Eyes by Joanne Fluke Page B

DA, and I work with her.”
    â€œI wouldn’t mention this to her, Sergeant.” The older nurse looked concerned. “It might hurt her feelings. Lisa could be anyone, a former wife, a sister, a girlfriend. There’s just no way of telling.”
    The younger nurse nodded. “This isn’t unusual, Sergeant. Patients say strange things when they’re sedated.”
    â€œDon’t worry. I won’t mention it to her. I’ll just tell Jill I saw him and he was sleeping.”
    Doug was thoughtful as he walked to the elevator. Who was Lisa? And why was Neil asking for her, instead of Jill? It was another piece of the puzzle, and he needed to figure out where it fit in.

CHAPTER 9
    Connie awoke to a babble of women’s voices. At first, they were all mixed together in some great cacophony, one indistinguishable from the other. She listened for a while. The voices were like the white-noise machine Alan had in the bedroom to block out the sounds of the city so he could sleep. One setting sounded like the ocean, with rhythmic waves crashing against the shore. Another made her think of a breeze sighing through the tall grasses of a field. The third setting was her favorite. It sounded like rain falling gently from the sky, a warm summer rain that made sidewalks fresh and clean and caused flowers to give off their scent.
    She might have fallen asleep again, but she woke up when the voices got louder. Had Alan forgotten to turn off the television? It was a very noisy program, but by concentrating on tones and inflections, she found she could focus on an individual speaker.
    â€œShould’a killed him when I got the chance, him and that woman in Mama’s bed, both of them naked as jaybirds. All’s I done was cut him up a little, and they drug me down here. ’S not fair.”
    Connie frowned. Was this the television, or was she dreaming? And then there was another voice, high pitched like a little girl’s.
    â€œI wasn’t even working, you know? I was just sitting at the bus stop when this guy in a shiny white Lincoln pulls up. He says he wants to party, and he waves a hundred at me. How am I supposed to know he was setting me up?”
    Connie opened her eyes, and she saw the bars. At first she thought they were some sort of gate, but then someone else spoke.
    â€œJust ask if he’s a cop. They gotta tell you. If they don’t, it’s entrapment.”
    â€œOh, yeah?” It was the girlish voice again. “If you’re so smart, what are you doing in here?”
    â€œI asked and he didn’t tell me. That’s why the judge is gonna let me walk. I know my rights. You just watch and see.”
    Connie shuddered. Those bars weren’t part of a gate. She was in jail! But what had she done? Everything was a blank. She sat up on the narrow bench that had served as her bed and looked down at her clothes. Her skirt was filthy, as if she’d been rolling around on the floor, and the sleeve of her green silk blouse was torn.
    â€œSo I asks him, why me? He’s the one you should take. And he says maybe that’s true, but there’s a witness that seen me with the knife. It’s gotta be that woman. I’m gonna get her just as soon as I get out.”
    It was difficult to stand, but Connie managed to push herself upright. She was in a small cell, no bigger than her closet at the condo, with a toilet and a sink. There was a piece of polished metal over the sink, and she walked toward it, steadying herself against the wall.
    When she caught sight of her reflection, she almost fainted. Her hair was matted with something that smelled horrible. There was a scratch on the side of her face, and her eyes looked puffy, as if she’d been crying. On the inside of her left arm was a small purple bruise.
    There was a clang and then heavy footsteps approached her cell. Connie turned around to see a tough-looking woman, dressed in a uniform, unlock her