Sara tasted the same stench in the back of her throat as she had when she'd performed the autopsy.
'Did you take care of her?'
'Yes,' Sara said. 'Of course I took care of her.'
'She suffered.'
'I know.'
'She suffered, and it was all because of me.'
'Who was she?'
'She was somebody's mother,' Lena cried. 'Somebody's wife. Somebody's friend.' Her voice caught. 'She was somebody's lover.'
'Why are you doing this?'
'Because it's what I deserve! You were right. Everything I touch turns to shit. Get out of here before it's too late.'
'Too late for what?'
'Do you want the same thing to happen to Jeffrey?'
'What do you-'
'Just get out!' she screamed, cutting the line.
Sara held the phone to her chest, unable to move, her heart pounding. Jeffrey. She was scared that something – someone – would get to Jeffrey. In a split second, Sara's mind conjured up the autopsy she'd done on the burned woman, only this time, she saw Jeffrey on the table, Jeffrey burned. Tears came into her eyes. She shook uncontrollably.
'Dr. Linton?' Don Cook asked. He was wearing his deputy's uniform. His hat was in his hand.
'Yes,' she answered, trying to compose herself, wondering how long the man had been standing there.
'You all right?'
'Yes,' she told him, willing her voice not to shake. She closed her eyes for a moment, tried to clear her head of the awful image.
'I'm Don Cook. We met the other night?' He waited for her to nod. 'Your husband asked me to come fetch you and take you to the jail.'
She stared at him, skeptical. 'He didn't call to tell me.'
The man shrugged. 'I was just told to take you to the jail. Jake and your husband are there waiting for you.'
She indicated the phone in her hand. 'Let me just call him first.'
'All right.' He stepped back into the lobby, giving her some privacy.
Sara looked at Jeffrey's phone, wondering what to do. Being a Luddite had once been a source of pride, but now she felt like a backward fool. She knew that Jeffrey's phone stored numbers, but wasn't sure whether or not dialing out would erase the last phone number received. If Lena had called from a traceable line, using the phone might erase it.
Cook poked his head from around the corner. 'Everything all right?'
'I left a message on his cell phone,' she lied.
'Good. Ready?'
Sara nodded. He swept his deputy's hat in the direction of the exit, indicating she should go ahead of him. Outside, she saw the ambulance parked in the bay. The paramedics who had driven Hank to the hospital were leaning against the wall, smoking. They saw Sara and gave her a friendly wave.
Cook's cruiser was parked in a handicapped space, and he walked around to open the passenger-side door for her. The seat was filled with crumpled bags of junk food and several cans of Diet Coke.
'Sorry for the mess. You mind getting in the back?'
Sara felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She was either being really paranoid or really smart. 'Do you mind if I get a ride in the ambulance?' She saw his surprised look and tried one of her more winning smiles. 'I'll just go with them.'
The ride was quickly negotiated with the paramedics. Sara had made their job a lot easier on the short trip to the hospital and the two men were more than willing to return the favor. Besides, the jail was only three minutes away. Sara felt silly as she rode between the burly paramedics, but she had learned a long time ago to listen to her instincts.
Don Cook was pulling into the parking lot as the ambulance pulled away. He scowled as Sara waved at the departing paramedics.
He got out of his car, mumbling, 'Car's not that dirty.'
Sara suppressed the urge to apologize. Instead, she followed him silently into the building.
'Sheriff's office is up there,' he told her, indicating a set of stairs. 'Unless you want someone else to tell you where it is.'
'No, thank you.' Sara took the stairs, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. She heard children talking as she climbed. In the lobby, three young faces looked up at her from their coloring books. They were on the floor, their legs splayed, faces intent, as they worked their crayons. A teenage girl was on the other side of the room. Her sullen posture indicated she was not pleased to be left in charge.
Sara looked around for their mother, but no one seemed to be in attendance. She was about to question them when Jeffrey opened the door.
'Back here,' he said. Then, noticing her concern, he assured Sara, 'They're okay.'
Sara stepped over one of the children as she walked toward Jeffrey. She whispered, I need to talk to you.'
He shushed her, indicating she should hurry. He didn't give her a chance to speak as the door closed. 'We've got a missing persons report.'
'A woman?'
'Her husband came in about twenty minutes ago. Larry Gibson.'
'Any relation?'
'Boyd Gibson's brother. Valentine says he's clean.'
Sara frowned, wondering when Jeffrey had started taking Jake Valentine at his word. She asked, 'How long has the woman been missing?'
'Since last Saturday.'
'I didn't find a wedding ring on the body,' Sara said, though she knew the metal could have melted off in the intense fire. 'If his wife has been gone for six days, why did he wait so long to come forward?'
'She's gone missing before,' he told her. 'Had a drinking problem, dabbled in meth for a while. She's a schoolteacher. Those are her kids in the waiting room.'
'Christ,' Sara whispered. A schoolteacher with three kids. What had Lena said? A mother. A wife. A friend. A lover.
Jeffrey took Sara's arm, concerned. 'Are you okay?'
'You got a call on your phone.' She pressed his cell phone into his hand. 'From an old friend.'
He scrolled through the various screens, saying, 'I had Frank do a trace.' He meant a trace on Lena 's phone. 'There's only been one call made from that number since Monday night – to me at the hotel.'
'She said…' Sara began, her throat going dry. 'She said that the same
