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restaurant reviews? Although, with her new TV gig, rent probably wouldn’t be a problem. Right now, I just hoped to find her safe and sound and tried not to let my mind race with possibilities.
    In Russian Hill, the streets were winding and cramped, parking non-existent. After circling the block for ten minutes I decided to double park on the corner and put my hazard signals on.
    With the sun setting and a light drizzle starting, I jogged up the block to Jill’s. I could see Jill through her front bay window, curled up like a cat on the window seat. She was wearing grey sweats and holding a martini glass. She looked awfully comfy.
    As soon as I’d had the thought I immediately felt guilty. People grieve in different ways. Who was I to judge?
    Jill spotted me, a look of surprise on her face. She rose and disappeared from view.
    I climbed up the steps as the front door flew open.
    Jill embraced me. “Oh, Kate. I wasn’t expecting you. I had terrible news at the hospital. I’m a nervous wreck.”
    “I know.”
    She pulled away from me. “You know?” Her voice caught and she began to sob. “We were going to get married,” she said. “He’s gone now. Dead. Just like that. How does something like that happen?”
    She buried her face into my neck and I smoothed down her hair. After a moment I prodded her back to the bay window. There was a new tissue box next to the seat and I placed it between us.
    She tucked her bare feet under her and wrestled the first tissue out of the box, managing to free a clump of them together. She tried to shove the clump back into the box, making a noise that was a cross between a growl and whimper in her throat.
    I took the tissues out of her hand and sat with her. We sat in silence for a while until she cried her way through the balance of tissues in my hand. When she reached the final one, I asked. “What happened to you earlier?”
    She blinked at me. “What do you mean?”
    “Last time we spoke, you got cut off. I left you a few messages and I waited around for you at the hospital.”
    “You were at the hospital?”
    I nodded. “Paula was in labor. Well, false labor.”
    The news caused another jag of crying.
    After a moment, Jill said, “I’m happy for her, really. Another baby. I wonder if I’ll ever have one.”
    I patted her back, letting the awkward moment settle between us.
    “When I got there they told me he was DOA.” She was hit by another bout of tears. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye.”
    I sat silently holding her hand for a bit.
    “His sister, Melanie, got there when I did. We left the hospital pretty quickly, and she’s coming over here,” Jill glanced down the street. “We need to get drunk.” She picked up her martini glass. “Lemon drop martini. Want one?”
    I shook my head. “I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried about you.”
    Jill frowned. “Why?”
    “The creepy guy seemed to be following you and then when you called, it sounded like you screamed—”
    “Oh. I think…I think…” She looked confused and scratched at her forehead. “I twisted my ankle on the curb when I got to the hospital. I must have dropped my phone. I’m sorry Kate. I don’t know.” She paused and glanced around the room. “I don’t even know where my phone is right now. It’s been powering itself off. I have to take it in for repair.”
    She spotted her purse across the room, propped on a chaise with silk flowers embroidered on it. Jill’s apartment was as dainty as she was, decorated in whites and pinks. Behind the chaise was a floor lamp topped with a delicate lace shade. She padded over to her purse, fished out her phone and turned it on.
    My own phone buzzed in my pocket.
    I read a text from Galigani.
    M ONITORING POLICE SCANNER — B URGLARY AT 123 F RANKLIN .
    T HAT ’ S THE VICTIM ’ S PLACE . C OPS ON THE WAY . M EET ME ?
    I heard a gasp from Jill. I looked up and saw her reading her screen.
    “What is it?” I asked.
    “Melanie left me a