Declan shook his head, pulling me up so I was in his arms, leaning against his chest.“You were convulsing.Horrible, dark bruises started showing up all over your head and neck.I used the water to bring you out and stop the pain.”
I wiped my face with my sleeve.“Good thinking.”
“Are you okay?”Declan’s eyes were lighter, which he must have felt because he was keeping his face tilted down toward me.Thankfully, they were starting to darken back to their natural brown.
“Getting there,” I told him.“My face isn’t throbbing as hard.”
“What did you see?”
I looked up and found Kaknu watching me, his phone in his hand, no doubt recording me.
I tried to stand up, but Declan held me in place.
“I feel dumb sitting on the floor when everyone else is standing,” I told him.
He glared over my head.“Then they can sit on the floor with us.”
Dr.Ortiz moved the gurney then came back and sat on the floor beside us.He had nothing to do with any of this, but his enthusiasm was sweet.
Hernández and Kaknu sat.Osso remained standing, but he took his notebook and pencil out of his pocket.
I gestured to the gurney.“Our victim is Aaron.He was a recovering drug addict.It felt like they were in a shelter or a drug treatment center, a halfway house.I don’t know.The killer worked there.”
I reached into my backpack for a regular water bottle.My throat was dry.After I took a few gulps, I explained what I saw.
Kaknu asked, “Did either of them say the woman’s name?”
I shook my head.“Aaron said she had a little girl and wanted to see her again.That’s all I know about her.I kind of assume she’s another victim, though.Mike was pissed off there had been a loose end.The killing was violent, but it felt more like he was cleaning up a trail that led to him.He didn’t care about Aaron.Probably didn’t even know his name.The rage seemed to be rooted in the possibility of the director thinking badly of him, of his reputation being ruined in some way.”
“Can you tell us anything more about Mike or Aaron?”Osso asked.“Any last names?”
I thought about that a moment and shook my head.“I couldn’t see Mike.I mean, I got his button-down shirt and nice haircut, but I couldn’t seehim.He was older than when he murdered the girl by the pond.This felt more like a college job or right after, maybe a volunteer thing.It didn’t seem to be about the money or helping people.It was about shining, about his reputation, about making the right connections, and he wasn’t going to let these garbage people wreck everything he’d been working toward.
“As for Aaron, I couldn’t even guess.Addiction can age you.You could tell me he was nineteen or thirty.I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”I tipped my head back and forth, considering.“If I was pressed to guess, though, I’d say he was younger.There was something about the mixture of bravado and fear that makes me think teen, maybe early twenties, but that’s a guess.”
“Can you draw him for us?”Hernández asked.“We might be able to match him to a missing person’s report, assuming anyone was looking for him.”
Nodding, I took my sketchbook and charcoals from my bag.“Talk amongst yourselves,” I told them.“I need to concentrate.”Closing my eyes, I got Aaron’s face in my head and started working.
Something kept impinging on his face, though.It was driving me nuts.I finally flipped the page and began drawing the face that kept pushing its way into my mind.Was this the missing woman?When I heard a gasp beside me, I stopped and looked up.
Dr.Ortiz paled.“That’s my mother.”
“Oh, okay.”I looked down at the sketch, trying to put all the images and emotions I was feeling into some semblance of order.“I mentioned that if you’re too close to me while I’m doing this sort of thing, I’ll pick up on stray thoughts.”
I rested my gloved hand on the picture and closed my eyes, looking for answers.“You were thinking about her because you’re worried.She’s been experiencing some shortness of breath.You’ve noticed it on short walks.”
I glanced up and he nodded, his eyes wide.
“She’s stopped going upstairs and has slowly moved herself into the guest room downstairs because the stairs are too much.She wants to believe this is a normal part of aging, but she’s worried it’s more serious.She hasn’t gone to the doctor yet because she’s not ready for a diagnosis that will change everything.You need to take her, though.Okay?”
He nodded.
“I think there’s something on her lung,” I told him.
He jumped up and left the room, pulling his phone from his pocket.Once he was gone, I flipped back to the original drawing of Aaron.I finished shading it, then tore it out of my book and handed it to Hernández.
“His hair is dark,” I told her.“But it was also kind of greasy.Still, dark brown to black.His complexion was pale and sallow with pockmarks around…” I pointed to my chin and cheeks.
