I dream I'm in the courtroom. Maria is there, but she's only a reflection in the blade of a giant knife. And in the background, men are ignited by an orbital strike turning a desert into an ocean of glass.
Hours have passed by the time I wake up. Much longer than I meant to rest. And another hour passes by the time I shower, dress, and take a cab into East Amber, back to the factory where Nathan was found.
I'm here, but my mind is stuck in that other case from long ago. Stuck in that same old spiral of thoughts. If only I'd come home that night when I said I would, maybe I'd have gotten there in time. Maybe I could have saved her.
And later, maybe if I'd listened to my gut-ignored the advice of counsel and set out after the killer in a manhunt of my own-I could have caught him myself, i
