so did Reed, walking back to where Ransom was standing, writing in his notebook. He saw Sabrina McPhee heading away, toward the door that led back to her apartment. She moved sort of awkwardly, as though she had a sprained ankle or some old injury. Hell, maybe she’d tripped over her own feet when she’d unexpectedly come across a dead body. And who could blame her? “Did you get Sabrina McPhee’s information?”
“Yup. What did Daphne want?”
“Information. She didn’t get it from me.” Reed checked but didn’t see her walking toward the exit like he thought he would. He frowned, glancing around, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“You ready to get out of here?” Ransom asked, removing a donut wrapped in a napkin from his pocket. He peeled the napkin aside and took a bite. “I think we have everything we’re going to get until we hear more from Dr. Westbrook.”
Reed eyed the donut. “Really?”
“What? Donuts are delicious.”
Reed shook his head. “You enjoy that. I have a quick call to make and then we’ll get going.”
“Yeah. No problem.”
Reed walked back to where he’d stood with Daphne, using the column for some privacy as he dialed Liza’s cell number.
“Hi, Detective.”
Reed smiled. He couldn’t help liking that she’d recognized his number. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. I haven’t taken a day off in longer than I can remember. I’m finding it hard to figure out what to do with myself.”
“Rest and relax. You had a stressful night.”
“I’m trying. I’m also having an alarm installed. I think I’ll take a few days off to camp out here and let room service feed me while that gets done.”
He smiled. “Good. Hey, I was calling to update you on what the criminalists found.” Reed had heard from the lab earlier but hadn’t had a chance to call Liza before they got called to the murder scene he was currently at.
“Oh. Anything?”
“Unfortunately, no. They fingerprinted several surfaces in your bedroom, the doorknob, and the windowsill in your office, including a few surfaces in there too. The only prints they found were your own.”
“So, he wore gloves?”
“Possibly.” Reed glanced toward the officers still standing near the body and away. “Listen . . . is there any chance that the man who broke in your apartment was a patient?”
Liza paused. “All my patients are residents of Lakeside.”
“But surely you have patients you saw there who have since been released? An address isn’t that hard to get on the Internet.”
“Yes, you’re right. But . . . what reason would one of them have to break in to my apartment and leave me a rose?”
“A crush?”
There was another momentary silence. “I mean, I suppose. It happens on occasion, but . . . I can’t think of anyone specific right now.”
“Okay, well, if you do, will you let me know? I wouldn’t mind following up with anyone you think of who might be a possibility.”
“Okay. Thank you again, Reed. I did . . . well . . .”
Her voice faded away and Reed angled his body even more away from the hubbub of the crime scene. “Liza? What is it?”
She sighed. “I did want to mention one thing to you regarding last night.”
“What is it?”
“My brother, ah, I told you about my brother, about his crime.”
Reed closed his eyes. His crime. She was referring to the brutal murder of her father and her sister, and the attempted murder on herself. “Yes,” he said quietly.
“I got a notification in the mail a week or so ago telling me he’s being considered for parole. I didn’t look at the date on the letter. I was surprised and . . . upset by the news and I didn’t check that. I’m obviously not there now to do so, but it’s a possibility it was forwarded. I moved recently from another place across town to be closer to the hospital.”
“Paroled? Have you had any contact with him over the years?”
“No. None. I guess it’s just procedure to notify the victims? Anyway, I thought I should let you know about that.”
“What’s his name?”
“Julian James Nolan.”
“All right. Thanks, Liza. I’ll check into it, okay? Hopefully he’s still locked up and you can rest easily on that front.”
“Yeah, some rest would be nice . . .” Her words faded away and Reed leaned in again as if that would help him pick up some sound on the other end that would clarify her thoughts.