Bone Deep by Debra Webb Page A

viewed from the crime scene... the family photos. Her snapshots as a photography buff. But nothing came. A brick wall met his continued attempts. She wouldn’t let him back in. Or maybe he held back on a subconscious level.
    Why warn him, then hold back? Didn’t make sense. He picked up the chart and the file, buzzed the nurse and walked to the door. He had to get out of here before the next phase hit. The routine was always the same. He had maybe a minute.
    As if to defy him, pain split through his head, followed by a bright flash of light. He groaned, pushed it away. He didn’t want to go there now. He steeled himself and focused on the door. He needed out of this place. Just turn it off. Don’t think.
    The panic reared its ugly head, a creeping, swelling fear that rose in his throat inhibiting his ability to breathe. It burgeoned in his chest, pressing against his thudding heart. Sweat broke out across his skin. The urge to run raced through his veins.
    Where was that nurse?
    They mustn’t find him ...
    He’ll never be safe if they find him ... Save us!
    He had to get out of here.
    “Is everything all right, Dr. Phillips?”
    Nurse Bennett’s voice jerked him from the trance... the panic. She held the door open, waiting, looking up at him with mounting concern.
    He nodded. “Everything’s fine. Thank you.”
    He couldn’t get out of the hospital fast enough.
    He burst through exit and gulped in breath after breath. Didn’t help. The voices... the haunting images followed him. He couldn’t make them go away. The darkness edged in... threatening his control... dragging him back to that place where he’d lost himself completely.
    He forced the images away. Breathed more deeply.
    He wasn’t going back there... not for anyone.
    Not for Kate or her son... not for Jillian.
    ~*~
    Jill dropped her purse onto the hall table and checked the answering machine for messages. The day was almost over and there was still no news about Cody. Her apprehension was mounting fast now. He’d been unaccounted for since Sunday morning. A neighbor had seen Kate and Cody getting into her car, presumably to go to church. But no one saw them at church. The urge to join the search was very nearly overwhelming. But how could she do that and all this?
    Jill frowned, suddenly too aware of the silence. He was gone .
    But then that was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it?
    After what Cullen Marks had to say, she understood more than ever that she absolutely needed some kind of miracle that would save her nephew and sister.
    Even if it meant believing in someone like Paul Phillips.
    Dear God, she was losing her mind. Jill closed eyes and struggled to hold onto her composure. How could she fix this?
    First things first. She would check her father’s study to see if Phillips had left a report.
    Insistent knocking echoed around her. The possibility it was the chief with an update had her hurrying to the door, praying there was good news. She yanked it open and Paul Phillips filled the doorway as if her desperation had somehow summoned him. Whatever foolish relief she felt was short lived.
    He was ready to bolt. He didn’t have to say a word. She could see it in his eyes, in the dark, tense angles of his face.
    “Can I come in?”
    “Of course.” She stepped back, opened the door wider. He came inside just far enough for her to close the door. Again she wondered about the demons that haunted him. He was unquestionably a tortured man. This looked like far more than burnout... deeper than a breakdown. When he stared at some point beyond her and said nothing, she asked, “Have you learned something about my sister’s case?”
    “You said you didn’t want me to waste your time so I won’t.” He looked directly at her then. “There’s nothing I can do for you.”
    He was right. She had said that. Some random brain cell screamed at her not to let him go. She was all alone in this and she needed someone.
    “You found nothing that might