Page 97 of Her Last Whisper

“Okay, fine. I wrote those notes,” he blurted out. His attitude changed from the weak and unsure man to a guy with an attitude. “There’s no law against it. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Why are you writing these notes and leaving them for me?”

“Just insight.”

“Insight? You want to go to jail?” she pressed.

He leaned forward and spat out, “For what?”

“Homicide. Kidnapping. Terrorist threats. Breaking into a police officer’s car. You want me to go on?”

“No way! I didn’t kill anybody. You’re nuts.” He slammed his fists on the table and pushed his chair back. “I was trying to help you. Is this what I get for trying to help?”

“Where were you when Amanda Payton was murdered?”

“I was working a twelve-hour shift—and I never left the hospital. You can call my supervisor.”

Katie waited a few moments to let Sykes settle down. “Why were you trying to help me?” she said in a less aggressive tone.

“I’ve watched you.”

The thought chilled Katie. It was the way he’d said it. “And?”

“Man, you cops are dense sometimes. I’ve seen things.”

McGaven interjected, “If you’ve seen things, then why the cryptic notes? Just come in and talk to us.”

Sykes looked at Katie and then McGaven, and then back to Katie again. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“You mean at the hospital?” she said.

“Yeah. I need that job. Pay’s crappy but the benefits are good.”

Katie lightened up and said, “You know something, then spit it out.”

He hesitated, looking away. His leg tapped faster. He finally said, “There’s some weird stuff going on there, you know?”

“Like what?”

“It’s stuff. Weird stuff. Like she was being harassed.”

“You mean Amanda Payton?”

“Yeah. I guess she was dating several guys, you know.”

“Who?” Katie asked.

“The doctor, Jamison, and that creepy guy in the morgue.”

“Okay. What makes you think that she was being harassed?”

“Talk. Nurses talk all the time about shit. Mostly gossip, but people air their grievances. I’m cleaning and mopping floors after blood has been spilled all over an operating room. No one pays any attention to me. It’s like I’m not there. I’m totally invisible. But they talk… believe me…”

Katie remained quiet and gave him the look, raising her eyebrows to continue.

“She was talking to a couple other nurses, or nurse’s aides, and told them that she had been followed and she felt paranoid and scared. Like someone was going to get her. She looked like she was going to jump out of her skin half the time.”

“When was this?” she said.