"Under the circumstances I have a hard time considering myself lucky," Kim said with little emotion. "But thanks for your help. I apologize for getting you out on a Sunday morning."
"Glad to do it," Justin said. "And I'm terribly sorry about Becky. My heartfelt sympathies to you both."
Kim and Tracy echoed their thanks.
"Well, I better be going," Justin said. He touched the brim of his hat. "I'll see you two. My best to you both at this difficult time."
Justin gave Tracy a peck on the cheek and Kim a handshake before starting off. He got only a few paces away, when he stopped. "A word of advice to you, Kim. Don't get arrested again. If you do, I can guarantee you won't get bail. Back-to-back arrests like you've managed obviously puts you in a special category."
"I understand," Kim said. "I'll be careful."
Kim and Tracy watched Justin walk away until he was completely out of earshot. They turned to each other.
"Now I want you to tell me really what happened," Tracy said.
"I'll tell you as much as I know," Kim said flatly. "But I have to get my car. Would you mind giving me a ride out to Higgins and Hancock?"
"Not at all," Tracy said. "I'd planned as much."
"We'll talk in the car," Kim said.
They started across the street in the direction of the parking lot.
"I'm living a nightmare," Kim confessed.
"As I said last night," Tracy responded, "we both need help, and we might be the only people who can give it to each other."
Kim sighed. "It must seem crazy to you that I've plunged headlong into this E. coli crusade. Our daughter is dead and all I want to do is race around like some cloak-and-dagger sleuth." He shook his head. "All these years I prided myself on being the strong one, but now I see that, really, you're the one with the inner strength. I know I can't avoid the fact of Becky's death forever, but I just can't look at it now. I hope you can understand that I'm just not ready to deal with it."
Tracy was silent for a while. Then she reached out and put a hand on Kim's arm. "I understand," she said. "And I won't rush you. I'll even support you in your quest. But you won't be able to deny Becky's death forever."
Kim nodded his head. "I know," he whispered. "And thank you."
The ride went quickly. Kim gave Tracy all the details from the time Marsha showed up at his house until the police booked him and put him in jail. When he described the attack by the man with the knife, Tracy was aghast. He even showed her the shallow slice across the top of his hand.
"What did this man look like?" Tracy asked. She shuddered. She couldn't imagine the horror of being attacked in a dark slaughterhouse.
"It happened so fast," Kim said. "I wouldn't be able to describe him very well."
"Old, young?" Tracy asked. "Tall, short?" For some inexplicable reason she wanted an image of this individual.
"Dark," Kim said. "Dark skin, dark hair. I think he was Mexican or at least Latin American. Slender but well-muscled. He had a lot of tattoos."
"Why didn't you tell all this to Justin?" she asked.
"What good would it have done?" Kim said.
"He could have said something to the judge." Tracy persisted.
"But it wouldn't have changed anything," Kim maintained. "In fact, it might have made things worse. I mean, it sounds so improbable, and I just wanted to get away from there so I could think of what to do."
"So you believe Marsha Baldwin is still in Higgins and Hancock?" Tracy asked. "Possibly being held against her wishes?"
"That or worse," Kim said. "If it were human blood I found, she could have been killed."
"I don't know what to say," Tracy admitted.
"Nor do I," Kim said. "I keep hoping she got out. Maybe I should call my answering machine. Maybe she called."
Tracy pulled the phone from its car cradle and handed it to Kim. He dialed and listened. After a couple of minutes. he put the phone back.
"Well?" Tracy asked.
Kim shook his head dejectedly. "No luck," he said. "Just Ginger."
"Tell me again exactly what you heard when you were talking with her the last time," Tracy asked.
"I heard the sound of breaking glass," Kim repeated. "It came right after she said someone was at the door. Then I heard a series of crashes, which I believe were from chairs falling over. I think whoever came through the door chased her out of the room."
"And you told all this to the police?" Tracy asked.
"Of course," Kim said. "But a lot of good that did! Yet it's understandable. They think I'm some kind of nut. When I tried to show them the blood, it had been washed away. When I tried to show them her cell phone, it was gone. Even her car wasn't in the parking lot where it had been when I got there."
"Could she have taken the phone?" Tracy asked. "And driven away in the car?"
"I hope to God she did," Kim said. "I hate to think of any alternative, and I feel so responsible. She'd gone there because of me."
"You didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do," Tracy said. "In the short time I had with her. I could tell she wasn't the kind of person people could push around. She definitely had a mind of her own."
"What I'd like to do is get my hands on the guard." Kim said. "He had to know Marsha was there, even though he denied it."
"If he lied to the police, he certainly isn't going to tell you anything," Tracy said.
"Well, I've got to do something," Kim said.
"Do you know anything about her?" Tracy asked. "Like where she lives, or where she's from, or whether she has any family in the area?"
"I know almost nothing about her," Kim admitted, "Except that she's twenty-nine, and she went to veterinary school."
"Too bad," Tracy commented. "It would be a help if you could establish for sure whether or not she's missing. If she is, then the police would have to listen to you."
"You just gave me an idea," Kim said. He straightened up from his slouch. "What do you think of my going to Kelly Anderson and getting her to help?"
"Now, that's not a bad idea," Tracy said. 'The question is, would she do it?"
"There's no way of knowing unless I approach her," Kim said.
"She's caused you enough grief," Tracy said. "It seems to me she owes you something."
"Gosh, the media could be a big help," Kim said. "Not only with the Marsha problem, but also with the whole meat-contamination issue."
"The more I think about this, the better I like it," Tracy said. "Maybe I can help you convince her."
Kim looked appreciatively at his former wife. With the bitterness of the divorce and the rancor of the custody issues he'd forgotten how warmly attractive she was. "You know, Trace," he said, "I'm really thankful that you came to court this morning and not just because you made the effort to raise the bail. I'm just thankful you're willing to be with me after all that's happened."
Tracy looked over at Kim. The remark was so out of character for him, yet seeing his eyes she knew he was sincere. "That's a very nice thing to say," she told him.
"I mean it," Kim said.
"Well, I appreciate your saying it," Tracy said. "I can't remember the last time you thanked me for anything. In fact, it must have been before we were ever married."
"I know," Kim admitted. "You're right. I had a little time to think last night in jail, and I have to say that the events over the last twenty-four hours, particularly concerning Becky, have opened my eyes."
"Opened your eyes to what?" Tracy asked.
"To what's really important in life," Kim said. "I suppose that sounds melodramatic, but I've realized I've made a terrible mistake. I've focused too much on career and competition, at the expense of family. And us."
"I'm impressed to hear you say such a thing," Tracy said. This did not sound like the Kim she'd divorced.
"I'm afraid I've been selfish all my adult life," Kim continued. "It's a little ironic since the whole time I've been hiding behind the facade of the charitable, selfless physician. Like a child, I've needed constant praise and constant reinforcement, and being a surgeon was a perfect fit."