job.”
I said, “You ready to start tonight or you want to yell at me some more?”
Chapter 57
We got the hugely ungrateful Alison out of there, checked her into the hotel room between mine and Callie’s, got her fed, and got her story.
After I was declared dead, Alison had indeed entered into a romantic relationship with Quinn, hoping to cash in on the work I’d promised her. Like Quinn said, when Alison realized it wasn’t going to happen, she took off . Unfortunately for her, Quinn was the best guard in the business, and she didn’t get far. When he caught her they had some words and he kidnapped her and brought her to the warehouse.
When he was home, which was most of the time—Quinn doted on her. But whenever he left, he chained her to the wall, his way of making sure she was glad to see him when he came home. If he planned to be gone more than a few hours, he’d use a longer chain, one that allowed her access to all her comforts. Quinn had been gone about three hours and was on his way home when I caught up to him on Walnut Street.
So again, according to Alison, my fault.
“Did he beat you?” Callie asked.
“Occasionally,” Alison said.
“Did he force himself on you?”
“At least twice a day.”
“You ever put up a fight?”
“The times I did, that’s when he’d beat me.”
Here in the well-lit room she looked white as a ghost. I said, “Before tonight, how long had it been since you’ve been outdoors?”
“More than three years,” she said. “And the only reason I know that is that I had a TV.”
Callie gave her a sleeping pill and sat up with her until she fell asleep. Then she joined me in my room and we broke the seal on a bottle of mini bar wine and drank it while working out Alison’s training schedule.
I said, “I’ll give Lou the second and third weeks, you get the next three, and I’ll take the next two. Then she can shadow you on a couple of jobs. After that we’ll test her out on something easy, see how she handles it.”
“What’s the going rate for nurse maids these days?”
“Twenty grand a week, plus whatever you make on jobs.”
“Works for me,” Callie said. “Who gets her the first week?”
“Dr. Crouch. Because if Nadine doesn’t think she’s ready, we pass on the project, and try to help Alison get her old life back.”
I punched a key on my cell phone and winked at Callie. “Listen to this,” I said, pressing the speaker button.
Dr. Nadine Crouch answered by shouting, “Unacceptable!”
I said, “I’ve got a patient for you.”
“What’s the matter with you? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“This is a good gig,” I said. “It will appeal to your avarice.”
“I’m trying to sleep, Donovan. Don’t ever call me in the middle of the night like this again. Unacceptable!”
“How’s twenty-five hundred a day sound?”
“I’m sure it will sound a lot better when I wake up in a couple of hours. Call me then,” she said, and hung up.
“She’s a bitter old bitch,” Callie said. “Don’t you think?”
