"So you've got a big case or something?" the detective had asked.
"Something like that. I can't explain right now."
"Sure, I understand." Racine had almost cut Maggie off with her instant understanding."Jill's been bugging me to spend more time with her anyway."
Maggie knew little about Racine's mysterious new lover, except that Racine sometimes called her G.I. Jill, so at least Maggie knew she was in the Army. At first Maggie thought that Racine kept her new lover a mystery because she had once been attracted to and rejected by Maggie. But they were beyond that. In many ways Racine reminded Maggie of herself. She kept her personal life private. That was all it was.
Maggie promised to touch base with Racine on Monday. Maybe the following weekend would work for another road trip. But when she hung up, Maggie couldn't shake the emptiness that settled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't have anyone else to call.
Though she had counted on seeing forensic anthropologist Adam Bonzado in Connecticut over the weekend she hadn't really made plans with him. That was sort of where they were right now. Casual, spontaneous, the "call me from the road" at the last minute,"oh, by the way, if you don't have anything going on this weekend …" Now she couldn't even call him to say she wasn't making the spontaneous road trip after all. It was supposed to be the grown-up, mature, no-strings kind of relationship she wanted, the ultimate nonrelationship.
Then she found herself thinking about Nick Morrelli, again. Since her trip to Nebraska in July, Morrelli had been persistent in wanting to see her. Through rumors, she heard that he had called off his wedding engagement. Once upon a time Maggie's mother had accused Nick Morrelli of breaking up Maggie's marriage, which wasn't in the least bit true. However, now Maggie did feel responsible that Nick had broken off his engagement to pursue her.
She and Nick Morrelli had worked together on a case four years ago, the murders of two little boys and the kidnapping of Nick's nephew. Nothing had happened between them. There had been an attraction. Some sexual tension. But mostly the case had been emotionally and physically draining. How could you judge true feelings when you're running on adrenaline?
Worst of all was that she didn't feel elated about his canceled engagement or even his sudden pursuit. She didn't ask for this. She hadn't expected it and she certainly had not encouraged it.
For the moment Maggie tried to shove aside her personal life and concentrate on her present situation. She had asked the woman in the blue space suit how Mary Louise and her mother were. Her keeper, her informant, her link to the outside world said she didn't know. Maggie asked if she could see Mary Louise and was told,"I don't know." She asked several times to, at least, talk to Assistant Director Cunningham. Each time she was told he would not be available until morning. It seemed an odd thing to say, especially after a string of, "I don't knows."
There was another telephone alongside the wall of glass. This one had no dial, no buttons to push, and Maggie knew it was connected to the room next door, the room on the other side of the glass that was lined with blinking monitors, computer screens and other medical equipment. The phone was a communication system between the patient and the techs or doctors or whoever they were. Though none of them had attempted to communicate with her. In fact, they paid little attention to her and left the communications to the woman in the blue space suit.
Maggie thought about picking up the phone and demanding to get an update. Then she calmed herself. It wouldn't help to antagonize her caretakers, her keepers, her wardens. She could get through the night. That's all she needed to do. Just get through this night.
Over the course of the evening the woman in the blue space suit had brought Maggie water but no food. Again, no apology, but at least an explanation. They would be taking blood and urine samples throughout the night, so they couldn't allow her to eat. Maggie asked what they were looking for. The woman hesitated, then said she didn't know. Maggie asked if they had narrowed it down.
Another pause while the woman simply shrugged. After some thought she yelled,"THOSE ARE QUESTIONS YOU WOULD NEED TO ASK COLONEL PLATT."
But when Maggie asked if the colonel would be stopping by soon to see her, the woman said she didn't know.
"Could you please tell him I'd like to see him?"
"OF COURSE," the woman shouted over her blower, but she answered this too quickly and Maggie wondered if Platt had gone home hours ago.
CHAPTER
24
Newburgh Heights, Virginia
"Somehow I never imagined you as a stalker, Morrelli." Tully was not pleased to see the Boston A.D.A.
"I brought Maggie some flowers. She wasn't home. I left them. Nothing strange about that."
"Was she expecting you?"
"No, she wasn't. Not that it's any of your business."
"You're sitting in a parked car outside her house. I'm checking on her house. It's my business."
It had been a long day. Tully wondered if he'd be reacting differently if Emma wasn't waiting for him just yards away. Something about needing to bring out his Glock while his daughter was in the vicinity set him on edge. He didn't like it and he wasn't about to let Morrelli off the hook for putting him in this position. Besides, if Morrelli was important enough to Maggie, wouldn't she have called him? Boston was about an eight-hour drive, an hour-and-a-half flight. Not exactly a spontaneous trip just to deliver flowers.
"So you dropped off the flowers," Tully said, leaning on the rental like he was ready for a long explanation. "Maggie's not here. Why are you still here?"
"I saw someone go inside her house. Thought maybe I should stick around and make sure it was okay."
Tully shook his head. Morrelli was good. Convincing. Classic good looks with an easy charm. No wonder he was an assistant D.A. Tully didn't know him very well. The first time he met him he thought Morrelli was a bit too slick. To o good looking. To o cocky. To o incompetent. Tully and Gwen had traveled to Boston, to Suffolk County's courthouse. Morrelli's territory. Gwen was only supposed to interview a kid in federal custody and had almost been stabbed inside the interrogation room. Morrelli had been in charge. In Tully's book that was reason enough for him to hold a grudge against the guy.
"So you think burglars are in the habit of bringing teenagers along?"
"Teenager? To me she looks like a pretty young woman."
He smiled up at Tully, obviously unaware that Emma was his daughter. Tully flexed his hands, kept them from balling up into fists. It was the wrong thing for Morrelli to say. "You've already pissed me off, Morrelli.You're lucky you're not kissing concrete right now."
"Did something happen to Maggie?" Morrelli's eyes were suddenly serious. Maybe he finally sensed Tully's anger was real.
"She's fine, Morrelli. She's out of town for the weekend. That's all."
Morrelli looked past Tully's shoulder.
Tully glanced back and then spun around to find Emma with Harvey pulling her on his leash, coming up the sidewalk. "Is everything okay, Dad?"
CHAPTER
25
USAMRIID
Colonel Benjamin Platt rubbed both hands over his face, stopping to dig the heels into his eyes then raking his fingers over his short cropped hair. It didn't do much good. He was exhausted. His vision was still a bit blurry from staring at the monitors and computer screens for the last several hours. He sat back in the rolling leather chair and twirled it around to look in through the glass wall.
Thankfully she had fallen asleep about an hour ago. What a nightmare this must be for her. To have a spaceman come into her home and take her mom away in a plastic bubble. Then to be brought here. The Slammer tended to freak out even the most stable people. It was bad enough to be locked in but worse being poked and prodded by doctors in space suits. There had been plenty of studies done on the psychological effect of human contact, human touch and, of course, the psychological effect of its absence. The Slammer proved most of those studies to the extreme.