“I don’t know why I jump whenever someone touches me. I’m scared of everything.” Her scratchy voice has a husky, almost sexy quality.
“Who is Maisy?” I ask.
She turns her head toward me. “Honestly, she’s my friend. She found me. But she says we didn’t know each other before.”
“I’m looking for a woman. If I tell you her name, would you recognize it? Maybe it’s you.”
“Wouldn’t you know what she looks like? Do I look like her?”
“I’ll be brutally honest, sweetheart, you are covered in bandages. I only met her once, on the day she was taken, when I tried to save her and my sister-in-law.” I watch her for any sign of recognition. Her hand tightens, but that could be from pain or something else. My gut tells me it’s important, though.
“What’s the name?” she asks softly.
“Would you like some water?” I reach for the cup on the tray as she nods slightly. “Straw’s in front of your lips.”
She opens her mouth, and her delicate tongue slides out. I shouldn’t be turned on by this. When her lips wrap around the straw, she takes a deep draw, and I wish I could see her neck to watch as she swallows, but the gauze wraps down to her shoulders.
“I’m investigating the disappearance of Virginia ‘Stormy’ Abbott. She also goes by Poison. Do any of those names seem familiar to you?”
She pauses for a moment, and I can’t tell if she’s coming up with a lie, testing the names out in her mind, or something else entirely. I’m at a complete disadvantage here. I’ve never interviewed someone without being able to read their facial cues, so I watch her body instead. Her leg twitches ever so slightly. Her hand in the brace clenches before she stretches her fingers as if to relax them.
“No. None of them seem familiar.”
“Okay.” I’m about to get up and leave her be when she stops me.
“Could you tell me about this woman? Or just stay and talk to me. I didn’t realize how lonely it is to not see, and Maisy had to run an errand. The nurse said she’d stay, but then she got called away.” Her fears make me want to calm them.
“I can stay. Like I said, I only met Stormy that one time, but it was enough.” I take a deep breath, thinking of that moment again. “She has a magnetic personality. She’s a bartender in Ptarmigan Falls, Alaska.”
“Wow, Alaska. You came all the way here to interview me from there? How did you find me?”
I notice a slight quiver in her voice. She sounds concerned, afraid.
“My organization was alerted when a Jane Doe was admitted to the hospital. I was in Portland on business. I’m working another case too. I’m looking for a human trafficker who uses money and power to hide what he’s doing.”
A full-body shiver runs through her body.
“Don’t be scared, little one. We’ll take care of him.”
She nods her head. “Does Stormy, is that what you called her, have family?” Her voice carries a hint of hope.
“She does. A brother, a sister-in-law, a niece, and a nephew. She also has another niece or nephew on the way. Her sister-in-law is pregnant.”
“Really?” she asks, and this time I hear both hopefulness and sorrow in her voice.
“Do you think you have family out there?” I test her, watching for her response. My suspicions heighten.
She pauses, taking her time to answer, just like she did earlier when I asked if she recognized the name. I begin to wonder if she’s carefully choosing her words, trying not to give anything away.
“I don’t know,” she finally says. “Wouldn’t they be looking for me if I did?”
“Stormy’s family wants her back. Her friend River, also known as Jinx in her club, is my sister-in-law, and she was with Stormy when she was captured. We saved her, but it was too late to save Stormy. River fought the men and tried to find out who bought Stormy, but they died without telling her.”
“Really?” She turns her head back toward me, a calm settling over her.
“Thad told me his favorite memory of Stormy was when he was getting ready to leave for the military. His sister was only thirteen then, but she made him take a leather braided bracelet with him. He carried it in his pocket throughout his career. It has a silver infinity knot woven into it. He wears it every day now, waiting for her to come home.”
She clears her throat, and that’s when it hits me.
