Claire’s car was the last one in the parking lot. She took a circuitous route back to her apartment, her attention divided between the road and her rearview mirror. She wasn’t sure who or what she expected to see, but Jasmine’s surprise visit had unnerved her. At the apartment, she locked the door and threw the deadbolt for extra measure, then placed the daypack on the small dining table. She fed Storm, while she thought about tequila. There was a full bottle in the cabinet, but she opted for Diet Coke instead. At the table, she worked the latches of the pack.
Claire’s car was the To anyone else, the contents would have presented as an odd collection: a tube of lipstick, a pair of black-lace panties, a flip-type cellphone with a smashed screen and battery removed, a windbreaker with the
