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deli-wrapped packages. Phoebe smelled the meats and cheeses and nearly closed her eyes at the pleasure of it.
    I really needed to start buying my own groceries.
    She ushered Elle in, grateful that she didn’t own enough things to make the place a complete mess. Elle didn’t seem to care either way, making her way around the kitchen with ease. Within three minutes, she had out plates, cutlery and all the fresh food she’d brought. She motioned for Phoebe to sit while made sandwiches for them both.
    “You didn’t have to do all this. Thank you.” She sat on a stool and watched Elle.
    Elle smiled and shrugged, pushing over a plate with a sandwich on it. “I’m just glad you let me in.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She rolled up a piece of salami and stared at it a few moments before answering. “I didn’t mean to walk you into that yesterday. If I’d known they needed to talk to you about the murders, I would have let you and Aidan sort it out privately.”
    Phoebe swallowed her massive bite and shook her head. “It’s my fault. I should have told him what I knew when we talked the first time.” She sighed. “Instead, I practically pushed him out the door.”
    Elle arched her eyebrow. “Somehow I doubt that.”
    Phoebe looked at her sharply.
    “Aidan told me you were banged up pretty seriously.”
    She relaxed and nodded, rotating her shoulder.
    Elle cocked her head to one side and frowned. “Are those the clothes you wore yesterday?”
    She looked down at herself and then laughed. “Yeah. I fell asleep in them. About yesterday…”
    She took another large bite of her sandwich before putting it down and walking to her desk. Gathering up her laptop, she walked back into the kitchen and placed it in front of Elle. Elle’s eyes widened and she put her sandwich aside.
    “Just press this button when you want to look at the next one.”
    “These are lovely,” she said quietly. She paused at the picture of Charlotte and her smiling at each other. “You are amazing.”
    Phoebe sat down and smiled as she watched her slowly comb through the photos. ‘Capturing the present to preserve the past’, her photography professor had always told her. Seeing Elle so happy with the results gave her an unexpected pang of longing.
    If I could just settle down and open a new business, I could do this every day.
    Elle reached into her purse, rummaging around until she produced some cash. Smiling, she pushed it in front of Phoebe.
    “I… You don’t…”
    “It’s okay.” She grinned. “Call it a down payment. You’ll accept some now and some later, right?
    “Well, yes, but -”
    “Let me know what the difference is when the time comes.”
    “But -”
    Elle silenced her by arching one eyebrow. Phoebe looked down at the cash, moving it between her fingertips. This sort of thing didn’t usually happen. The process involved her cleaning up dozens – sometimes hundreds – of photos and then going through them with the clients so they could pick out their favorites. She printed those off and then she’d get paid. Maybe getting paid in cash so soon was a sign she should go. Or just a sign that she’d have the money to go get them printed off, seeing as a photo printer hadn’t been on her ‘must grab’ list when she’d gone on the run.
    “Where’s Charlotte?”
    “Mum’s day off.” She smiled. “I got a babysitter. I thought maybe you could use a friend.”
    Phoebe’s chest tightened and she looked away. Sudden tears welled up in her eyes and the tiredness she’d been holding back flooded through her. She almost slumped forward on the stool. All her aches and bruises came into focus. She couldn’t resist a glance toward her bed, where she could make the world go away for short periods when the nightmares didn’t bother her. The she looked at Elle, wishing they could talk all day long about everything. Down to knowing each other’s favorite colors, she wanted a best friend and she wanted one right now.
    She