Chapter 20
EVENING SHADOWS swallowed the storefronts. Main Street made a black river beneath unlit streetlights. Stars shone around scattered clouds, hinting at later brilliance. Heat rose from the concrete sidewalk, but the air above it already felt cool. The backlit sign over the door diffused softly into the darkness.
At the sound of my name, my weight shifted onto the balls of my feet. I glanced into the deeper shadows beneath the willow tree, then over my shoulder at still darkness. “Who’s there?”
Someone took two steps forward from the building’s black corner.
My left hand rolled into a loose fist.
Teresa. Her pale skin gleamed in the weak light, her shoulder-length hair casting a deeper shadow over her face. She dropped something at her feet as she came closer, wiping her hands
