Page 80 of Sharp Force

“Plenty, I have a feeling,” Benton says.

“It’s shocking to me that Georgine would work here,” I reply.

I remember her once apologizing for being a free spirit.Intuition is everything, Kay,she’d say.I always trust my gut more than my brain.

“I knew her when she was in Charlottesville.” I’m careful what I tell Marino. “She didn’t strike me as suited for the restrictive, regimented environment of a hospital. Especially one with such a tarnished reputation. And I can’t imagine her putting up with the likes of Graden Crowley.”

“Does she have an office here?” Benton asks as we work shoe covers over our boots.

“I was told no,” Marino says. “Mostly, she deals with patients remotely. When the sessions are in person, she sees them in her home in Yorktown. If it’s patients here, she’s usually talking to them in their rooms and other areas of the hospital.”

“Did she ever see patients inside this place?” Benton asks.

“Graden Crowley said no. And there’s nothing I’ve noticed to make me think that she was seeing anybody here,” Marino explains.

“Do we know what was going on that required her to show up at the hospital in person?” I ask. “Especially this time of year.”

“Last night was the Christmas party for staff. And it included patients not needing to be locked up. Sounds insanely fun.” Marino makes another insensitive comment.

“That’s not a good reason for her to come here,” Benton says.

“No kids, her husband dead, she didn’t have anyone to spend holidays with.” Marino explains what Graden told him.

Georgine arrived on the island two weeks ago. She planned to stay through January as she’d done every year since she began working here eight years ago, Marino informs us.

“I don’t buy it,” Benton says.

“Me either,” Marino agrees.

“Very odd,” I add.

While we talk in the foyer, melting snow slides off the steeply pitched portico, the sun breaking through the skylight. A bird flutters on it, shaking off water, and makes scratchy sounds as it flits about the streaked dirty glass.

“Why would Georgine Duvall pick Mercy Island to hang out? How crazy is that? Why not go to a resort or maybe a spa?” Marino asks.

“Not much I’m hearing about her is making sense,” I reply. “But it’s been many years since I was around her.”

“Where was the party last night?” Benton wants to know.

“Inside the hospital ballroom. I’ve seen it before when the doc and I have responded here, this big room off the lobby,” Marino says.

“Do we know if Georgine went to the party?” I ask.

“She sure did if Crowley’s telling the truth,” Marino replies. “They went together. He said he picked her up at six p.m. and dropped her off back here at nine.”

“He drove her in the storm?” I remember the snow and wind,the deteriorating conditions as Marino and I left the O’Leary house. “And then he headed home as bad as the roads were?”

“Do we know where he lives?” Benton looks at me.

“Belle Haven, last I heard.”

“He decided not to try driving home.” Marino continues relaying what the director passed along to him. “The hospital has a guestroom he stays in from time to time.”

“Then he was on the grounds when Georgine Duvall was murdered,” Benton replies.

“I’m wondering about their relationship,” I add.

“Is he married?” Benton asks.