Mind Games

She started to take out her phone. She had to tell her grandmother, Rem, Maddy. Everybody!

But no, no. She shoved the phone away again. She had to tell them in person. She’d be home in a few hours. So would Rem, fresh off his first year at Columbia, and Maddy from Durham, where she’d wrapped up her premed requirement in three years.

Overachiever.

Then Maddy would head to New York and Columbia Medical School.

Life was so different now. Everything changing. Rem, the business major; Maddy, the doctor-in-training. And Thea might just have a career doing something she loved.

God, she couldn’t wait to get home.

She quickened her steps to a jog. She’d go up, grab the last of her things, shove them in the car with the rest, and be on her way.

She pulled up short, then simply froze when she saw the two men standing outside her building. Detective Howard had more gray sprinkled through his hair now, and Musk had touches of it at his temples.

But they looked the same, really much the same as they had eight years before when they’d first come to the farm.

Fear, bright and hot, washed through the ice, and she ran.

“He got out. He got out.”

“No. No.” Howard took her arm. “He’s exactly where he belongs. We’re not here about Riggs, about anything to do with your family. I’m sorry we scared you.”

Obviously uncomfortable, Musk shifted. “We’re here to ask you for a favor. Could we go in for a few minutes?”

“I’m going home. I just need to get the last of my things and turn in my keys.”

“We’ll try not to take too long. Thea.” Howard waited until she looked back at him. “We wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.”

Saying nothing, she led them inside.

Nearly empty, she thought as she took the stairs. Everyone going home for the summer. All she wanted was to go home for the summer. See her people, see the mountains.

“My dorm mates have already left. Everything’s packed up. I don’t have anything to offer you.”

She unlocked the door to the communal living area of the quad.

“It’s a nice space.” Howard tried a smile. “You wouldn’t believe the dump heap dorm I lived in back in my day. Can we sit down?”

“All right.” She took a chair so they had the couch.

Everything personal already packed, she thought. Nothing of her remained. No photos, no flowers, no dishes, none of the art she and her art major dorm mate had hung on the walls.

Better that way. Nothing personal, and whatever the detectives brought, she wouldn’t allow it to become personal.

Howard, especially Detective Howard, had been kind to her over the years, she reminded herself. The least she could do was listen.

“Before we talk to you about why we came, I want to thank you for saving my life.” Howard leaned forward. “I never told you. I guess I didn’t want to pile on, but I think this is a good time.

“Nearly three years after we first met, Detective Musk and I were pursuing a suspect. He was armed, had already proven to be dangerous. I was in the lead, Phil at my six—behind me,” he qualified. “We were heading down a flight of stairs. Painted blue. I heard your voice in my head telling me to be careful about blue stairs. It pulled me up short. Just for a second. Just a second. The bullet missed me by inches. It wouldn’t have if I hadn’t pulled up. I wouldn’t have pulled up unless you’d warned me.”

“I’m glad you’re all right.”

“So am I. And we were able to stop him. I’ve thought about that moment a lot over the years. Thought about you, Thea, and your family. You helped put Riggs away. You helped us get justice for his other victims.

“You saved my life.”

“You helped me.”