“I already told you what I need.”

“I know, but—”

“Just listen to me. We have to act quickly. Do you understand? It has to be now.”

His urgency took me aback. “Why now? It’s been over two years since you were shot.”

He glanced up at the sky. “The stars have finally aligned. The players have all taken their places.”

Could he have sounded any more cryptic?

“Does that include me?”

“Yes.”

I turned back to the garden, searching the shadows. “And if I refuse to be a part of this?” Whatever this was.

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?” he asked.

Now it was I who fell silent.

“Have you not noticed the dark circles under your eyes? The sunken cheeks? The weight loss? You’re not eating or sleeping. Your energy is waning even as we speak.”

I stared at him in horror. “You’re haunting me?” 

Chapter Three

My heart tripped at the implication of his words. I thought of my stalker, the elusive watcher who had been dogging me for days. Now I understood my lethargy and my insomnia. Fremont’s very presence was draining me of my life force just as Mariama had siphoned my energy earlier. Or had that been Fremont even then?

“You have to help me,” he said.

I gazed down at my trembling hands. “I’m beginning to realize that.”

“As soon as we find him, as soon as justice is served, I’ll leave you in peace.”

“I have your word?” The word of a ghost. That was a new one.

“What reason would I have for lingering?” he asked.

I shuddered to think.

“You said find him. If you were shot in the back, how can you be so sure the killer was a man?”