anything: fear, fatigue, indigestion.
I forgot to tell them I was under the gas when Dr. Dulur was murdered. Frankly, I was tired, and I thought the truth would come out soon enough. Besides, I was covered in blood, and I was beyond caring about mundane problems like jail time.
I had been booked and handcuffed to a desk and left to sit, the blood drying sticky on my body and clothes, when the need to see my grandmother gripped me. I was panicked with it.
I wanted my grandma. Others would want their mother, but it was just as likely that my mother was also handcuffed to a desk in some other police station as anywhere else. And it would take more than her granddaughter being arrested for murder to get my grandmotherout of her house. She hadn’t left voluntarily since my father died years before. So I was alone.
My body trembled, on the verge of a monumental freak-out. Where was Spencer? He hadn’t come to the crime scene, and he wasn’t at the station. He was the chief of police, for crying out loud. What kind of work ethic was that?
If Spencer were around, he would make certain I was all right. Sure, he would yell at me and tell me how much trouble I was, but he would take the handcuffs off me, and he would know I had been under the gas, and he would get me back to my grandma.
I worried that I would start crying the ugly cry where my nose ran and my face contorted. The ugly cry was building in my chest. I could feel it rising, and it was only a matter of seconds until I would completely humiliate myself.
“Who did this to you?”
Holden knelt in front of me, his strong, tall body crouching easily, and looked into my eyes. He wore a leather jacket over his plaid shirt. I was dimly aware that I was surprised to see him, but he immediately calmed me, and I felt slightly warmer.
“I was under the gas,” I said. “And the dentist had no face.” I sniffed and hiccupped.
“I will be right back,” he said. He laid his hand on my arm and squeezed gently. “I mean
right
back. Only a moment. Will you be all right?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. I probably wouldn’t ever be all right again. “He had no face,” I said.
I hiccupped once more and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Holden was gone, but I could hear him behind me, talking to the police sergeant I’d just met.
He must work the night shift
, I thought. Otherwise, I would have seen him before. It was getting pretty late. I must have been under the gas a long time.
Holden’s voice was scary, like a high school principal’s voice with a Mr. T edge to it. He was telling the police sergeant to take my clothes for evidence. He was threatening legal action if they didn’t release me.
Maybe he’s a lawyer
, I thought, but threw that idea out of my head. He was nothing like a lawyer. Lawyers wore suits.
The police sergeant uncuffed me. “Sorry about that, miss,” he said. “Mr. Smith at the hospital told us you were under the gas, and it was some big guy who offed the dentist.”
“He had no face,” I told him, like I was telling him that ground beef was on sale at Pete’s Market.
Cannes didn’t have a detective or a female police officer. So I was in charge of undressing myself and placing the clothes in an evidence bag. Holden insisted that I be allowed to use their shower and get some clean clothes.
I dressed in a towel, and he guided me to the shower with a gentle yet firm hand. He turned on the water and handed me the soap and put a clean towel and clothes on a hook.
“Take as long as you need,” he said. “I’m not leaving you. I will be here. Do you understand?”
I nodded, not really understanding anything but feeling the need to make him feel better about my state.
After he turned his back and started walking out of the bathroom, I dropped the towel and let the hot water pour over me. My chills grew worse, as if they were battling the warmth of the water. I hoped the water would win. I was tired of being cold.
It
I forgot to tell them I was under the gas when Dr. Dulur was murdered. Frankly, I was tired, and I thought the truth would come out soon enough. Besides, I was covered in blood, and I was beyond caring about mundane problems like jail time.
I had been booked and handcuffed to a desk and left to sit, the blood drying sticky on my body and clothes, when the need to see my grandmother gripped me. I was panicked with it.
I wanted my grandma. Others would want their mother, but it was just as likely that my mother was also handcuffed to a desk in some other police station as anywhere else. And it would take more than her granddaughter being arrested for murder to get my grandmotherout of her house. She hadn’t left voluntarily since my father died years before. So I was alone.
My body trembled, on the verge of a monumental freak-out. Where was Spencer? He hadn’t come to the crime scene, and he wasn’t at the station. He was the chief of police, for crying out loud. What kind of work ethic was that?
If Spencer were around, he would make certain I was all right. Sure, he would yell at me and tell me how much trouble I was, but he would take the handcuffs off me, and he would know I had been under the gas, and he would get me back to my grandma.
I worried that I would start crying the ugly cry where my nose ran and my face contorted. The ugly cry was building in my chest. I could feel it rising, and it was only a matter of seconds until I would completely humiliate myself.
“Who did this to you?”
Holden knelt in front of me, his strong, tall body crouching easily, and looked into my eyes. He wore a leather jacket over his plaid shirt. I was dimly aware that I was surprised to see him, but he immediately calmed me, and I felt slightly warmer.
“I was under the gas,” I said. “And the dentist had no face.” I sniffed and hiccupped.
“I will be right back,” he said. He laid his hand on my arm and squeezed gently. “I mean
right
back. Only a moment. Will you be all right?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. I probably wouldn’t ever be all right again. “He had no face,” I said.
I hiccupped once more and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Holden was gone, but I could hear him behind me, talking to the police sergeant I’d just met.
He must work the night shift
, I thought. Otherwise, I would have seen him before. It was getting pretty late. I must have been under the gas a long time.
Holden’s voice was scary, like a high school principal’s voice with a Mr. T edge to it. He was telling the police sergeant to take my clothes for evidence. He was threatening legal action if they didn’t release me.
Maybe he’s a lawyer
, I thought, but threw that idea out of my head. He was nothing like a lawyer. Lawyers wore suits.
The police sergeant uncuffed me. “Sorry about that, miss,” he said. “Mr. Smith at the hospital told us you were under the gas, and it was some big guy who offed the dentist.”
“He had no face,” I told him, like I was telling him that ground beef was on sale at Pete’s Market.
Cannes didn’t have a detective or a female police officer. So I was in charge of undressing myself and placing the clothes in an evidence bag. Holden insisted that I be allowed to use their shower and get some clean clothes.
I dressed in a towel, and he guided me to the shower with a gentle yet firm hand. He turned on the water and handed me the soap and put a clean towel and clothes on a hook.
“Take as long as you need,” he said. “I’m not leaving you. I will be here. Do you understand?”
I nodded, not really understanding anything but feeling the need to make him feel better about my state.
After he turned his back and started walking out of the bathroom, I dropped the towel and let the hot water pour over me. My chills grew worse, as if they were battling the warmth of the water. I hoped the water would win. I was tired of being cold.
It
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