THE WINDOW WOULD PROBABLY BE expensive to replace. It was stained glass, and Gaia remembered Ella saying that she’d had it shipped$$$$ from Italy. But Gaia would send George money for it—if she ever had any. There was no other way to get inside. She’d left her key in the bedroom last night because she’d honestly thought she would never come back. And she couldn’t get in the way she came out. Climbing down from her window was one thing, but she didn’t feel like shimmying up a drainpipe. Strident, Male Voice She slipped off her parka and wrapped it around her right hand. Quickly she glanced over each shoulder to make sure some Officer Friendly or “helpful” neighbor didn’t happen to be walking by. The street was deserted. The sun was low in the western sky, casting long shadows down the block. Better get this over with. She took a deep breath and punched her fist through the long, narrow window beside the front door of the Nivens’ brownstone. The glass shattered, falling to the hardwood floor of the foyer.
