Page 47

“ E xplain.”

Reese struggled to put her response into words.

“My parents sent me to a counselor after Ben went for residential treatment. There were…incidents at home when I was little. They didn’t trust him around me anymore.

I know now that he’d been seeing mental health professionals for some time before he left.

” And she was certain her parents had fervently hoped that he’d return home at some point when he was no longer a threat to her safety.

“After they died, Julia forced me to go to therapy. And again after Thorne. I’ve had enough experience to speak fluent psychobabble. ”

“You don’t appear to have a positive opinion toward therapy.”

She rolled her shoulders dismissively. “I recognize the benefits it provided in helping me put traumatic events into perspective and learning healthy coping mechanisms. But Sedgewick…” Trying to recall what exactly had been said at the end was tougher than it should have been.

The doctor’s words had summoned a very predictable emotional response, one that negated logic and reason.

“She seemed genuinely surprised about Eckworth applying for conservatorship, but also praised her mission. The doctor warned me she’d be unable to intervene in that court proceeding because of regulations preventing her from doing so. ”

“Licensed mental health professionals can’t engage in advocacy for their patients’ treatments. But as your brother’s primary mental health doctor, her testimony would likely be sought during the hearing.”

“From what she said, I assume she’d shade that testimony to advise against my appointment.”

His head swiveled, and she nudged his shoulder to direct his eyes back to the entrance to the interstate. “Why do you think that?”

“She’s smooth,” Reese muttered. “The way she couched concern for me with Ben’s needs.

On the one hand, she spoke glowingly of the positive relationship he has with Eckworth.

Apparently, that’s an anomaly for him. And she mentioned that she didn’t know how he’d react if he heard I’d been named conservator.

She was careful to straddle the constraints of what she could disclose, but still managed to get her point across. ”

“So she admitted that his delusions and paranoia haven’t improved.”

“Yeah. Or, rather, that he regressed since his illness.”

Hayes nodded bemusedly. “That’s in keeping with the medical assessments I read. Complications from NMS can be far-reaching.”

“I think she was trying to talk me out of applying for conservatorship. But it was all very professional. She called up memories from my childhood and compared them to what I’d suffered at Thorne’s hands.”

A muscle clenched in his jaw. “That’s…unusual.”

“Right?” Reese turned toward him. “She kept talking about retraumatization and triggers and being helpless and vulnerable. I’m not proud of it, but I had this flash, like the incidents from my childhood entwined with the scene in that basement.

It was almost like she’d constructed this mental ambush and I walked right into it.

” She sat back in her seat. “It’s hard to explain. ”

“Countertransference is when a therapist projects their feelings onto a client. It’s a big professional no-no, and may be an indication of poor training.”

“I didn’t get the impression that she was unskilled. Just the opposite. It was like she deliberately pushed buttons designed to make me recall the traumas. And for a minute, my mind obeyed.”

He frowned, one index finger tapping the side of the steering wheel. “If she’s as polished as you say, she may have been lying about not knowing of Eckworth’s plans. Did you…get a sense that she was hiding something?”

Everything inside her backpedaled from what he hinted at. “I told you before, that ability only senses guilt. And it’s gone. It’s not coming back.” If she could will that true, she would.

“You were fairly certain about McNulty’s past criminal behavior.”

“That was different.” She hadn’t had to rely on the gut-churning sensation of dipping her fingers into a cauldron of old guilt and tainted memories.

“I didn’t pick up on any old remorse from him.

Or from Sedgewick. But in her line of work, she’d have a well-constructed inner guard.

” And she’d managed to knock Reese akilter with a few incisive sentences.

She still didn’t believe that was accidental.

“I think the doctor is capable of masterful duplicity and manipulation. But those impressions come from her behavior. Julia’s influence did lead to some of the expenses she submitted being denied.

She may fear that I’ll be similarly problematic. ”

“You suspect she already has Rivers on her side?”

“I’m not sure. But she did say he’d told her about me applying for conservatorship. Maybe he also shared other information. Like the appointment I set up with him.”

Hayes didn’t respond. He was studying the rearview mirror. Reese glanced behind them. Saw nothing unusual in the steady traffic. “What is it?” Comprehension slammed into her. “Are we being followed?”

“Maybe not.”

“ Maybe isn’t definitive.” But now he had her watching the mirrors, too. After several minutes, she straightened to face forward again. “Were we tailed from Tranquility Lakes?” He’d gone through the familiar security routine before they left.

“No. The roads from there to the interstate are lightly traveled enough to notice one easily. There are two vehicles I’m keeping my eye on. That navy sedan about four cars back. Do you see it?"

When she leaned toward Hayes a little, she caught sight of the vehicle in his side mirror. “Okay. Yes.”

“It seems to keep the same position behind us for a time, and then falls back, and a tan foreign model takes its place.” He shook his head. “That could also happen with the normal ebb and flow of traffic. Nothing to worry about yet.”

But he was concerned enough to keep an eye on it.

She remembered the day they’d visited Rivers and the way Hayes had maneuvered their seats at the outdoor restaurant.

He’d been right that time when he’d clocked Pollack following them.

So, despite his assurances, Reese’s muscles remained spiked with tension.

He took a different exit than usual, and she watched with alarm as the tan vehicle he’d noted turned off, as well. But at the stop sign, it turned the opposite way they did, and Reese allowed herself to relax.

“Which SDPD division are we headed to?”

“Northern. When you have your meet on Monday, we’ll be back at Central, the same one where we met with Gibbons.”

At least there wouldn’t be a chance run-in with the abrasive Usher today. After her visit with Sedgewick, Reese’s tolerance was dangerously low.

It hadn’t improved appreciably an hour later when they left the police station.

Reading over the statement had taken only fifteen minutes.

But that was after they cooled their heels at the front desk for a half hour for someone to bring the report to them.

They had to linger again to retrieve Hayes’s backpack and laptop.

“Forget lunch,” Reese said as they jogged down the wide steps in front of the building. “Let’s hit a bar.”

“I think there’s still a bottle of white in the refrigerator. We can order lunch and drink it on your patio.”

She wrinkled her nose as they headed to the visitors’ lot across from the police station. After the way things had transpired over the last few days, she wasn’t surprised that he was intent on keeping a low profile at the apartment.

They paused at the curb, and waited for traffic to slow enough to use the crosswalk.

When there was a break in the passing cars, Hayes put his hand on the small of her back to guide her across.

Awareness flickered from the simple touch.

Staying confined with him at home wasn’t exactly the way to douse the attraction that flared so easily in his presence.

Not that she’d object if things ignited again.

But Reese had little experience with morning afters.

And even less with ongoing relationships.

When they arrived at the lot entrance, he stopped to withdraw the laptop and open the app. He handed her the computer while he took out the remote device—aiming it at the Hyundai.

A loud alert sounded. The app on the laptop screen emitted one, as well, with a flashing icon. She froze for a moment, staring at it.

“Reese! Run!”

She didn’t need a second reminder. Turning on her heel, she slammed the laptop closed with one hand and raced for the drive they’d just walked through.

Somewhere behind them, a cell phone rang.

Reese hadn’t yet reached the sidewalk before Hayes was at her side.

He snagged an arm around her waist to yank her close to him and dove between two vehicles. “Stay down!”

The computer flew from her grip as she was knocked to the gravel, Hayes’s body landing on top of hers with enough force to drive the breath from her lungs.

Then an explosion rocked the area. The ground shook beneath her.

Debris rained down in a torrent of glass and metal.

The acrid scent of smoke filled her lungs.

Reese tasted blood, dirt, and grit. The shrill of car alarms and people’s screams added to the chaos, but the sounds seemed to come from a great distance.

She didn’t know how long they remained prone before she heard, “Are you all right? Are you hurt?” Hayes pulled her to her feet, his hands taking a rapid physical inventory.

“Yes. No. Ow!” She reared back as his fingers stroked down her arms and over her left wrist. “What happened?”

They rounded the vehicle next to them and stared in the direction of the remains of her Hyundai.

Flames engulfed it, shooting into the air and showering an arc of sparks.

Hayes ran in the opposite direction toward the street.

Disconcerted, she wheeled around as he pulled his cell from his pocket while racing after a navy sedan that sped away, disappearing around the corner.