WILD [JENLISA]

30

Half an hour after Lisa fell asleep in her bed, Jennie returned to her living room, closing the bedroom door behind her.

As much as she wasn't looking forward to calling Irene, the sooner she could pass along  Jiyong's name and address to the police, the better. Although she still didn't have a solid strategy for introducing the tip, and explaining Lisa's part in delivering it, putting off talking to Irene wasn't an option. Every moment she waited gave Jiyong the opportunity to hurt another woman.

Jennie picked up her phone and dialed Irene's number. Irene's answered after the first ring, breathless. "Yes, Jennie?"

"Would you mind coming back for a few minutes? I need to talk to you about something."

"Of course." Jennie could hear her already walking. "I'm on my way."

When a knock sounded on the door seconds later, Jennie rolled her eyes. Apparently Irene had decided to stay close after what happened earlier. Jennie opened the door. "That was fast."

Irene smirked. "At your service." She stepped inside, not so subtly looking around. "Where's Lisa?"

"Sleeping."

Irene didn't bother to conceal her distaste at Jennie's answer. "So does that mean you two worked things out?"

"We didn't have sex, if that's what you're asking."

"Technically it wasn't, but I'm glad to hear that, I guess." Folding her arms over her chest, Irene said, "What did you want to talk about?"

Jennie gestured at the couch. "Let's sit down."

"Uh-oh. Something heavy."

"You could say that." When Irene settled at one end of the couch, Jennie withdrew the slip of paper Lisa had given her from her pocket.

She met Irene's gaze and exhaled. "I have the name and address of the man who I believe is the Golden Gate Park killer."

Irene blinked slowly. Her face betrayed no emotion. "How did you manage that?"

"I can't get into the details with you." Jennie crossed the room and sat beside Irene, handing her the paper with Lisa's handwriting on it. There was no real point in trying to hide where the information had come from. "Right now I need you to trust me. I know we don't have anything on this guy. Unless he has an outstanding warrant, we can't arrest him. But at least now that we know who he is, we can set up surveillance, watch for him to slip up."

Irene took the paper, scanning the name and address. "You're going to have to tell me how Lisa got this information, Jennie. First she reports the body of our initial victim, and now she waltzes back into your life with the name and home address of a man who's threatened to kill you. Who's killed at least three other women." Folding the paper in half, Irene slipped it into a pocket inside her jacket. "I can't fathom how Lisa would know anything about the guy if she weren't involved somehow."

"I know this is hard to understand, and I get why you're suspicious. I can't explain how this information came to me without betraying Lisa's trust, so I'm not even going to try. I'm just asking you to remember who I am and what my values are. Ask yourself whether I'd protect someone who was responsible in any way for the deaths of three women. Not to mention my own stalking." Jennie briefly touched Irene's knee. "You know how badly Lisa hurt me. Please believe that it would take a genuine, honest explanation about her role in all of this, one that convinced me that she's totally innocent of any wrongdoing, to sway me back to her side."

"Are you back at her side?" Irene asked quietly. It was obvious she knew the answer already and that it disturbed her deeply. "Be honest with me."

Jennie wouldn't have considered anything but honesty. "Yes. We talked and I realized we'd had a serious misunderstanding. I think we're planning to work things out."