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out a few twenty-dollar bills. “Find yourself a place to stay tonight…and if I find out that you used that money for drugs, I will arrest you and give you the longest sentence possible.”
    She takes the money, her bottom lip sticking out. “Thanks…that’s really nice of you.”
    “Avoid being alone at night,” I say.
    She smirks again. “Funny. I’m never alone at night. I’m only alone in the morning.”
    “Maybe that can change,” I say. She shrugs and walks away from me. I got back to Tobias’ Taurus. I get into the passenger side and he starts the car.
    “I don’t understand why I couldn’t be out there,” he says.
    “You’re a man,” I say. “Why would she trust you when she has only ever been used by men?”
    “She doesn’t need to trust me, she just needs to tell me the truth,” he says. “What did you find out?”
    “Well, Jasmine says that she and Timothy used to have sex outside of his apartment in his car—”
    “Gross.”
    “—so I’m thinking maybe a neighbor noticed someone taking photographs, or it could have been a neighbor that took the photographs.”
    “Or the prostitute could be lying,” Tobias says. He flips on his turn signal as he stops at an intersection.
    “I don’t think so.”
    “Because of your faith in humanity?” he asks.
    “No, because I’m one of the few people who treated her like a person instead of a commodity,” I say. He nods.
    “You’re a good person,” he says. I glance over at him.
    “And what are you?”
    He shrugs. “Considerably less than a good person.”
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Tomorrow, Tobias and I will canvass the neighborhood where Timothy Wood lives. As I step out of the police station, a woman with crimson hair and a pencil skirt that displays her long, lean legs stands on the stairs. Tobias’ body tenses, but the woman is calm as she walks up to him.
    “Anna,” Tobias says. My eyes widen and I take a small step back.
    “Tobias,” she says. “Since you refused to see me, I thought I’d stop by.”
    “Your thoughts never lead you in the right direction,” he says. “So I would suggest that you stop doing everything that you think about.”
    “That’s not true,” she says. “My thoughts led to you.”
    “Then apparently at some point you stopped thinking of me,” he snaps. “When was that? Was it as soon as we moved in together? Or when I was promoted to detective? When did you decide that I didn’t matter?”
    “I never decided anything,” she says. “I was drunk one night and slept with him. Then I…I couldn’t stop. I just kept—”
    “You couldn’t stop,” he says. “That’s your best defense? You just felt forced to keep sleeping with him? Telling him that you loved him?”
    “I was confused,” she says. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted. But now I am. I want you. I want to get back together.”
    I can see Tobias’ eyes soften and his body relaxes. Anna takes a step closer to him, cups his face in her hands, and kisses him, so softly that their lips barely touch.
    “It could be like how it was before,” she says. She kisses him again and he closes his eyes, as if he were remembering a time when things were simpler. Her eyes flicker over to me as she kisses the side of his neck. Her look is clear—she sees me as an enemy and intruder. I turn away. I can still hear her whisper, “I could make you forget every little stress. Just give me an hour. Or two.”
    Tobias opens his eyes and for the briefest moment he glances over at me. His gaze returns to Anna. He puts his hands on her shoulders and gently pushes her back.
    “I understand,” he says. She smiles. “I didn’t know what I wanted before too. I thought what I wanted was you, but I was wrong. We were always wrong for each other, Anna. I may still be angry about it, but the truth is that the fact you confessed to me that night is the best thing that could have happened.”
    Her whole face crumples. “No, Tobias, come on. We deserve a second