Page 38

Sleep came for me in thin stretches between sounds in the hallway. A door closing two floors down. Footsteps on the stairs. A dog barking in the distance. Every one of them brought me upright before I placed it and lay back down.

By morning, I had the outline of a plan.

We drove to the courthouse as soon as it opened.

Janine filled out the 209A complaint and the affidavit while I sat in the plastic chair beside her and kept Hazel busy with a coloring book from the gift shop downstairs.

The clerk accepted the filing and told her she'd see a judge that afternoon for the temporary order. In the meantime, they walked us through the safety protocol. We had to notify Hazel's school that Declan was a person of concern and could not be allowed near her under any circumstances.

"Once the order is issued, keep it on you at all times."

While Janine signed the last set of papers, I stepped into the hallway and made a phone call.

Westbrook picked up on the second ring.

"I need you to look into someone for me."

"What do I look like, a private investigator?"

"This guy is connected to something. He's not from Boston. Declan Gallagher, Chicago background. He showed up at a friend's home last night and threatened her in front of her child."

"What makes you think he's in organized crime?"

I told him what Janine had told me. The parking lot. The two men holding the guy up. Declan not stopping.

Westbrook was quiet for a moment. "If he's connected to anything, he might be a lead for you," I said.

"You better be right about this." I heard him pull something across his desk. "What's his name again?"

"Declan Gallagher."

"I'll run him. Give me a couple of days."

Erin called on our walk back to the car and told us we were coming to dinner.

"You can't stay in that apartment," Erin said.

"I know." Janine shook her head. "We need to find a new place. But that takes time."

"Until then, someone needs to be with you."

"I'll stay," I said.

Erin turned to me. "And when the tones drop? You're not going to disappear into the job?"

"No."

She held my eyes for a long moment, as if she was trying to decide if I was serious.

"When you're both on shift, Hazel comes here. Same rotation as before."

"Thank you, Erin." Janine's voice was quiet.

"What do we tell Hazel?" Erin asked.

Janine was quiet for a moment. "That there's a man she might see again, and if she does, she doesn't talk to him. She finds me, or she finds you, or she finds Alex."

"And if she asks who he is?"