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Chapter 9

September 4

L
ILLY SWAM IN
a sea of fog, registering only a few sensations. Thick cotton had replaced her tongue. Every inch of her ached, but the sharp pain in her pelvis caused worry to creep into her waking mind—worry that she’d been raped.

Slowly, the haze lifted, and she felt comforting warmth surrounding her left hand. She could hear a voice.

First as a whisper.

Then as fervent pleading.

Her eyes opened, blinking against the bright lights. She felt dripping water cascade down her arm and felt her skin with her free hand to see if it was IV fluid. Her fingers traced the thin river to a rough cheek instead. Kadin stopped speaking. As Lilly shifted to her side, he clutched her hand until the pain of that grip brought all her senses into focus.

The memory of the attack became clear and unrelenting.

Lilly curled into a fetal position and wept. She felt Kadin lean over and bury his face in her hair.

“Lilly, it’s going to be all right.” He lifted his face up, running his fingers through the tangles in her hair.

She didn’t know how long they sat in silence. Turning over on her back, she pulled her hand free from Kadin’s and pushed the hair from her eyes.

“What day is it?” Lilly asked.

“It’s Monday morning.”

Lilly reached up, feeling the area around her right eye. She was unable to open it.

“Careful. It’s fractured.” Kadin stood from the chair and sat on the edge of her bed.

“You were supposed to be there last night.”

“I was there … I found you.” Kadin’s voice broke.

“You were late.” She turned her left eye in a dead stare.

“Lilly—”

She stopped him. “Whatever you say will not make a difference. What did he drug me with?”

“Ketamine.”

“That’s not the easiest thing to get your hands on.” The bed jiggled as Kadin adjusted his weight. “I need to talk to the police.” Lilly struggled to a sitting position. She pushed Kadin’s offered assistance away. He stood and returned to the bedside chair.

“A detective’s been waiting here since you were brought in.”

“How many people know I’m here?”

“You’re not at Sage. They brought you to Blue Ridge. I talked to Dr. Anderson. He said he’ll personally cover your shifts until you call him. I begged him for secrecy.”

The thought brought new tears. “He’s never like that.”

“He’s the one who offered. Drake’s covering the practice. I can stay as long as you want.”

“I’m not sure I want you to.”

“Lilly, you can blame me, but I’m not sure my presence would have made a difference.”

The silence was a wide cavern between them.

“The police think he was hiding inside.”

“Hiding? For how long? Dana was there with me. We came home together.”

“Likely before that.”

“How do they think he got in? I never heard anything.”

“They believe he copied your keys.”

Lilly slid down in the bed and pulled the thin, drab sheet up over her mouth. She couldn’t keep the tears from flowing, the salt stung the open wounds around her injured eye. The irony of it all breeched her sanity.

All her safety measures failed.

Lilly cursed herself for not changing each lock on her door the day her keys were misplaced. Her martial arts training had proved ineffectual against the drug he’d injected. She’d never had a chance to reach her gun.

Lilly allowed the memory of the attack to play in full detail.

Dana had left. Lilly was at the sink, rinsing their drinking glasses. The warmth from the fire begged off the chill from a cool autumn breeze that drifted in through the small kitchen window. The quiet music masked any noise that might have alerted her to the presence of a stranger in her home.

It was the smell that made her turn around, an odd mixture of sweat, grease, and antiseptic.

A man, his height well over hers, was scant inches away. The tips of his shoes met her own, his face hidden behind a black ski mask. At first she paused, distracted, trying to discern why one of his eyes was blue and the other brown.

“I’ve been waiting to meet you, Lilly,” the man said, his voice unnatural.

She replayed the memory again to that point, to ensure her findings.

There had been no sound of the door opening. She couldn’t remember feeling a draft that would have signaled her that he was sneaking in from the outside.

She didn’t want to believe he’d hidden like a spider in her home, waiting for his prey to cross over the threshold of his trap.

Lilly attempted to get in a protective stance when his right hand swung at her, arcing to punch her upper arm. Before she could deflect it, she felt the sting of a needle bury itself deep into her shoulder. Even in the next second as she knocked his arm away, the burn of the medicine swelled within her muscle.

Bolting from the kitchen, she ran, aiming for the front door. Within a few steps, he grabbed her shirt from behind. Her strength waning, she allowed him to draw her body into his. She then pivoted and faced him, grabbing his shoulders and throwing him back-first into the glass table. Snatching hold of her arm, he pulled her with him, the breaking glass like exploding wind chimes. His shirt pulled up, exposing his chest, in the tumble.

Before she succumbed to the medicine, she forced her mind to remember the odd tattoo of a creature with three heads; a lion, a goat, and a serpent breathing fire, joined into one hideous creature.

“You should have changed your locks when you lost your keys, Lilly,” the stranger chided.

With her remaining strength, she tried to keep herself from landing on top of him. His hold on her arm kept her fixed, and the last clear thing she remembered was flopping like an earth-bound fish into the strange tattoo as his free hand came up and cupped her head, stroking it like a concerned parent.

What remained of the memory were sensations—mostly of pain, then of water, then of nothing.

Until now.

Chapter 10

“N
ATHAN
, I
THINK
it would be wise if you let me conduct this interview.” Brett crinkled his Styrofoam cup and banked an overhead shot into the nearest trashcan. It caught the edge of the plastic receptacle and fell to the floor.

He counted the seconds it took for Nathan to walk over and retrieve it.

Exactly five seconds—right on the mark.

“Her name is Lilly.”

“You’re not developing a thing for her, are you?” Brett watched his partner’s deep-set eyes for full disclosure.

“No.”

Brett smirked at his quick response. “All the more reason I should speak with her. I think you’re beginning to over-identify with these victims and their families.”

“Let’s go over the situation. I don’t want to screw this up.”

“I guess that means you’re still taking the lead.” Brett leaned back against the wall. “She’s had a busy day. Her head seems pretty clear of the drug. She’s had the rape kit done. They did find semen.”

“It’s going to match the other women.”

Brett continued. “I’m pretty sure she took all the normal prophylaxis. I don’t know for sure since they don’t want to betray her confidentiality. I did see her take a slew of pills.”

“Has Kadin ever left her?” Nathan paced outside the clear glass.

“Not that I’m aware of. If he’s not in the room, he’s close by.”

“What’s your take on him?”

Brett sighed, loosening his tie and releasing the button of his collar. “Personally or professionally?”

“Both.”

“Personally, I think he’s a stand-up guy. I did some interviews in the labor unit where Kadin delivers most of his patients. He’s been there since residency. The nurses love him. Say he brings these quilts for all the sick babies that end up in the neonatal ICU. Compassionate, almost to a fault.”

“And professionally?”

“Nathan, he’s not our guy. There are no red flags for me in his behavior or background. None.”

“I don’t necessarily agree with that.”

Brett pushed away from the wall. “What are you talking about?”

“Not all his actions seem to be on the up and up. You tell me. You go to the home of a girl that you want to be with who happens to be a nut case about her safety. Her door is open but you call her first on the phone before going in. Then you take time checking her garbage before you check to see if she’s all right. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Nathan, we all know people do weird things when they’re in denial. He likely never thought anything like this could happen to her.”

“Did you check him for the tattoo?”

Brett approached the window, standing next to his partner. “He volunteered to show me. Nathan, he’s not the guy. Why do you think he is?”

“I don’t necessarily, just trying to be thorough.” Brett was silent as Nathan ruminated. “I have noticed something about the two of them.”

“What?”

“They seem into one another, but he says they’re not dating.”

“So?”

“You know why?”

“No, do you?”

“I just wonder if he would be frustrated enough to push an interaction.”

Brett turned and faced him. “Nathan, you’re just burning time speculating on nonsense. Let’s focus on who it could really be. How did your interviews go with the ER staff? Did you talk with that guy, Anderson?”

“The other attending, yeah.”

“If I had to peg someone, I would pick him.” Brett leaned one shoulder into the window.

“Really, why?”

“We know from Kadin that he’s in the workroom when her keys go missing and show up. He’s got access to that drug—ketamine. Torrence was a prior patient at that hospital. Did he have an alibi?”

“No.”

“He take his shirt off for you?”

“He refused.”

“That doesn’t cause you concern?” Brett asked.

“Look, I’ve got a court order in the works to force him, and he’s being babysat until we get it. Brett, he just doesn’t feel right to me. I think he views himself like a mentor to Lilly. He’s rough on her to make her a better doctor.”

“How did you gather that?”

“He said she was the only ER fellow worth hiring last year.”

Brett looked into Lilly’s room, then back at Nathan. “We need to get this interview done. We’re not going to have time tomorrow. The chief is starting the task force, and the press conference is in the afternoon.”

“I know.”

“Then why are we hanging out here in this hallway?”

Nathan pulled his tie between his thumb and forefinger several times before answering. There were few things worth hiding from his partner. This wasn’t one of them. “Brett, there is something about Lilly Reeves that haunts me. I don’t know if I want to figure out what that is.” He let the tie fall and placed his hand on the cool handle of Lilly’s door.

In that touch, he understood Kadin’s wariness to discover what he found. He turned to Brett, who rolled his eyes in mild exasperation. After raking his fingers across his forehead to restore his hair into the proper position, he entered the room, walking slowly toward her, but stopping several feet from her bedside. Brett positioned himself nearer to the door.

Lilly was alone. Nathan had convinced Kadin it would be best if they could interview her in private. He’d agreed begrudgingly.

“Lilly, I know we met briefly before when Torrence Campbell was your patient, but I would like to introduce myself properly. I’m Detective Nathan Long. I’ll be handling your case.”

She sat upright in bed, her body tilted away from him. A single eye stared vacantly at the blank television screen. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, bloodless against the neatly pressed white sheet that covered her.

He waited endless minutes for her response. Brett cleared his throat behind him.

“Lilly, I am sorry this happened to you.”

Fluid leaked from her swollen right eye. Nathan’s heart slumped to his feet. He felt Brett’s presence near him from behind and he waved him back with small movements and took a few steps closer. After withdrawing a handkerchief from his breast pocket, he took the chair at her bedside, draping it over the side rail.

Her hand inched toward the cloth. Cautious fingers pulled the fabric into her palm.

“My grandmother makes dozens of these for me,” he said. “She’s an old southern woman.”

Lilly pulled the garment into her palm. “I bet she’s wonderful.”

Her voice was soft, tired.

Nathan leaned forward. “Lilly, I know you may harbor feelings of resentment against me and the police department. It’s only become clear within the last couple of days that we need to make the public aware of how to ensure their safety.”

She rocked slowly.

“I can only catch him if you help me.”

She turned to face him. He held his breath and forced himself not to cringe at the bruised face and stitched lacerations.

Lilly opened the handkerchief and pressed it flat in her lap. “I’ll help you if you promise me one thing.”

Nathan felt his throat swell as if he was experiencing anaphylaxis from a bee sting. He choked on his words. “What would that be?”

“I need you to find my father for me.”

Nathan blinked several times. He grabbed his notepad from his inner suit pocket and flipped it open. “That won’t be a problem. I’d like to speak with him anyway. The more we learn about you and your background, the better we’ll understand the man who attacked you. What can you tell me about him?”

“My memories of him are vague, except for one.”

“And the one being?”

“The day he left our family.”

Nathan swallowed hard. “Let’s start with something easier. What’s his name?”

“Thomas Reeves.”

“Have a birth date?”

Lilly shrank slightly. Nathan moved on.

“Do you know where he lives?”

“I know the address of our house where we were living at the time. I memorized his license plate as he drove away that day.”

“How old were you?”

“Five.”

Nathan’s soul ached at the thought. He imagined her with outstretched arms as she bit her lip to stem the tears, the dust billowing from his tires as he drove away. “What do you remember about the circumstances?”

“I know he was a drunk and a thief. He has something of my mother’s I want back.”

“What’s that?”

She kept her head down and traced her fingers lightly over the pastel, embroidered flowers. A pooled tear leached through the fibers. “He’ll know what it is when you ask for it.”

“When we’re done here today, write down everything you can remember about him. Physical description, any known relatives, places he worked. I’ll come get it from you tomorrow and we’ll go from there. Okay?”

Lilly nodded and eased back into several pillows piled high against her headboard.

“Let’s talk about what happened yesterday. I want to start with more general questions. Where did your locks come from?”

“I had them installed by a locksmith.” Her voice gained strength with each word.

“Do you know the name offhand?”

“No, but I can get it for you.”

“Does anyone else have keys to your apartment?”

“No.”

“Anyone borrow them recently?”

“No.”

“Kadin mentioned that they’d gone missing for a period of time at work. Do you know how long that was?”

“I can’t be sure. I worked the day shift. I noticed they were missing just before I was supposed to leave. It was a busy day. Someone could have taken them in the morning and I wouldn’t have known.”

“Did anything strike you odd about that day?”

“Other than Torrence?”

Nathan let the remark slide. “Did anyone make you feel uneasy? Have an unusual interest? Touch you inappropriately?”

Lilly’s eyes gazed upward. “There was one man who made some odd gestures. He said he wanted to be seen because he was having thoughts of killing his wife. By the end of my exam, he was asking me for my address and wanted to know what time I got off work.”

“Did you give him any of that information?”

Lilly’s incredulous glance answered the question.

“You remember the name?”

“He’s not the one who did this.”

“And you’re sure, why?”

“Because he was black, and my attacker was not.”

“I’d still like his name. Sometimes creeps like this will run in packs. You never know. Anything else?”

“Nothing different from the usual mayhem.”

“Were there any staff there that you didn’t recognize?”

“No.”

“What was your routine that day?”

“I worked a twelve-hour shift. The senior attending made me stay late to take care of Torrence.”

Nathan’s temperature rose. “Made you?”

“I’d come back to the workroom to get my things to leave. My keys were nowhere to be found. He assigned me the incoming trauma patient.”

“But you were supposed to be getting off.”

“It’s not unusual for him to make power plays like that.”

“He does this with all his subordinates?”

“Not the male ones.”

“Kadin relayed that when you finished that case and returned to the work area, your keys were back.”

“That’s right.”

“Did it seem odd to you?”

“At the time, not really. I’d been crazy trying to find them. Everyone knew I was looking. I just assumed someone on staff put them on top of my bag so I knew they were found.”

Nathan pulled his chair closer. “What did you do after work?”

“I went to a martial arts class.”

“Were your belongings locked up?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll need the name of that place. Did you go anywhere else?”

“After that I went home.”

“Did anything seem out of place at your town home?”

“No, nothing.”

Nathan heard the door click open behind him. Turning, he saw Brett step aside for a nurse. He stood from his chair, closing his notes.

“I just need to assess her and get her vital signs.”

“We’ll wait outside for a few minutes.”

Nathan followed Brett out and down the hall a few steps until they weren’t in view of the window.

“What do you think?” Nathan asked.

Brett paced a small circle before him, his hazel eyes wide in speculation. “I still think Anderson could be a suspect. Other than that, you didn’t get very far. We’re definitely going to have to spend time tracking down those locks. We need to get someone with SMC security, reviewing tapes and seeing how they track access in and out of that department … and med room.”

“Each of the other victims is going to need additional interviewing. We have to get going on a detailed questionnaire to determine where they’re crossing each other’s paths and this assailant’s.”

Brett nodded but stopped, mouth gaping as the elevator doors opened and their chief of police stepped out. He clamped his jaw closed, groaning outwardly, rustling up his short, brown curls with several sweeps of his fist.

Nathan stepped forward and offered his hand. “Chief Anson, what brings you here tonight?”

“Nothing good, I’m afraid. Brett, I need to talk to Nathan. Is there something you can be doing?”

The surprise in Brett’s eyes pushed his receding hairline back another few inches. It was an unusual request. He stammered without forming words.

Nathan tapped Brett’s shoulder with the side of his fist. “I need you to walk Lilly through the attack, forward and back. She released her ER records, so I’ve read through the doctor’s report. See what else you can pull from her. She may be more comfortable with you for that portion anyway.”

Brett nodded. “I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Nathan called after him.

The chief motioned Nathan into a small vending area. Nathan took a seat around a small circular table centered in the room. Anson busied himself at the coffeemaker, withdrawing two Styrofoam cups from a nearby metal sleeve and setting them near the half-filled coffeepot. Nathan sat silent, thumbing through his notes, not really reading.

Chief Anson was a distinguished man in the department, a veteran of nearly thirty years and chief for the last ten. Most men spoke of him with respect, and those who didn’t were chastised. He was taller than Nathan by a few inches and had salt-and-pepper hair with chocolate-brown eyes that had the ability to draw information out of even the most reluctant witnesses.