She reached out and gripped my hand with a sudden, desperate, trembling strength.

“Forgive me, sweetie,” she said.

“Forgive me.”

Chapter 8 — He Recognized It

The door handle rattled violently, and then the lock gave, and the door burst open, and Richard was standing in it — flushed a deep red, breathing hard, as though he had run the whole way from the parking lot.

“What the hell is going on in here?” he demanded.