“Well, I’ve interviewed witnesses with breathing tubes before. If she’s lucid we’ll use a letter board and she can blink. But I have to find out what she knows.”
He took a step closer until he stood right behind her, the heat from his body warming her skin, making her shiver. He leaned over her shoulder to peer through the glass and if she turned her head there would be a scant inch between her nose and his stubbled cheek. This afternoon in his car, before everything had gone to hell, he’d smelled like cedar. Now, he smelled like stale smoke. She kept her eyes locked straight ahead.
“She looks younger than she did this afternoon,” he murmured.
“She was covered in blood this afternoon. She’s cleaner now. What burned down?”
He turned his head and she could feel his stare. “Granville’s house.”
Susannah closed her eyes. “Dammit.”
“That’s what I said.” He stepped back and she shivered again, chilled without his heat. “I’m going to try to talk to her.” He held out a shopping bag. “This is for you.”
There were clothes in the bag and Susannah took them, looking up at him with a puzzled frown. “How did you get these?”
His mouth quirked slightly. “We had an informal family reunion in the lobby. My mother was leaving and my brother and niece had come to pick her up. Leo had picked Stacie up from her job at the mall where she bought your things. Leo’s going to drive Mama home and Stacie’s going to drive Mama’s car home because last time Mama drove at night she got stopped by a cop for doing thirty in a sixty-five zone.” He shrugged. “Cops are happy, Mama’s happy. So it’s all good.”
Susannah felt rather sorry for any cop having to give Mrs. Papadopoulos a traffic ticket. “Um, thank you. I’ll write your niece a check.”
He nodded once, then pushed past her into the small ICU room.
The nurse stood on the other side of the girl’s bed. “Two minutes. That’s all.”
“Yes, ma’am. Hey, honey,” Luke said, his voice smooth. “Are you awake?”
Jane Doe’s eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t open her eyes. He pulled up a chair and sat. “Do you remember me? I’m Agent Papadopoulos. I was with Susannah Vartanian this afternoon when we found you.”
Jane Doe stirred and the number on the blood pressure monitor began to rise.
Susannah saw his gaze flick to the monitor before returning to the girl’s face. “I’m not going to hurt you, honey,” he said. “But I need your help.”
The girl’s pulse jumped, sending another monitor beeping. She pitched her head, growing agitated, and Luke looked at Susannah with concern as the nurse looked as if she’d throw them out right then.
“I’m here, too,” Susannah said softly. She set the shopping bag on the floor and brushed her knuckles softly over the girl’s cheek. “Don’t be afraid.”
Jane Doe’s blood pressure began to decrease and Luke stood up. “You sit and I’ll wait on the other side of the glass. Talk to her. You know what I want to know. I’ll make you a letter chart.”
“Okay.” Susannah leaned close, covering the girl’s hand with her own. “Hey, you’re all right. You’re safe. Nobody’s gonna hurt you anymore. But we need your help. The other girls, they weren’t as lucky as you. Some of them have been taken away and we need to find them. We need your help.”
Her eyes opened, her expression one of helpless fear and dazed awareness.
“I know,” Susannah soothed. “You’re afraid and feel powerless. I know what that feels like and it totally sucks. But you can help us win. You can get back at the bastards who did this to you. Help me. What’s your name?”
She took the piece of paper Luke handed through the doorway. On it was the alphabet and she held it up in front of Jane Doe’s face, running her finger across each letter slowly. “Blink when I get there.”
Susannah kept her eyes fixed on the girl’s face, feeling a surge of satisfaction when the girl blinked. “M? Your name starts with M? Blink twice for yes.”
The girl blinked twice, some of the fear in her eyes was replaced with determination.
“Next letter then.”
“I’m sorry, your two minutes are more than up,” the nurse said.
“But-” Luke tried.
The nurse shook her head. “This patient is critical. If you want any information, you need to let her rest.”
Luke’s jaw tightened. “With all due respect, the lives of maybe five girls are at stake.”
The nurse’s chin lifted. “With all due respect, the life of this girl is at stake. You can come back tomorrow.”
Susannah could see the fury snapping in Luke’s eyes from where she sat, but he kept his cool. “One more yes/no question,” he said. “Please?”
The nurse blew out a breath. “One.”
“Thank you. Susannah, ask if she knows an Ashley.”
Susannah leaned in close again. “Do you know a girl named Ashley? Blink twice if you do.” The girl blinked twice, very deliberately. “Yeah. She does.”
He nodded once. “Then we’re on the right track.”
Susannah caressed the girl’s face, swearing the brown eyes that stared up at her snapped in frustration. “I know. I’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t be afraid. There’s a guard right outside and he won’t let anyone in that’s not supposed to be here. Sleep now. You’re safe.”
Luke retrieved her shopping bag from the floor. “I’ll take you to Daniel’s house,” he said when they were outside of ICU.
Susannah shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I have a hotel. Please,” she said when he opened his mouth to protest. “I appreciate your concern, but… this isn’t your concern.” She smiled as she said it, trying to soften her words.
He looked as if he wanted to argue, but he nodded. “Fine. Do you want to change?”
“I’ll wait. I’m… I want to clean up a little first.”
“Fine,” he said again and she knew it was anything but. “I’ll take you to your hotel, but first I want to check on Daniel.”
She followed him across the ICU floor because she knew she’d feel ashamed if she did not. He entered the room while she stood at the doorway, watching Daniel’s big chest rise and fall, still shallowly. He’d nearly died today. And I would have been alone.
Which was ridiculous, because she’d been alone for the past eleven years, ever since he’d walked out of their house, her life, never looking back. But deep down, she’d always known she was never truly alone. Today, she almost had been.
“How is he?” Luke murmured to Alex, who’d been keeping vigil by Daniel’s side.
“Better,” Alex said. “They had to sedate him. He started thrashing, trying to get out of bed. He nearly pulled out all his tubes. But he’s only here for observation now that the breathing tube’s been removed. They’ll let him go to the floor tomorrow.” She turned, looked over her shoulder with a tired smile. “Susannah. How are you?”
“I’m fine.” And if her words were abrupt, Alex Fallon didn’t seem to notice.
“Good. I wouldn’t care to live through another day like today. I have the keys to Daniel’s house. I know he’d want you to be comfortable there.”
“I’m going to a hotel.” She forced her lips to curve. “But thank you.”
Alex’s brow furrowed slightly, but she nodded. “Get some rest. I’ll watch over him.”
You do that, Susannah thought, unwilling to deal with the tightness in her throat. “And the girl,” she murmured.
“And the girl. Don’t worry. Susannah, tomorrow will be better.”
But Susannah knew differently. She knew what lay ahead, what needed to be done. Tomorrow would be, to borrow Luke’s word, difficult. Very difficult. “Yes. Better,” she said quietly, because it was the socially appropriate response.
Luke touched her arm, the briefest of contact, and when she looked up, it was understanding she saw in his dark eyes and not the criticism she’d expected. “Let’s go,” he said. “I’ll drop you off at your hotel on my way back to the office.”