Chapter 6 · Coffee Stain Files

My phone's still in my hand. The feed's still playing. Leah's standing in my building lobby, head tilted like she's counting floors.

I drop the phone. Grab my jacket off the chair. The window's half-open where the glass blew and cold air's pouring in and I can smell rain and asphalt and something else. Something that makes my teeth hurt.

I'm at the door when it knocks.

Not Leah. Wrong direction. This is the apartment door. Leah's downstairs. This is someone else.

"Ivy." Dennis's voice. Quiet. Tight. "Open up. Now."

I freeze. My hand's on the deadbolt. Dennis. My boss. The guy who gives me shifts and never asks why I call out sick on full moons and smells like coffee grounds and old paperbacks.

"How did you—"

"Ivy. Please."

I unlock it. Crack the door. Dennis is in a grey hoodie and jeans and he's holding a flash drive and he looks like he ran here. He's fifty-something. He doesn't run.

"She's downstairs," I say.

"I know. That's why I came through the service hall." He pushes past me. Shuts the door. Throws the bolt. His eyes go to the window. The broken glass. "When'd that happen?"

"Minute ago.