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with the palm of her hand, resisting the urge to ball up a fist and pound.
She looked back at the other phone. Who could she call? She stayed paralyzed,
leaning against the cool glass.
Other than Gwen there was no one.
Her choice, she reminded herself.
No. Somewhere along the road it had stopped being a choice.
She made her way to the small bathroom and peeled off the damp gown,
exchanging it for another from the pile. She glanced at herself in the mirror.
Her hair was tangled. Her skin pale and damp. Her eyes swollen. She looked
like crap. She ran her fingers through her hair. Splashed cool water on her
face, cupping handful after handful, waiting, hoping for it to revive her.
When she returned he was standing on the other side of the glass, watching for
her. Concern in those intense brown eyes. It was as if he knew.
His eyes never left hers as she crossed the room. She picked up the receiver.
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"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she lied.
"I don't think so." He tapped his own lip to remind her of her bloodied one.
Then he pointed to the bed where the covers were twisted in a pile, half on
the f loor.
"Just a bad dream," she told him, wiping at her lip.
"Fever?"
"I don't think so."
He waited, examining her, a doctor confined to using only his eyes.
"I need to see Assistant Director Cunningham." Before he protested she added,
"I just need to see him. He doesn't even need to know I'm there."
"Okay."
He surprised her. She'd expected an argument.
"You can see him. And then I'm taking you home," he said.
At first she didn't think she heard him correctly.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm letting you out of the Slammer."
She closed her eyes, leaned against the glass, hoped this wasn't just another
episode in her cruel dream.
"Understand there are conditions," he said, his voice gentle in her ear.
She opened her eyes but stayed against the glass. It felt as if she was
leaning into him, so close despite the thick wall of glass.
"We'll still have to vaccinate you every day," he continued."The first sign,
even the smallest symptom, and I'll want you back in here. And you'll need to
be careful. No swapping body fluids& " He paused, and when she looked up at him
he was smiling. "Not even a kiss."
"You're really cramping my style."
"I figured as much."
"Why?" she asked. "Why now?"
"Because it's been over forty-eight hours.Your blood is showing no signs of
the virus.You haven't had any symptoms." Then he hesitated as if he was still
deciding whether to share more. He stood closer to the glass. "And because I
think you'll be safer away from here."
CHAPTER
64
Reston, Virginia
Tully found Emma watching TV and eating leftover pizza on the sofa.
He opened his mouth to ask but she beat him to it. "On the counter. Only one
slice of supreme left but there's pepperoni."
His daughter knew him too well. He grabbed a paper plate, filled it, sprinkled
it down with hot peppers and plopped down beside her.
"It's awfully late, sweet pea."
"No school tomorrow. Fall break."
"Right. I forgot."
"What about you? Were you with Gwen?"
"No, at work." He had spent the entire evening at Quantico, searching
databases and looking for some connection to Cunningham and this killer. "What
are we watching?"
"Nothing. Just filling dead air."
They sat, quietly watching for a few minutes.
"I guess she's pretty okay," Emma said.
Tully thought she was referring to the actress on the TV show.
"She dresses a lot classier than Mom."
He was exhausted. It took him a minute to realize the "she" was Gwen.
"Sometimes I think Mom still wants to be twentysomething instead of
fortysomething."
"I'm glad you think Gwen's pretty okay," he said.
"You and Mom were together a long time, weren't you?"
More questions. Maybe the wedding had brought it on. Didn't all kids have a
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fantasy that their divorced parents would someday reunite?
"We dated for quite a while before we got married." He didn't add that he
didn't want to marry Caroline until he was certain she wanted him, not either
of his buddies. He didn't like remembering that emotional battle. Sometimes
the pawn. Sometimes the knight. Caroline had that effect on men. That ability
to make them feel special one minute, worthless the next, and the whole time
still competing for her attention.
"Long-distance, right?" Emma continued, bringing Tully back. "You were
training at Quantico and she was in Chicago studying art?"
"Right."
"How did you guys end up in Cleveland?"
"I grew up in Cleveland.You know that. Can I have a swallow of your Diet
Coke?"
She handed it to him without a single eye-roll or a heavy sigh. Instead, her
mind seemed focused on one subject.
"Where does Indiana come in?"
"Indiana?"
"Yeah. Didn't they call you Indy when you went through training?"
Another reminder he didn't like. Even after all these years.
"No, Indy was one of my roommates at Quantico. Actually, he was dating your
mother first. That's how I met her."
She looked confused. "But what was your nickname?" Before he could respond,
she answered her own question. "Oh, wait.You were J.B. Reggie was J.B. Jelly
beans."
Tully winced. "I hated the name Reggie. Being called J.B. actually gave me the
idea to just use my real initials."
"Your real initials?"
"Reginald James."
"That's not so bad," she said then went quiet.
When he looked over, her face was crinkled in thought and she had her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]