What Have You Done(23)

A phone rang.

The ringing was muffled, but it was there. Liam looked at his own phone for a moment, then turned and looked in the back seat. Nothing. The ringing stopped, then after a few seconds, started again. The trunk.

Liam threw open his door and ran around to the back of the car. He pressed the button on his keychain, and the trunk’s lid disengaged. He lifted it and looked inside. Kerri’s white phone sat atop a pile of bloody clothes. His clothes.

“Where are your clothes?”

“The living room?”

“No, they’re not.”

He felt faint, swaying from side to side as his world went out of focus for a moment. He looked at the caller ID: Tina.

Kerri’s phone stopped. Before it could ring again, he grabbed it, shut it off, and stuffed it in his pocket.

The wind was picking up.

Liam fell against his car and dialed his brother. For a third time that day, it rolled to voice mail. He didn’t leave a message.





16

The Psychiatric Unit of Jefferson Hospital was quiet and out of the way from the general traffic. The loudspeaker overhead played soothing tunes, the volume turned low. A nurse sat behind a desk answering calls that were routed in succession, one after the other. Liam stepped off the elevator at the fourth floor and followed the yellow dots to the main desk.

“Yes?” the nurse asked.

“Liam Dwyer to see Dr. Cain.”

“Have a seat. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

He walked to the waiting area and grabbed a magazine. His mind was still racing after finding Kerri’s phone in his car. And his bloody clothes. He still couldn’t remember anything about what had happened that night and refused to consider what the voices within were screaming at him, what logic was dictating. He loved Kerri. He’d never do anything to hurt her. Why couldn’t he remember? What had happened that night?

A woman was sitting across the way, tearing tiny strips of paper as she rocked in her seat, exhaling heavily. The paper fell gently to her feet, covering her slippers. She was mumbling something, but it was too quiet for Liam to hear. A male nurse came from beyond one of the three closed doors of the waiting area and approached her. “Greta,” he said.

The woman looked up at the nurse. “That’s me. I’m Greta. Greta Feely.”

“I know. Dr. Mecca is ready for you.” The nurse guided the woman to a standing position. “Can you come with me?”

“I want to see Dr. Mecca.”

“Okay. Come along with me, and we’ll see him.”

Greta Feely dropped what remained of the paper and allowed the nurse to take her away. Liam could hear her asking questions as they walked through the door, her voice eventually trailing off. He turned his attention back to his magazine and flipped through the pages without reading any of it.

“Liam!”

Liam looked up to see Gerri Cain walking toward him. He smiled and stood. “Hey, Doc. How are you?”

They hugged.

“Come inside. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

“Lead the way.”

Gerri Cain was an attractive woman, forties, well-built, in shape. Her dark hair held natural curls that hung above her shoulders and bounced when she walked, but it was her confidence that magnified her attractiveness. Liam had always thought she was beautiful, and his respect for her made her all the more alluring. Her husband was a lucky man, indeed. From time to time she worked for the department doing evaluations of recruits and first-year rookies, but most of her practice was private.

Gerri walked into the office and went for her coffee maker, grabbing two mugs from a shelf near a mini refrigerator. “It’s been a little while,” she said.

Liam found a seat on one of the leather couches and allowed his body to relax a bit. “Yes, it has.”

“How’re things going with you and Vanessa?”

“Good, actually. I think we’re really doing good. That counselor you recommended is fantastic.”

“That’s great to hear.” She handed one of the mugs over. “Like I said, it takes a while, but if both of you are committed to making it work, it will. Two partners who are in it together make all the difference.”

“I think you’re right. I can sense the change for the better. We’re not totally there yet but so much better than we were.”

Gerri smiled as the conversation died. “So what brings you to see me today?” she asked. “Sounded kind of urgent when we spoke.”

Liam placed the coffee down on a table in front of him. He grabbed his briefcase, opened it, and pulled out a folder. “We came across this victim at the Tiger Hotel in Center City last Sunday. She checked in with a man that Saturday night and was discovered by the owner the next day. The killer paid cash and left a phony name, so we don’t have much to go on. I need to know what the significance of some of this mutilation could represent.” He extracted the crime scene photographs from the folder, placing them side by side on the table. He desperately wanted to tell her more. He wanted to tell her about the affair with Kerri, waking up in the tub on Sunday morning, unable to remember anything about the night before. He wanted to tell her about the phone and his clothes in the trunk, the scratch on his chest. And he wanted her to reassure him that he had nothing to do with Kerri’s death. But he knew he couldn’t. He didn’t know her well enough to trust her with such information.