The woman mumbled, “Do I have to reset this whole goddamn thing?”
As soon as Lizzie was standing up straight, she saw the bloody box cutter sitting on the counter just a few inches from her. She reached over and struggled to maneuver it enough to cut the tape on her wrists. She managed a little cut, then was able to rip the tape the rest of the way.
Lizzie looked up to see the woman lunging toward her with both of the paddles extended. The electronic voice said, “Prepare to deliver shock.”
Lizzie blindly slashed the air in front of her with the box cutter. She caught the woman’s arm and heard a yelp. But she was still right there, with the defibrillator paddles in front of her like two tiny high-voltage shields. Blood poured from a gash in her right forearm.
Lizzie hopped back. She’d put a few more feet between her and the crazy woman.
Just as she risked leaning down to cut the tape around herankles, the woman marched toward her, the cables from the paddles dragging the defibrillator case across the gritty, nasty floor. Then the machine made several more noises, and suddenly all the lights in the case went out.
The woman paused and looked behind her to see what the cause of the power outage was.
Lizzie didn’t give her a chance to figure out the problem. She lunged forward. Her full weight hit the smaller woman. She used the box cutter to slash the woman across her upper chest and shoulder. The woman let out a shriek like an ambulance siren.
Lizzie rolled off her and slashed the tape from around her ankles. She rushed to the front door and opened it. Before she ran out, Lizzie stopped to look back at the woman. She was rolling on the ground and whimpering. There was a lot more blood on the floor than she had expected. The woman’s dress was almost completely red above the waist. She was making no effort to get off the floor.
Lizzie wanted to deliver some parting insults. Instead, she closed the box cutter and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans.
Something made her take an old rag from the counter and wipe the doorknob as she left.
CHAPTER59
IT DIDN’T TAKEmuch arm-twisting to get my friends to agree to come meet Alain at Susie’s. Claire, Cindy, and Yuki were all eager to be introduced to the Interpol officer.
The place wasn’t too crowded. Of course, it was a weeknight, and we were here a little earlier than normal. Almost as soon as we strolled through the door, the house band stopped playing a Caribbean tune and switched to “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. It felt like the scene fromCasablanca.
At first, Alain was taken aback. Then he smiled and began singing along as the band played the entire song.
Which of my friends set up that little ploy?I wondered.
I thought it was kinda over the top, but Alain loved it.
Claire, Cindy, and Yuki were already seated at our favorite booth in the back dining area, and they all welcomed my visitor warmly.
Cindy said, “The band had been practicing ‘La Marseillaise’ before their first set. We felt it was the best way to welcome such a distinguished visitor.”
Alain smiled and gave Claire a little bow. “It is a welcome I could’ve only dreamed of. Thank you all so very much.”
I gave Yuki a quick look. How was she out of work before nightfall? I knew my telepathic glance would get my question across.
She smiled. “The judge had a personal issue and adjourned early. I’m not complaining about it.”
I introduced my friends individually, and we explained to Alain how we tended to work together. He found it fascinating that the four of us trusted one another so much.
Alain said, “I admire your teamwork. And it seems you all take your jobs quite seriously. I wish I could arrange such a group in France. I am consistently impressed by how effective medical examiners can be in determining details of a death. Of course, prosecutors are vital in any democracy. It’s only under a tyrant that there’s no need for prosecutors. And the fourth estate is also essential to any democracy.”
As earlier, Alain spoke of his work and his family, especially his grandchildren. By the time he was done, they all knew the children’s names, the games they liked, and how smart they were.
Yuki asked how he felt crime here compared to the crime in France’s cities.
Alain gave her a wave of his right hand. “All big cities have issues. Especially cities and countries with diverse populations. There is nothing here that I would consider unusual. I’m in Lyon now, but even when I was in Paris, there are enclaves I consider virtually impenetrable.”
Cindy had been waiting patiently to ask, “How’d you become an expert on human trafficking?”
Alain took a moment to gather his thoughts. “While working as a detective in Paris, I had a simple missing persons case. A sixteen-year-old girl who everyone thought ran away from home. I keptlooking but had no luck. Then, a few years later, there was an attack at a theater in Moscow by Chechen separatists. I read about it. Saw the news. Dozens dead, many more wounded. But it was far away and barely registered with me. Until I learned that one of the dead was the same missing girl. She was twenty at the time she was killed.”
“How did she end up in Russia?”
