"Talk to the cops? No way!" Camille stood and started an antsy, restless pacing.

Serena frowned. "Why not? You haven't done anything wrong."

"Because . . . because if they come looking for me at my house, my dad will have a fit!" She edged toward the door.

Serena stood. "No, not at your house. You can talk to him here. He's right outside waiting on me to finish up here."

"Here?" Her voice squeaked.

"Camille, what are you so afraid of?"

Camille lifted a hand to her head and burst into tears. Shocked at the overreaction, Serena simply grabbed a tissue from the box on the end table and handed it to Camille.

"I'm sorry. My emotions are just so out of whack these days."

"I hear that's normal."

"Ugh. It's awful."

"So, will you talk to him? Tell him what you saw and everything that happened Thursday night? You could save someone's life."

Camille sniffed. "Save a life? How?"

"We think this person is after a friend of mine and if he-she-catches up to her, she'll hurt her . . . or kill her. We're not sure why she's after her, just that she is."

Camille hesitated, then gave a slow nod. "Okay."

Serena pulled her phone out to call Dominic. When he answered, she said, "Hey, can you come in for a minute? I have someone you need to talk to."

"Sure." She could hear the curiosity in his voice, but he didn't question her. "I'm on the way in."

"I'll let the guard know you're coming."

Camille stood. "I'm going to clean myself up some." She headed down the hall to the bathroom.

Serena walked over to the security officer and told him to let Dominic in. Then she stepped over to the window and looked out. From her vantage point, she could see Dominic climb out of the car and sprint across the parking lot toward the building.

Two minutes later, she felt her phone buzz as he strode down the hall toward her, a question mark on his face. "What's up?"

She looked at her phone and frowned. Then she looked up and answered him. "I had a long talk with Camille. She was definitely the teenager my neighbor spotted running across the yard."

Dominic's brows dipped. "Did she say why she was trying to break into your house?"

"She said she wasn't. Someone was already in the house when Camille got there."

He lifted a brow. "Who?"

"A woman."

The other brow followed the first. "What? A woman? Did Camille recognize her?"

"No. She said she was dressed in army fatigues and had a baseball cap on, but she was definitely a woman."

"And she was in your house."

"Right."

His mind clicked. He had an idea. Probably a far-fetched one, but he had to see how it panned out. "I need to look at one of those files from Howard's house again. After we finish here, do you mind if we stop by my office?"

"Sure." She nodded. "You do that and I'll go in to my office. I got a text. There's an emergency autopsy a family is paying for and Daniel asked if I could come do it. They want to bury the body tomorrow. While I'm there, I'm going to go ahead and do Hilary's too."

He frowned. "Is this a usual thing?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes. We try to honor a family's requests. If it falls on a Sunday, so be it."

"I don't want you there alone."

"I won't be. Paul is supposed to be there as well as Daniel. He's really stressing about the cuts that are getting ready to happen." She looked at her phone again, then down the hall. "Where did that girl go?" Serena tapped her foot, then narrowed her eyes. "Let me just see if I can find her."

Dominic watched Serena head down the hall, but his mind churned. He really wanted to get his hands on the file sitting on his desk. Impatience twisted inside him. First he had to make sure Serena was safe.

"She's gone!"

At her frustrated shout, Dominic strode toward her. Serena stood in the middle of the hall, hands on her hips.

"What?"

"She's gone. She went out the other bathroom door, down the hall parallel to this one, and out of the house." A young girl came around the corner and Serena pounced. "Helen, did you see Camille?"

"She went out the door a few minutes ago."

Serena raced for the door and Dominic took off after her. Serena skidded to a halt when she got to the security guard's desk. "Which way did she go? The girl who just left?"

He nodded toward the door. "Shot out of here like she had a snake on her tail."

Dominic followed Serena out the door and down the steps. She stopped and looked left, then right. "She's gone. Where would she go?"

"Probably the neighborhood that's right behind this place. If she's wanting to get away from you, she'll go where you can't follow."

Serena planted her hands on her hips. "But why would she want to get away?"

"She didn't want to talk to me."

Serena stomped her foot.

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Dominic let out a surprised laugh. "I've never seen you do that before."

The flush that crept into her olive-complected cheeks made him grin. Her embarra.s.sment was cute. She rolled her eyes and said, "It's a habit from childhood." Then she turned serious, pulled out her phone, fingers flying. "I'm sending her a text telling her to get in touch with me or . . . or . . . I'm going to cut her phone off."

"You're going to make a great mom."

She looked up, her cheeks still red. Then her eyes crinkled as her brow furrowed. "I'm worried about her, Dominic. She's pregnant."

"Ah. Oh boy."

"Yeah." Serena paced toward the subdivision, then back toward Dominic. "I think that's part of the problem."

"What?" He was confused.

"I have come to think of her as . . . mine. And she's not."

"But you want her to be?"

She sighed and whispered, "Maybe," as she stared in the direction Dominic thought Camille went.

He pulled her toward his car. "She seems to be a pretty resourceful kid. Give her a chance to text you back. She's obviously reaching out for some help or she wouldn't have come back to Covenant House. Let her think about it."

Serena allowed him to open the door for her, but he could see her reluctance. He had a feeling if she didn't have an autopsy to do, she would have been chasing right after the wayward teen.

While Serena sat staring at her phone as though she could will Camille to text or call, Dominic turned his thoughts to Howard's folder. He itched to get another look at it. Because if he was right, he was getting ready to blow this whole case wide open.

31.

SUNDAY, 11:45 A.M.

As Serena rode toward the hospital with Dominic, her mind chugged through everything. Jillian had sent her a package. Someone wanted that package. Camille saw someone, a woman, in her house possibly looking for that package.

If Serena gave it up, would the person leave her alone or kill her because of what he-or she-thought she knew? Should she open the package and read the contents in spite of Jillian's wishes? Or would that be betraying a friend? Then again, was that package putting her life in danger? The lives of those close to her?

Obviously.

Frustration pounded through her. Lord, what do I do?

"What are you thinking about?" Dominic's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Looking at what's in that package Jillian sent me."

He glanced at her. "You haven't yet?"

"No. I don't feel right doing it, but Jillian wouldn't want me or anyone else in danger because of it."

"Then it might be time to open it."

"You're right. It is. I probably should have done it a couple of days ago." She paused. "In fact, I almost did. But how is knowing what's inside going to help? I mean, I know it's something someone wants. I'm not going to give it to that someone regardless of what's in it, so does it really matter if I look or not?"

"All good points, but if the contents will point us to the person doing this to you, then it would help in that respect."

"True." She bit her lip. "But after I look at it, tomorrow, I'm going to the bank and put that thing in a safe deposit box."

"I think that's a good idea."

She smiled. "Thanks. I probably should have done it as soon as I realized someone was after it. Maybe once it's in the box, I'll tape a note to my door or make an announcement on the six o'clock news that it's no longer in my house."

He chuckled. "Might not be a bad idea." Then he turned serious. "I'll escort you to the bank. I don't want you carrying that package around without protection."

"I won't say no to that."

Ten minutes later, Dominic pulled into the hospital parking lot and drove around to the morgue entrance. He pulled up beside her designated parking s.p.a.ce. He said, "I'll come back. What time will you be ready to leave?"

"I'll call you, but probably around 5:00 or so."

"I'll be back."

She could feel him watching her as she walked to the door. Turning, she looked over her shoulder and gave him a little wave. From the corner of her eye, she caught movement to her left and froze.

"Who's there?" she called.

No one answered.

Dominic still watched from his car. The frown on his face said he noticed her hesitation.

Serena pointed to the dumpster to her left. She heard a sc.r.a.pe and another noise she couldn't identify-a small cry? Backing toward the door, she watched Dominic approach the dumpster, hand on his weapon.

He stayed to the side, the dumpster at his back. In one smooth move, he pulled his weapon and rounded the corner. "FBI! Get out here! Now!"

32.

SUNDAY, 12:01 P.M.

Dominic came face-to-face with Paul, Serena's a.s.sistant. The man's wide, scared eyes and uplifted arms had Dominic lowering his gun a fraction. "What are you doing?"

"I . . . uh . . . well . . ."

"Paul?" Serena's voice interrupted the man's stutter.

Paul flushed a deep red and took a breath. "Hold on a second. Can I put my arms down?"