yet. Is she ready to leave the house yet, or you want me to come over there?"

"Actually I was going to bring her up to the city tomorrow around lunchtime, while Stephanie's still at preschool. Doing anything?"

"Not a thing. Nothing I'd like better than to gossip over lunch."

Bess laughed. "Good old Nan. All right. I'll drop by your office... elevenish?"

"That sounds great. Have a good night."

"You too."

"Sure I remember that case." Bess settled her newborn in the high chair, made sure she was supported, then looked back at Nancy. "What, did you run into the hottie again?"

Nancy pulled a slice of pizza off the pie, watching the strings of cheese stretch. "Not quite. More like I went back to the island."

"On a holiday? Man, you should have invited me. Though I still need to lose another ten pounds before I'll try to wear that bikini again." Bess rubbed her stomach, eyeing the pizza over her own salad.

"No. I went back there to see Jean."

"Because of Ned?"

Nancy shook her head. "Jean called me back there."

Bess dropped her fork. "All right. I give up. Go ahead and spill it, Drew."

Nancy explained everything that had happened, leaving out bits she didn't think Bess necessarily needed to know or cared to hear about in the middle of a restaurant. When she was finished, Bess took a long swig off her soda.

"So the doctor says you're cured. Of the hypnotic stuff."

"He's pretty sure I am. Right now I'm just going to therapy with him."

"Damn." Bess shook her head. "And Ned..."

Nancy's phone rang, and she raised an eyebrow. "Speak of the devil... hey there."

"How are things on the other side of the pond?"

"Just having lunch with Bess."

"And here I was thinking I was your only friend." Ned chuckled. "That's nice. How's she doing?"

"Pretty well. How are you doing?"

She could feel his shrug. "All right. I'm trying to speed things up as much as I can, but you know... snack break every ten minutes, it seems like. Looks like it'll still be Thursday."

"As long as you wrap things up by then. The bear's great but he's not you."

"All right. I'll call you later, okay? They're pretending that they want to discuss things again."

"All right. Love you."

"Love you too, babe."

Bess arched an eyebrow as Nancy replaced the phone. "Bear?"

"He bought me this enormous stuffed bear before he left."

Bess shook her head. "I don't care how many issues you have. I give it... three months. Three months before I see you two walking down the aisle again."

Nancy shook her head. "There's no way. But I will guarantee that if it does happen again, you will be there."

"Better darn well invite me. There's another reason to lose ten more pounds, so I can fit back into that dress again."

She exhaled, then rolled over, then flipped over her pillow to feel the cool side. After a minute she sat straight up in bed and ran her fingers through her hair.

Something loose on her balcony. There had to be. She could hear it rattling around.

"One more time," she muttered, tossing the covers back. "One more time. And a glass of water and a television show and then if I'm not asleep Ned I swear I'll call you," she addressed the air in her apartment as she walked out through the kitchen.

The fish tank burbled in the corner; the light above the stove was still on. Nancy retraced her steps from earlier, walked around the table, pulled back the curtain. She unlocked the sliding door and pulled it back, felt the cool pollution-tinged city air wash over her.

A pair of eyes stared into hers. She felt something warm touch her hand.

She sucked in a breath and slammed the door shut, against the arm, heard the gasp of pain. Her bare feet skidded on the kitchen floor as she raced into the living room, scooping the cordless phone off its base before she tugged at the chair she'd wedged under the doorknob of her front door.

Oh God

She dialed 911 and winced as the chair crashed to the floor. "911—"

The hand jerked the phone from her own, holding her arm in a grip like steel. She cried out and heard the receiver beep as the man hung up the phone. She braced herself to kick out at him, but he knocked her feet out from under her, still holding her hand aloft. She filled her lungs with air, preparing to scream, but she could only squeak as he slid to the floor behind her, clapped a hand over her mouth, and tilted her head roughly to the side.

"What, you don't want to see me again?" Jean chuckled. He wrapped a leg around her and wrestled her arms behind her, duct-taped them securely, then ripped off another piece with his teeth and placed it over her mouth, holding her jaw shut. "Can't have you trying to scream again."

The phone rang. Nancy listened incredulously as Jean explained to the 911 operator that his toddler was having some fun with the phone and he'd make sure she never did it again. He was even laughing before he hung up.

"Now, Miss Drew, I think it will be for the best if you take a little nap right now. You need your sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

He removed a syringe from his pocket, filled it with some clear liquid she guessed was an anaesthetic, and injected it into her arm. For a minute she thought she'd be fine, that she could fake sleep and somehow get away, but he was duct-taping her ankles and all she could think was that he must not be going to rape her if he was taping her legs together. Then her vision started blurring, and she slumped against the wall.

The last thing she heard was her cell phone ringing.

It's probably nothing. Probably nothing.

Ned had his hands in his pockets. He hadn't bothered to shave that morning, so he blended in rather well with the other Parisian guys he'd seen on his taxi ride over. His leg was jumping. His cuffs were folded up past his forearms.

The white-haired gentleman looked over as he flipped through the binder Ned had prepared, complete with red-pen corrections. He asked in French if Ned needed something to drink.

"No," Ned replied, managing a tight smile. "Merci beaucoup."

As Ned climbed into the taxi, he considered for a second. One change needed to be made, before the closing could take place. He called his assistant on his cell phone.

"Just adjust that last number... yeah, that one. He's finally agreed on five percent. Yeah, I pushed for eight, but... yeah. And no, I won't be able to make it. My flight..."

He hung up the phone and directed the driver to the airport.

Jean, with one arm curled around Nancy's neck to hold the gun against her temple, flipped through the suitcase she had hastily packed. He nodded at the sight of the lingerie. "You left your best at my house, but that's easily corrected," he murmured, sliding the muzzle down her cheek. She shuddered, her face flushed and wet. "We have one last thing to do, darling, before we depart."

The piercing shriek of her buzzer sounded through the apartment. Jean shook his head impatiently. "Don't you have any way to silence that?"

Nancy shook her head mutely.

"All right." He rested a hand on hers. "We've had this talk before. Don't try anything." He fingered the bruise on her cheek. She had tried to feign sleep earlier, and when she'd lashed out he'd responded with the muzzle of the gun.

"What is it?" Her lips were trembling.

"He gave that bear to you, didn't he." Jean gestured at the stuffed animal with his gun hand.

Nancy's gaze shifted and she shook her head.

"You're lying to me." Jean peered into her eyes. "Maybe I should give you a bruise somewhere not so obvious."

"What does it matter?" she asked angrily.

"I prefer you pristine." She squeezed her eyes shut and tears slid out from beneath as he nuzzled against her neck. "It's not like he's had you."

Her fingernails dug into her palms. He gazed at her for a long moment. "All right," he finally said. "We're going to walk over to the desk and you're going to find a sheet of paper. And a pen. Very slowly. Without doing anything stupid."

"But you want me pristine," she spat. "Not with my brains all over the floor."

"Shh," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her. She jerked her face away from his. He shoved her roughly then. "Go on."

She sat down at her desk, pulled open the drawer. He kept his arm bent around her neck as she folded back a spiral-bound notebook and ripped out a sheet, then groped around for a pen. Her fingers were out of his sight under the surface of the desk.

She touched metal. An Exacto knife. She'd used it to forge herself press passes and security clearance badges. Her left fingers groped up to its tip and she removed the plastic blade guard while her right fingers found a pen and clicked it open.

"What do you want me to write," she asked through clenched teeth.

"Write 'I'm sorry, it would never have worked,'" he dictated. "And put your left hand on the desk."

He reached down into his pocket with his left hand and removed the ring he'd wrenched from her finger while she was drugged. Nancy blinked tears from her eyes when she saw it. She had to be able to see clearly. Might be the last thing she'd see clearly, if she didn't pull this off exactly right.

Both of them heard the scratching in the lock at the same time. Jean swiveled her chair around so she was facing the door with him, then shifted the gun so that its muzzle was directly against the base of her neck, where her skull joined her spinal column. Nancy shifted the knife to her right hand, and tugged down her sleeve to cover the glint of the metal. "Don't say a word," Jean hissed as the door opened.

Whatever Ned had been about to murmur in greeting died on his lips as he took in the tableau. He stood with the door still open, and Jean revealed the gun to motion Ned in with it. Ned reached behind him for the doorknob and locked eyes with Nancy.

I love you, she mouthed to him.

Ned had just begun to shake his head when she swung her hand around in an arc, angling it up to strike at Jean's torso as she slid out of the chair, away from his grasp. She screamed and he released his grip on her in surprise. She felt the blade meet skin and dragged it down. He gasped and she pulled her fist back and struck him again with it. Ned ran forward, wrapped Jean in a wrestler's hold and batted the gun away from his increasingly slackening fingers.

Nancy was still screaming incoherently. She raised both hands above her head, the knife dripping Jean's blood onto the hardwood floor. Her knees were bent, her face red with rage and anger.

"Nancy," Ned called out. "Nancy. It's okay. Call 911."

She stared at him for a moment. Her hands lowered to the ground, still clenched around the knife. Then she dropped it and started crying.

They used the entire roll of duct tape. In the five minutes between her phone call and the arrival of the police, Nancy had bound Jean's feet and hands with Ned's assistance, had kept wrapping tape even when there was no way he could have broken through. Jean's face had gone grey and his shirt was slowly darkening with blood. When Ned glanced at it he kept wondering if he should put ice on the wound, but the thought of helping ease Jean's pain made him shudder.

Ned leaned against the back of the couch with Nancy in his arms. They were both staring at the body on the floor. Nancy's hands fluttered every now and then, still speckled with blood, and he soothed her back down. He reached up and drew her face to his neck.

"Shh, Nan, it's all right."

She sobbed against him, her entire body shaking. He ran his hands up and down her back in slow circles.

"He locked me in the closet," she whispered. "He was going to take me back with him."

"But he didn't," Ned whispered, leaning down to peer into her face.

"He made me write a note to you so you wouldn't follow me." She held up her hand. "He took my ring away..."

Ned followed her gaze to the desk, then slid over the hardwood floor and grabbed it off the top, watching Jean's chest rise and fall as he did so. He handed it back to her and she put it back on.

"I think he slept in my bed."

"Did he touch you—"

She reached up and winced when her fingers touched the bruise on her cheek. "He hit me with the gun. But he didn't sleep with me."

A knock sounded at the door and Nancy shuddered. "Police," a male voice called.