Haunting Whispers (25 page)

When Rae walked into Yasi’s room, a nurse was re-dressing her injuries and the strong smell of antiseptic and blood prickled her nostrils. “Sorry, I’ll come back later.”

“Don’t go, Detective,” Yasi said. “You probably need to see this anyway.”

Rae stared at Yasi’s abdomen as the images in her head came to life. She preferred the matte-finish photos; they didn’t convey the pain as clearly as a live victim, and she could slightly detach. In some areas where the knife had cut more deeply, careful stitches pulled the wound together, in others Steri-Strips traversed the injury like railroad ties beneath rails. Yasi would never look at her body the same way again. The once-smooth, unblemished flesh would never casually welcome a lover’s touch. She thought about the self-consciousness Audrey’s injury caused her and wished she could spare Yasi the same fate.

“All done. Ring if you need anything, dear.” The nurse added the final touches to the bandage and left.

Yasi took Rae’s hand. “It’s all right. Everything is still pretty numb right now, which is probably a good thing. You need to toughen up or learn to hide your feelings better. Your eyes give you away.”

Rae felt her skin flush. “Sorry, I should be comforting you, not the other way around. How are you feeling?”

“Numb below the waist and a bit disoriented above. It’s hard to wrap my head around what happened.” Yasi stared at Rae for several seconds, taking in every detail of her face. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Yasi—”

“I know. You’re uncomfortable and we need to get back to business, right?”

“Is all your cirque family psychic or just you and Audrey?”

“I’m glad she told you. Audrey is the only one with that particular gift, but we all learn to read people. It’s part of our professional and personal survival, sort of like cops.”

Rae acknowledged Yasi’s astute observations with a simple nod. She understood why Audrey loved her. She was brave, caring, and selfless in the face of tremendous personal adversity. Her courage would be vital in the days and weeks ahead. As Rae mentally prepared her list of questions, she was glad Yasi seemed more alert and focused. Her friends would be here soon and she’d need all her faculties to distract Audrey.

“I assume our little secret is safe?” Yasi asked.

“For the moment. The others agreed to help.” The reason she was avoiding Audrey tweaked her again and she brushed it aside. “Do you feel like giving me an official statement?”

The easy smile that brightened Yasi’s face disappeared. She clasped her hands together as if drawing strength from the joining. “I was walking from the venue at Middleton to a small bar in town to meet the group for a drink. I cut through an alley—stupid, I know. As I turned onto the main street someone grabbed me from behind. He put a cloth over my mouth. It smelled nice, sort of sweet. I struggled, but the next thing I knew I was restrained, gagged, and blindfolded, lying on cold plastic.”

“Did you detect any taste to the substance on the cloth?”

She shook her head. “It burned my eyes and skin for a few seconds before I passed out.”

“What did your bindings feel like?”

“Definitely soft, some type of rope, very tightly bound around my hands and feet. The blindfold didn’t let in any light at all. The plastic under me felt thin, not substantial, maybe like the plastic used to wrap clothes at the dry cleaners.”

Carol Flynn had mentioned thin plastic, but Yasi’s impression gave her a possible lead. “And the space you were in, anything about that?”

“It was definitely small, tinny sounding. When he whispered, I heard a slight echo. If I had to guess, I’d say we were in a van or vehicle of some sort. I felt movement underneath as he—cut me—like the rocking of a car.”

Rae jotted notes as Yasi spoke. No one had mentioned a vehicle, another detail she could follow up. “Tell me what he said to you, how he spoke, in as much detail as you remember.”

“He whispered, always this urgent whispering, spooky. He’s educated, though, speaking in grammatically correct phrases. And I detected a hint of an accent that he used at will. I couldn’t tell the specific region of origin. It sounded acquired, not native.”

“How would you possibly know that?”

“I’ve spent my entire life in the cirque. We employ people from all over the world. I have a pretty good ear and I listen to how people talk. It’s sort of a quirky pastime.”

“Very nice skill to have, especially in this case.” Yasi was an excellent witness. Rae hoped one of these little fragments would lead to a suspect.

“Some of the phrases he used…they seemed familiar. Spoiled. Cleansed. Those aren’t the kind of words you hear every day in this part of the world. They’re reminiscent of my childhood in Morocco—sort of that region.”

Rae felt a momentary pang of guilt and irritation. Why hadn’t she picked up on that before? She thought back to the other victims’ statements. The Whisperer had spoken only one word to them over and over again, never sentences or phrases. It hadn’t been enough. “Go on.”

“He called me a traitor several times. Each time, he slashed my abdomen again. I passed out a couple of times, but he revived me with cold water and told me to pay attention.” Yasi stopped and closed her eyes for several minutes as tears trickled past her temples into her hair.

“We can finish some other time if you want,” Rae offered. “I know this is difficult.”

“I remember something else. When he whispered in my ear, I felt fabric against my skin. When he touched me, he was definitely wearing gloves, rubber gloves.”

Rae noted every detail exactly as Yasi described. This was new information and it certainly fit the lack of evidence. For the first time since she’d gotten the case, Rae felt a slight tug of enthusiasm and possibility.

“Did he say anything else?”

“He said Audrey disappointed him and she was spoiled.”

“Did he explain what he meant or how she’d been spoiled?”

“Not exactly.” Yasi suddenly seemed reluctant to answer the question directly.

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’? You said yesterday ‘he knows.’ What does he know?”

Yasi looked at Rae with what could only be described as sympathy and regret. “He knows about you and Audrey. I think he’s been watching her. He said you,
that cop,
spoiled her and she has to be
cleansed
.”

A knot of nerves twisted in Rae’s gut. She remembered their first kiss, the damage to her window, and her assault. Now it didn’t seem random or a juvenile prank at all. Rae imagined the suspect lurking in the shadows, spying on their most intimate moments, their lovemaking. She wouldn’t share those details with anyone, not even her closest friends. Having a potential killer witness them made her nauseous. She was responsible for his violent escalation. She’d pursued Audrey and as a result put her directly in harm’s way.

“I’m sorry, Rae, you had to know. I don’t want you to blame yourself.”

“But I
do
. I should’ve left her alone, especially after the warning note.”

Yasi took her hand again. “No,
he
is to blame, only him. He’s been after her since the first assault last—”

“What?” Rae’s voice sounded urgent, and she reframed the question. “Did he say something about that incident?”

“He said he’d waited a year to get her back and he was almost ready.”

His statement could be potentially damaging but hardly evidence. The nature of the injuries inflicted on Audrey and the subsequent victims certainly pointed to this suspect. Had he also been responsible for the assault at the community center? Rae heard voices in the hallway and turned her attention back to Yasi. “Is there anything else?”

“This man is desperate, Rae. I heard evil in his voice. He’s looking for something that doesn’t exist, something in his mind. If he ever had it all together, it’s come apart. He’s more dangerous with every day that passes…but you know that.”

Rae couldn’t meet her gaze. Yasi had already seen too much in her eyes. Rae’s concern would only upset her more. “Thanks for your help…you
have
helped.”

Rae turned to leave, but Yasi stopped her. “You care about Audrey. I see it when you look at her. Don’t ever be sorry for that. Find this man before he hurts her again.”

She tried to give Yasi a reassuring smile. “I need to get going before the gang shows up.”

“Yep, you can bet there’s been a curtain call.”

“Pardon?”

“Sorry, our way of calling a meeting when one of us needs help. Performers, you know.”

Rae smiled at the thought that every profession probably had its own specific lingo. “Please don’t tell Audrey I was here this morning.” She took the back stairs out of the hospital and drove to Sergeant Sharp’s office. She had to address one final detail before she could rest.

The Whisperer had been cautious not to leave evidence at the crime scenes, but she might have caught a break. He’d spoken to Yasi more freely, exposing his vulnerability and intentions. It sounded like the suspect was losing touch with reality. His verbiage indicated an almost fanatical mindset, a sort of theme, different from usual perpetrators. His insistence that Audrey be cleansed could imply an involvement in or exposure to another culture.

An uncomfortable feeling settled over Rae as she thought about the horrific devastation extremists had caused in recent times. Before she slept, she wanted Audrey’s protection detail on the job.

*

Audrey grabbed her cell phone from underneath the pillow when she woke up and looked at the display. Useless device. No calls, no texts, no messages—nothing from Rae. She’d said she would come by.
As soon as I can
, Audrey reminded herself. Guilt invaded as she thought of Yasi lying in a hospital bed, injured and afraid. She was feeling sorry for herself because her new girlfriend—if Rae could even be called a girlfriend after one round of sex—hadn’t checked in. Rae had better things to do than babysit and reassure her. But Rae was essentially her first, and that distinction came with certain privileges of insecurity and anxiety. Add the assault of her best friend to the mix and Audrey broadcast neuroses.

As she showered, she tried to separate the jumble of sensations swirling in and around her. Her cirque family was in the next room upset about Yasi, and they were all humming or going through their acts in their heads. She reasoned they needed the distraction. Audrey worried about getting to the hospital to comfort her friend too, but images of Rae intruded. It was surreal, as if their lovemaking, eclipsed by the attack, hadn’t happened. But it had. Her body still vibrated with the intimacy and intensity of their short time together.

Rae’s unconditional acceptance of her inexperience and her ghastly injury had touched her deeply. She’d been so convinced a lover would see her only as a victim, and look at her scarred body with pity, that she’d distanced herself from any possible involvements, until Rae. The attraction between them was too strong, the chemistry too compelling to ignore. She’d taken the chance. As she pulled her clothes over sensitive skin and imagined Rae’s hands there instead, she knew she’d made the right decision. She hoped Rae felt the same.

“Sanjana, we can go now?” Sam called from the living room.

She opened the bedroom door and joined her friends. The array of makeshift bedding that had been scattered on the floor, sofa, and chairs last night was neatly folded in a stack. “I like guests who clean up after themselves. What time is it?” She’d lost track as she dressed and thought of Rae.

“Almost ten. We go now,” Sam answered.

“Don’t I even get a cup of coffee?” What she really wanted was a few minutes to ask her friends what they knew of Yasi’s assault, how they’d found her, and other details that seemed too insensitive at the hospital last night.

“Ahead of you.” Tony waved a travel mug under her nose and led her toward the door.

They packed into Melvin’s van for the short trip, and when the door closed, speculation began about Yasi’s release. “We can’t take her back to our hotel,” Hope said.

Charity agreed. “Too noisy and cleaning people, no good.”

Tony said, “I’ll rent a place and we can take turns watching her.”

“We all contribute to rent,” Faith said, and everyone nodded agreement.

Her friends were genuinely trying to formulate a plan for Yasi’s housing and recovery, yet something was off. When she tried to focus on their feelings, she picked up only humming or another mental rehearsal. “What’s going on with you?” They looked at her but she heard only a cacophony of music. “Stop that and tell me what you’re up to.”

“We are here,” Sam announced as they pulled up to the hospital.

Everyone bailed out of the van like they were taking a bow at a sold-out performance. As she led them into the hospital, she decided they were simply trying to conceal the extent of their concern so she wouldn’t worry. She’d talk with them after they checked on Yasi.

When Audrey opened the door to Yasi’s room, she was sitting up in bed with the covers pulled tight around her neck. Her skin tone was rosier than the night before, but dark shadows marred her wide brown eyes. The pensive expression Audrey glimpsed as she came in quickly changed to a forced smile as they filed by. Audrey scanned the room when she entered, certain that she sensed Rae’s presence, disappointed not to find her.