"She struggled with patrolling, mostly because of the bruises and broken bones she'd endured at home," Sawyer continued. "Eddie wasn't much better at helping since it had nothing to do with books."

Jacek took a long draw from his mug. "We offered to help Crystal. That was her name. I helped her with her stake aim while Sawyer fielded all of her questions. That went on for just a couple weeks."

"And then?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Eddie came by ...