Then who is the victim?”
“Victim.” She closed her eyes. “Yes, I was a victim. I’ve been trying to run away from it. But he made me a victim. He took away my life. And my blood. He took my blood.” Her lids lifted to reveal blue eyes glittering with tears. “Why? It’s not right. It shouldn’t have happened. Not to me. I didn’t do anything bad.”
Either he was crazy, or this girl was a crackpot. He hoped to God it wasn’t him. Regardless, he had to respond to the situation as if he was thinking and acting normally. It was his only salvation. “I think you’d better come along with me. We’ll need to question you about your relationship with the deceased and how you came to be here.”
“He brought me here, you idiot.” The tears were suddenly gone, and her fists were clenched at her sides. “He attacked me from behind in that parking garage at Perimeter Mall and stuffed a handkerchief over my face. It smelled . . . sweet. Like the anesthetic I had when they took out my appendix. I went out like a light. Then he brought me here and slit my throat. Now what are you going to do about it? You’re a cop, aren’t you?”
“I’m Detective Joe Quinn.” He paused. “And you’re obviously having delusions. You need help. Will you come with me?”
“You’re saying I’m crazy, dammit. I’m not crazy. He was crazy. Do you think this is easy for me? I’m scared, and I don’t know what to do. They keep telling me I have to come away, but I think they’re wrong. I do need help. But I don’t need it from you. I’ll find my father or maybe one of those policemen over there.”
“By all means.” He turned. “I’ll go and send an officer to you. Stay here.” He walked quickly away. Not too quickly. He wasn’t running away, he assured himself. He was just resolving a difficult situation. He glanced over his shoulder. She was still standing there, waiting.
Shit. Admit it. Of course he was running away. Not only from Nancy Jo Norris but what it said about his sanity that he was seeing her.
He stopped as he reached the officer standing at the tape. “Would you go and take that woman into custody, Officer Millbran? We need her for questioning.”
“Yes, sir. Which woman?”
“Who do you think?” He nodded. “The woman over there in the red sweatshirt.”
“Right. I’ll go find her.” Officer Millbran sprinted toward the trees.
Find her? She was standing there in full view waiting for him.
The officer ran right past her into the trees.
A shudder went through Joe’s spine. He hadn’t seen her, he realized. Millbran had been only a few feet from her, and he hadn’t seen her.
She was looking as bewildered as Joe felt. But she couldn’t be feeling the same panic. Because he was imagining it all. She wasn’t real. Another hallucination.
He tore his gaze away from her. He turned on his heel and strode blindly toward his car.
What the hell was happening to him?
JOE KEPT HIS GAZE AWAY FROM the trees, staring straight ahead, his hands clenched on the steering wheel. He wouldn’t wait for Officer Millbran to come back and tell him that there had been no woman in a red sweatshirt. He had no desire to see the young man’s confusion or hear his excuses. And he most certainly didn’t want to have to lie to him. He would deal with this problem himself, as he did everything else.
But he had never had a problem like this, one that could affect every facet of his life. If he wasn’t careful, he’d find himself in a straitjacket in the booby hatch. One episode he could lay to stress. This second occurrence was a sign that he was definitely off-kilter.
No! He would not accept that as truth while he was functioning perfectly normally in every other way.
He started the car and pulled away from the curb. He would continue on as if nothing had happened until he could figure out what he was going through. In the meantime, he would stop at the precinct and take a look at the goblet Eve had discovered in the refrigerator and compare it with the goblet found in the hand of Nancy Jo Norris.
Then he would go home to Eve and Jane. It seemed strange that this morning he had only wanted to get away from them. After what had happened in the woods, he supposed he should be even more afraid that they would notice something wrong with him. Somehow that wasn’t the case. He was willing to risk them tearing down his protective barriers in exchange for the love and comfort he knew they’d give him.
In the end, pride and ego didn’t mean a damn. Love was the only thing that mattered.
“PATTY AVERY’S ON HER WAY over with Toby,” Jane said as she came out of the bedroom. “She called me on my cell and told me to stay put. She said that she never got to see me anymore, and she was going to make damn sure that she at least had a cup of coffee with me before I took off again.”
“It’s true,” Eve said as she put the coffee in the coffeemaker. “Joe and I see more of Patty than you do. She’s a godsend when we need someone to take care of Toby when we have to leave on a trip. She’s been a good friend to us as well as to you.”
“She was my best friend in high school, and I thought that we’d drift apart, but she wouldn’t let that happen,” Jane said as she got the cups down from the cabinet. “Patty is a virtual steamroller. She told me once that she didn’t have that many friends, and she couldn’t afford to lose one.” She frowned. “Heaven knows she has enough on her plate without taking care of Toby. How is her grandfather doing?”
“Not well. He’s always been a bastard and his physical condition is deteriorating and he takes it out on Patty. She can’t do anything that pleases him. That’s why she keeps herself busy doing anything that will keep her close to home. She cooks, studies the stock market, repairs cars. Toby is a blessing. She said she wishes she could keep him permanently.”
“He’s a sweet boy. I miss him.” Jane smiled. “After I finish this Parisian exhibit, I’m going to take him home. I like to leave him here because he can get more exercise but he’s no spring chicken. We need to be together.”
Eve nodded. “He’s been with us a long time. When Sarah Logan first gave him to you as a pup, I had my doubts about a dog that was half golden retriever and half wolf, but he’s very affectionate.” She tilted her head. “And I think I hear Toby and Patty in the driveway. There’s no missing the sound of that souped-up engine she put in her
