36

On the evening of the day after Christmas, Amanda’s doorbell rang. When she went over to check the monitor, she was surprised to find Keith standing outside the building, awaiting her clearance.

Sighing, she pressed the intercom button. “What do you want?”

“Let me up, Amanda. I have something important for you.”

She rubbed her fingers on her temple. “Look, Keith. This is a bad time.”

No time would have been a good time for him to show up at her apartment, but she had no energy to get into that. The day was drawing to a close, and she had just negotiated with the blackmailer to accept just half of what they were asking, then give her another day to put it together.

Their parting shot had been—‘If I don’t get the money by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll release the video.’

“Trust me, there couldn’t be a better time,” Keith said. Then he lifted his hand. He