Woman on the Edge(11)

Martinez fills her in about the woman who jumped and how I’m a “witness of interest.” Jessica lightly lays her fingers on my back. “You all right, Morgan?”

Her gentle touch unravels the emotions I’ve barely kept in check since I got to the station. The woman’s shredded lips, wild eyes, and desperation flash like a movie scene in my mind. I sob with grief, for this baby, for her mother I didn’t know, and for myself.

Jessica pats my shoulder until my hiccupping stops.

To Martinez, she says, “I need a moment alone with my client.” She looks up at the ceiling. “Without the camera on.”

“Fine.” Martinez stands, leaves, and closes the door behind her.

The room seems smaller now, and I feel so light-headed that I pull back from the table and bend my head to my knees.

Jessica waits until I lift myself to a seated position. “So I’m putting things together here.” She looks down at the newspaper on the table. “I heard on the news that the CEO of Breathe committed suicide at Grand/State after giving a stranger her baby. You’re the stranger?”

“Yes and no.”

Jessica’s eyes widen. “Time to tell me everything.”

“I was waiting for the train when this woman grabbed my arm, told me to take her baby and love her. She looked so frightened, Jessica, like someone on the platform was after her. Then she said my name. She said, ‘Love her for me, Morgan.’ I told Martinez everything but that part. Then she said she’d heard already from other witnesses. It’s like she’s out to get me, and I was just standing there, waiting for the train.” I drop my head into my hands. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell her right away.” I look up. “I’m sorry.”

She groans. “It’s okay. You’re under stress. I’m sure seeing all that brought up some horrible memories.”

Ryan, the wound oozing with blood, the gun in my hand. No, no, no, it can’t be. This can’t be happening.

“Yes, it did,” I admit. “And she chose me to protect her baby. And I—”

“Shh. I get it. It’s okay. You were in shock. You didn’t do anything wrong. And you know that it’s my job to defend you. We’ve been through this before, Morgan. So now, let’s just say you’ve talked enough. You’re traumatized. You’re not yourself. You can’t talk to Martinez anymore, to the media, to anyone again—not without me present.”

She scoots her chair a little closer. “So, we don’t have a lot of time here right now. If there are any other details that are important—anything else you’ve left out—it’s time to tell me.”

I push my hair back from my face, damp with panicky sweat. Then I rummage inside my purse for the Post-it and give it to Jessica. “I found this stuck to my purse, after. Maybe it’s the baby’s name?”

Jessica eyes the note curiously, turning it over in her hands. “No. The news said the baby’s name is Quinn.”

Not Amanda. Quinn. Such a beautiful name for the tiny girl I had held in my arms.

“So who’s Amanda?” I ask. “And what if Quinn is in danger? Her mother suggested she was. She begged me not to let anyone hurt her baby. She was so antsy, like she was being followed. I think we should show this to Martinez, no?”

She gives a quick, sharp shake of her head and hands the note back to me. “Absolutely not. You put that note away right now. I’ll have my investigator, Barry, do some digging. But until we know why Nicole said your name on the platform, or why she talked to you at all, telling Martinez anything will only make it sound like you had something to do with this. From what you’ve told me, Nicole Markham did not look or sound well.”

Jessica’s too close to me. I’m boxed in with nowhere to go.

“Is there a chance Nicole knew Ryan? Could she have been involved in his fraud?”

My stomach churns. Even though I think about Ryan all the time, I hate talking about him. “I still don’t know everyone he stole from. He could have defrauded Nicole, or someone she knows. She could have borrowed from the wrong people to make up for the loss. She could have been in on it with him and never gotten caught. I don’t know anything.” My voice breaks. “He left me nothing but questions and hurt and anger. I never really knew him at all.”

Something suddenly dawns on me. “Jessica, what if I’m in danger?”

“Relax. Nothing’s pointing to that. Even this note isn’t evidence that anyone wants to hurt the baby, you, or Nicole. Maybe her baby wasn’t safe with her.” Jessica stands, paces in the small room. Her face softens. “I know this is hard. But you have to stay calm.”

“How can I stay calm when Nicole said my name, asked me to love her baby, then died right in front of me?”

She taps a pink fingernail to her lips. “We’ll figure out why she approached you and if you’re at any risk, okay? And I’m sure the baby has been taken somewhere safe.”

She knows without my saying it that I’m worried about the baby. I feel like Jessica has infiltrated my deepest thoughts. She knows me so well.

Jessica sighs. “I’ll do my best to find out more about Quinn. But right now, my goal is to get you out of here as soon as I can. Okay?”

I fall back into my chair.