Body Of Truth by Deirdre Savoy Page B

as she was could be doing in that part of town. I thought at the time that she was smart to catch a ride out of the neighborhood. In retrospect it might have been her last.”
    â€œDid you get a look at who picked her up?”
    â€œNot really. A dark-haired man. Or at least that was my impression. For all I know, it could have been a woman. I guess that’s not particularly helpful.”
    Father Mike shrugged. “Maybe not. What are you going to do?”
    Dana sighed. “Call the hotline number, I guess.” And hope she could make an anonymous report. While she felt obligated to tell what she saw, the prospect of getting involved in another police investigation in two days, when she’d done nothing to involve herself in either of them, didn’t please her.
    Perhaps sensing her displeasure, Father Mike said, “You can always take comfort in knowing you did the right thing.”
    Yeah. Her and Mother Teresa. She hadn’t bothered to have a phone hooked up in the room. “Hand me my phone, Father, before I change my mind. It’s in my purse in the top dresser drawer.”
    Chuckling, Father Mike did as she asked. Between the two of them, they remembered the number to dial. After making her waste her minutes on hold, an operator came on and took down her information with the promise of getting it to the detective in charge.
    Dana leaned back against her pillows, hoping that her involvement in the matter was over. If she had seen Amanda Pierce, surely someone else had seen her as well. Besides, she’d given them the precise address she’d visited and a description of the car she’d gotten into, though she hadn’t been able to provide a license plate number. Surely that was enough to go on without involving her any further. Well, she could hope anyway.
    Father Mike checked his watch. “I’ve got to be going. The other thing I wanted to ask you is if you need any help with Tim? I’m sure one of the other mothers wouldn’t mind having him over for a couple of days while you recover.”
    Again she felt a tinge of... she didn’t know what to call it. Guilt, probably, over making anyone worry about her, and discomfort at being in a position of need, even if it were only perceived need.
    â€œI’ve got it covered, Father. You couldn’t know this, but I’m supposed to be lying on a beach on Paradise Island right now, not stuck in a hospital bed. I’d already made arrangements for Tim to stay with another family. He’s with them now. Besides, they’re supposed to be letting me out of here today, if the doctor would ever show up to check me out.”
    Father Mike pushed back his chair and stood. “I’ll let you get your rest until then. If you need a ride home, I can get someone—”
    Dana held up her good hand to forestall him. “I’ve got that covered, too. My friend Joanna and her husband are on call.”
    He took her hand and offered her a benevolent smile. “All right. You let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”
    Great. Now she’d offended him. The problem with the do-gooders of the world was that they resented the hell out of not being given anything good to do. “Actually, there is something you can do for me. My patient, Nadine Evans, she’s bedridden. I don’t know if she has the wherewithal to make the arrangements or if she has any money to bury her grandson.”
    Dana had called Nadine earlier, only to have the woman slam the phone down in her ear. Dana didn’t know what that was about. Maybe Nadine was too overcome with grief to talk, or maybe she resented her for surviving when Wesley didn’t, but Dana couldn’t leave it like that. Hopefully, Father Mike would be able to succeed where she failed. Nadine wasn’t Catholic, but she was religious enough not to be rude to any man of the cloth.
    After taking down Nadine’s address and phone