“Me, too.”

Her smile faded. “You know what’s awful?”

“What’s that?”

“I was too flipped out to put on shoes. My feet are filthy. I hate that.”

“I’m sorry. As soon as we talk to the police you can shower everything away.”

She giggled. I wasn’t sure why. It was a sweet sound-or it would’ve been, if not for the fact that Robin rarely giggled like that for no reason. Was this just another way of dealing with the stress and shock? Or was she coming unglued?

I couldn’t say it to her face, but I was going to need her to snap out of this soon. I couldn’t take it when she wasn’t strong and firing on all cylinders. It was as if the balance of power in the universe was askew, and I didn’t like that one bit. And when had this become all about me and my wants and needs?

Robin rested her head against the couch, and I felt my eyes mist up as I contemplated the hell she’d be going through over the next few days.

Derek slowed the elegant black Bentley, then pulled into an available parking space two doors down from Robin’s flat on Elizabeth Street. The police had not arrived yet.

I got out of the car and stared up at Robin’s building, wondering what the police would see when they got inside. Everything looked deceptively calm and quiet from here, but I knew that wouldn’t be the case for long.

The Noe Valley duplex was designed in the classic San Francisco style, with a small two-door garage on the street and a set of stairs on the side that led up to a wide outdoor landing with two doors. One door opened into Robin’s flat on the second floor, and the other door opened to another set of stairs that led up to her neighbors’ apartment on the third floor.

Robin’s friends Gilbert and Sharon lived upstairs. They all had access to a tiny rooftop patio, where they’d thrown a number of legendary parties. The view looking out toward Twin Peaks was a great perk.

Robin liked to claim that Noe Valley, with its upscale urban professional population, had more baby strollers than humans. It was a scary statistic, if true. But I think she had a tendency to exaggerate the facts after being clipped in the ankle one too many times while out walking.