The Abandoned - By Amanda Stevens Page 0,20
Grove was abandoned.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I’m afraid no one who isn’t a Claw will ever know the answer to that question.”
REE
Ree slept the sleep of the dead that night. No Ilsa dreams. No sleepwalking episodes. When she woke up, she felt rested and refreshed and after a text message from Hayden, she had a little something to look forward to as she headed off to Emerson. Things were looking up. Maybe it was time to put all the intrigue and weirdness behind her and start focusing on the future again. Now might be a good time to revisit her goals.
First order of business was research in the library, and Ree was proud of herself for ignoring the lure of the archives. Whatever was to be gleaned about Oak Grove Cemetery and the Tisdales from those dusty old books would have to wait. Her thesis project came first because she’d put way too much time, effort and money into her education to squander it all away now.
Just when she was starting to think she had a handle on normal again, she ran smack into Detective Devlin on the library steps. He put a hand on her arm to steady her, but Ree shied away.
“Miss Hutchins, isn’t it?”
“How do you know my name?” She hadn’t told anyone at police headquarters who she was.
“I ran your plates yesterday.”
Of course, he had. “How did you know which car was mine?”
“I ran them all until I found you.”
Of course, he had. Ree glanced away, not wanting to look straight into the abyss of his gaze. “How did you know I was here?”
“A wild guess.”
Translation: Either he’d followed her from her apartment or someone had tipped him off. And just like that, Ree found herself back in the morass created by that overheard conversation. Maybe she should just tell Detective Devlin the truth. Get it all out in the open. As Hayden pointed out, that might be her best protection. But Ree didn’t trust Devlin. He’d become suspect the moment she’d seen him with Dr. Farrante.
“You ran off without giving your statement,” he said smoothly.
Ree refused to be lulled by that silky drawl. “Something came up. I couldn’t wait.”
“Something more important than a murder investigation?”
“I told you, I don’t know anything about that murder.”
“Then tell me what you know about Jared Tisdale.”
Ree didn’t want to tell him anything, but she was wise enough to realize that she’d better give him something.
She nodded and shifted her messenger bag to the other shoulder. “I volunteer at the Milton H. Farrante Psychiatric Hospital. Night before last one of the nurses asked me to deliver a package to Dr. Farrante’s office. Just as I got there, I saw a man coming out of Dr. Farrante’s office. It was Tisdale, but I didn’t know that until I saw his picture on the news yesterday morning.”
“What time was this?”
“Around nine, I think.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No. It was a very brief encounter. He brushed by me on his way out. I spoke with Dr. Farrante for a moment, left the package, and then went back to work. That’s all I can tell you. I don’t know if it’s important, but I thought it might be helpful in establishing a timeline.”
“That’s very civic-minded of you,” he said. “Did you speak to Dr. Farrante about this?”
“No. I haven’t been back to the hospital. As soon as I saw the news report, I went straight to the police.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” His gaze narrowed and darkened, his focus so intense, Ree had to glance away.
She pretended to check her phone. “As I said, it was a very brief encounter. Now if you’ll excuse me…I don’t want to be late to my next class.”
To Ree’s surprise, he made no attempt to detain her. She ran down the steps and only glanced back when she got to the bottom. Detective Devlin was nowhere in sight.
Ree had a shift at the hospital that night and for the first time since she’d started working part-time jobs at sixteen, she considered calling in sick. But she was already on Devlin’s radar—Dr. Farrante’s, too, unfortunately—so the best thing to do was continue her usual routine. Act as though nothing had happened. Hopefully, Tisdale’s killer would soon be caught and she could fade back into the woodwork. There was still the secret involving Violet and Ilsa to uncover, but nothing could be done about that without calling too much attention to herself. For now, her curiosity and