And so far, I loved all my neighbors. How often did that happen?

I watched as Robin checked that the front door was still locked. A minute later, I could hear her fiddling around in the kitchen.

While she was gone I had another troubling vision of Abraham dying in front of me and felt more disturbed than ever. I wondered how I was supposed to sleep, tonight or ever again.

I tried to feel some pleasure and satisfaction that Ian had singled me out to restore the Faust. But at what cost? I hated that Abraham and I had repaired our friendship only to have him die in my arms.

At that moment, I vowed that I wouldn’t rest easy until I’d brought his killer to justice. Even if the police never found the bastard, I swore I would track him down and make him pay.

Robin returned with a small plate of cheese, crackers and olives.

“Hey, thanks.”

“I know you were dreaming of Chinese food, but this will be healthier.”

I acknowledged the truth with a grunt and a sip of wine as she cruised back to the front window and checked the street scene below. A few seconds later, I heard her gasp.

“What’s wrong?”

She whipped around. “Don’t panic. But Derek Stone followed us home.”

I almost choked on my wine. “What’re you talking about?”

“Did I stutter? Brooklyn, the man followed us home.”

“What-why?”

“Because he got lost? Because he’s a jerk? Because he’s a serial killer? Never mind. Come here and see for yourself. That’s his car parked across the street.”

I jumped off the high chair and turned the lights out, then joined her at the window. She’d pulled the curtain back so I could stare out at the well-lighted street. A couple was just leaving Pho Kim, the Vietnamese restaurant across the street. I ate there all the time. Incredible prawns and Bahn Hoi to die for, but that probably wasn’t relevant just now.

I watched two people staring at the display in the window of the Afro-Pop Bookstore. A woman walked her dog nearby. It was a comfortable, diverse neighborhood where people walked and shopped and lived and worked and generally didn’t worry about strange men sitting alone in ridiculously expensive cars.