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on medical leave, of an indeterminate duration. Now, coming full circle, she was back, prowling the old neighborhood, an intruder on her old turf.
    She spotted the Wilson house set back from the street, guarded by a low rock and iron fence on the perimeter. A wrought iron gate opened onto a red brick walkway that curved up to the large white Gothic Revival home. The yard was abloom with bright red Crepe Myrtles and Pink Azaleas. Wild flowers, in multitudes of colors, were carefully groomed along the fence and in the small garden by the front door. The driveway cut into the lawn on the left side of the lot and disappeared around the corner of the house. Tall shrubs prevented viewing the back yard. They were also a perfect place to watch someone and not be seen. Rainey was sure at least one of the pictures she had received from JW, the one of Katie getting out of her car, had been taken from these very shrubs.
    She pulled into the driveway, but did not follow it around the house. She made another note on the pad to ask if the Wilson’s had an outdoor dog. If they did not, she would recommend they get a big one, with a loud, intimidating bark. That was usually enough to scare off all but the most serious kinds of criminals. The serious criminals knew how to get around the dog, the alarm and most any other deterrents, because they were patient. Patient and cunning criminals were the most dangerous. They waited, planned, and struck at the optimum time of their choosing. She hoped the guy tracking JW’s wife was not one of them, as she backed out of the driveway.
    The next address was a Literacy Center in downtown Durham. JW noted that Katie spent most of her evenings at the Center, teaching reading. Rainey could not believe JW let his wife go alone to the run down area of Durham, where the Center was located. It took her about twenty minutes to get there from JW’s house. When she pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall, she found the Center occupying an old furniture store on the end.
    Trash flew around the parking lot. The street lamps all appeared to have been shot out. Teenagers and old men hung out in front of the few open stores. The liquor store on the other end of the strip seemed to have the most loiterers. The place gave Rainey the creeps, and she was armed. She had a newfound respect for any woman who would venture down here at night, alone. Katie Wilson must be a saint to risk her life, in a place like this, to help other people learn to read. Rainey made another note; this one to ask JW to make sure Katie carried mace with her all the time, especially when she came to the Literacy Center.
    There were a few more addresses on her list. Mostly where Katie shopped for groceries, the doctors’ offices they went to, the malls and stores she liked to visit, and JW’s office in Raleigh. She checked the time on the car dashboard and decided she would visit some of them tomorrow while Mrs. Wilson led her minions in their pursuit of knowledge. Right now, she thought she should head back to the school and get a parking place before the parents descended on the area, blocking every outlet.
    She arrived at the school just before the onslaught of over protective, frenzied, yuppie moms’ arrival. Rainey watched as children poured out of every exit in her view. They were all dressed in the school uniform of white polo or short-sleeved shirts and blue shorts or skirts. She watched them scamper across the grass until a blonde teacher caught her eye. It was Mrs. Wilson waving goodbye and granting last minute hugs to students. Rainey was not sure what grade she taught, but judging by the variety of the student’s ages, Mrs. Wilson was beloved by all.
    Katie Wilson looked as fresh as she would have when the morning bell rang. She was much more striking in person than the photographs Rainey had seen. Katie’s light ash-blonde hair glistened with sun bleached highlights of almost white. She was tanned, but not unnaturally so.