Blindsighted (Grant County #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,15

She was fast for her size, and his dress shoes were no match for her sneakers pounding down the pavement. He tucked his arms in, pumping, pushing himself to catch her before she reached the diner.

He called her name again as she neared the diner, but she blew past it, taking a right turn toward the medical center.

“No,” Jeffrey groaned, pushing himself harder. She was going to the morgue. He called her name again, but Lena did not look back as she crossed onto the hospital’s drive. She slammed her body into the sliding doors, popping them out of their frames, sounding the emergency alarm.

Jeffrey was seconds behind her. He rounded the corner to the stairs, hearing Lena’s tennis shoes slapping against the rubber treads. A boom echoed up the narrow stairwell as she opened the door to the morgue.

Jeffrey stopped on the fourth step from the bottom. He heard Sara’s surprised “Lena” followed by a pained groan.

He forced himself to take the last few steps down, made himself walk into the morgue.

Lena was bent over her sister, holding her hand. Sara had obviously tried to cover the worst of the damage with the sheet, but most of Sibyl’s upper torso still showed.

Lena stood beside her sister, her breath coming in short pants, her whole body shaking as if from some bone-chilling cold.

Sara cut Jeffrey in two with a look. All he could do was hold his hands out. He had tried to stop her.

“What time was it?” Lena asked through chattering teeth. “What time did she die?”

“Around two-thirty,” Sara answered. Blood was on her gloves, and she tucked them under her arms as if to hide it.

“She feels so warm.”

“I know.”

Lena lowered her voice. “I was in Macon, Sibby,” she told her sister, stroking back her hair. Jeffrey was glad to see Sara had taken the time to comb some of the blood out.

Silence filled the morgue. It was eerie seeing Lena standing beside the dead woman. Sibyl was her identical twin, alike in every way. They were both petite women, about five four and little more than one hundred twenty pounds. Their skin had the same olive tone. Lena’s dark brown hair was longer than her sister’s, Sibyl’s curlier. The sisters’ faces were a study in contrast, one flat and emotionless, the other filled with grief.

Sara turned slightly to the side, removing her gloves. She suggested, “Let’s go upstairs, okay?”

“You were there,” Lena said, her voice low. “What did you do to help her?”

Sara looked down at her hands. “I did what I could do.”

Lena stroked the side of her sister’s face, her tone a little sharper when she asked, “What exactly was it that you could do?”

Jeffrey stepped forward, but Sara gave him a sharp look to stop him, as if to say his time to help the situation had come and gone about ten minutes ago.

“It was very fast,” Sara told Lena, obviously with some reluctance. “She started to go into convulsions.”

Lena laid Sibyl’s hand down on the table. She pulled the sheet up, tucking it under her sister’s chin as she spoke. “You’re a pediatrician, right? What exactly did you do to help my sister?” She locked eyes with Sara. “Why didn’t you call a real doctor?”

Sara gave a short incredulous laugh. She inhaled deeply before answering, “Lena, I think you should let Jeffrey take you home now.”

“I don’t want to go home,” Lena answered, her tone calm, almost conversational. “Did you call an ambulance? Did you call your boyfriend?” A tilt of her head indicated Jeffrey.

Sara’s hands went behind her back. She seemed to be physically restraining herself. “We’re not going to have this conversation now. You’re too upset.”

“I’m too upset,” Lena repeated, clenching her hands. “You think I’m upset?” she said, her voice louder this time. “You think I’m too fucking upset to talk to you about why you fucking couldn’t help my sister?”

As quickly as she had taken off in the parking lot, Lena was in Sara’s face.

“You’re a doctor!” Lena screamed. “How can she die with a fucking doctor in the room?”

Sara did not answer. She looked off to the side.

“You can’t even look at me,” Lena said. “Can you?”

Sara’s focus did not change.

“You let my sister die and you can’t even fucking look at me.”

“Lena,” Jeffrey said, finally stepping in. He put his hand on her arm, trying to get her to back off.

“Let me go,” she screamed, punching him with her fists. She started to pummel his chest, but