Blindsighted (Grant County #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,32

the way she treated Sara the night before. Despite what Lena had said, she knew that Sara was a good doctor. From all accounts, Linton had given up a very promising career in Atlanta to come back to Grant. She was owed an apology, something Lena did not even want to think about at this point in time. If records had been kept on the matter, Lena’s outburst-to-apology ratio would be heavily weighted in the outburst department.

“Lena,” Sara said. “Come on back with me.”

Lena blinked, wondering when Sara had crossed the room. She was standing at the door to the supply closet.

Lena scooted up in her chair to stand, forgetting about the coffee. Some of it spilled on her pants, but she didn’t care. She set the cup on the floor and followed Sara’s orders. The supply closet was large enough to be called a room, but the sign on the door had given it this designation years ago, and nobody had bothered to make a clarification. Among other things stored here were evidence, dummies for the CPR classes the police gave in the fall, and the emergency supply kit.

“Here,” Sara said, pulling up a chair. “Sit.”

Again, Lena did as she was told. She watched as Sara rolled out a tank of oxygen.

Sara hooked up a mask to the tank, saying, “Your head is hurting because the alcohol depletes oxygen in your blood.” She flexed the rubber band around the mask, holding it out to Lena. “Take slow, deep breaths and it should start to feel better.”

Lena took the mask, not actually trusting Sara, but at this point she would have sucked the ass end of a skunk if someone had told her it would make her head stop pounding.

After a few more breaths, Sara asked, “Better?”

Lena nodded, because it was better. She wasn’t feeling up to her usual self, but at least she could open her eyes all the way.

“Lena,” Sara said, taking the mask back. “I wanted to ask you about something I found.”

“Yeah?” Lena said, feeling put on her guard. She was expecting Sara to try to talk her out of being here during the briefing, so when the other woman spoke, Lena was surprised.

“When I was examining Sibyl,” Sara began, storing the tank back against the wall, “I found some physical evidence that I wasn’t exactly expecting.”

“Like what?” Lena asked, her mind starting to work again.

“I don’t think it has a bearing on the case, but I have to tell Jeffrey what I found. It’s not up to me to make that kind of decision.”

Despite the fact that Sara had helped her headache, Lena did not have patience for her games. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that your sister’s hymen was intact up until the rape.”

Lena felt her stomach drop. She should have thought of this, but too much had happened in the last twenty-four hours for Lena to come to logical conclusions. Now the whole world would know her sister was gay.

“I don’t care, Lena,” Sara said. “Really. However she wanted to live her life is fine with me.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means what it means,” Sara answered, obviously thinking that was enough. When Lena did not respond, she added, “Lena, I know about Nan Thomas. I put two and two together.”

Lena leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. “I guess you’re giving me a heads up, huh? For telling everybody else my sister was gay?”

Sara was quiet, then, “I hadn’t planned on putting that in my briefing.”

“I’ll tell him,” Lena decided, opening her eyes. “Can you give me a minute?”

“Sure.”

Lena waited until Sara had left the room, then put her head into her hands. She wanted to cry, but no tears would come. Her body was so dehydrated she was amazed she still had spit in her mouth. She took a deep breath to brace herself and stood.

Frank Wallace and Matt Hogan were in the briefing room when she came out of the supply closet. Frank gave her a nod, but Matt made himself busy putting cream in his coffee. Both detectives were in their fifties, both from a very different time than the one Lena had grown up in. Like the rest of the detectives on the senior squad, they operated by the old rules of the police fraternity, where justice at any cost was right. The force was their family, and anything that happened to one of their officers affected them as it