Page 44 of Sinner’s Game

She hesitated, then nodded. “The diner.” She tilted her head to indicate the back door to the all-night diner through which she’d walked when she’d seen him come in the front.

“Head back in, take a table, have a chat?”

“Exactly.”

He nodded, and they headed for the door together. Tiffany looked up, searching the alley for cameras. She’d done that already, but she had a tendency to check things twice. Even three or four times if it was really important. Not being caught on camera right now was key.

And then, as Alan, polite son of a bitch that he was, reached to pull open the door, she yanked out her gun and shot him right in the back of the head.

He dropped like a stone as she pulled up her black hoodie, tilted her eyes to the ground, and calmly walked out of the alley with one less target on her back.

Chapter Fifteen

I’m curled up on the couch when Ronan comes back from walking Reggie to the door. She’s heading home to continue searching the security footage that Tamra downloaded off the phone. With luck, there might be something else that gives a clue as to who the other Brandy really is.

“He knew her,” I say. “The person under the mask. He looked right at her like he knew her, and he for sure doesn’t know me.” I frown, remembering the scene outside Pacific Property. “He thought I was her. When he saw me on the street and demanded to know why I was there, that’s what it was. He thought that I was her disguised as me.”

Ronan takes a seat on the sofa beside me. “Agreed.”

“And then I think he figured it out. He looked at Jake. He gave me that strange look. And that’s when he bolted. He realized he was talking to the real me.”

“Could be. We’ll never know for sure.”

I sigh. He’s right about that.

“So were they fighting? He didn’t approach me. It was more like he was scolding me.”

“Not a fight,” Ronan says. “Or if it was, they made up. The man on that tape wasn’t scared. He was smiling until she lifted that pistol.”

I nod, pulling my knees up and hugging them. I feel removed from myself as we talk about this. As if it’s all happening to some other person. I guess in some weird way, it is.

“Who could she be?” I ask.

“I don’t know. But we’re going to find out.”

I scoff. “She could be anybody. She could even—Ronan,” I say, suddenly realizing.

“We have no way of knowing if she’s really a girl. That could have been a guy. The footage—”

I start to get up, but he waves me down. “I’ll get it,” he says, obviously realizing I want the laptop that Reggie left behind. He brings it back, and we look at the footage again, but there’s really no way to be sure if the person wearing my face is male or female.

I look at him, then shrug. “Square one again?”

To my surprise, he laughs.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He sits on the coffee table so he’s facing me directly. “Nothing except that you are an amazing woman.”

“Oh.” I hug myself tighter, sweet surprise running through me. “I—thank you. But, um, why the sudden praise?”

“I think most people in this situation would be screaming for answers and cursing the universe for not providing them.”

“I’m screaming. Just really softly and deep inside.”

His grin flashes. “I wouldn’t doubt it. My point, though, is that you’re coping incredibly well.” He reaches for my hand. “I know how strong you are, Brandy. I’ve seen it, remember?”

I swallow, letting in a tiny flash of the horror of that day I’d been taken. A memory I try to keep pushed far away. One with blood and pain and fear.