Blindsighted (Grant County #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,60

he lacks in hair and height he makes up for by being an asshole.”

“Ow.” Hare winced, pressing his thumbs into Sara’s shoulders. “Want to fill in for me while I run out for a bite to eat?”

“What’ve we got?” Sara asked, thinking that going home right now probably was not the best thing for her.

Ellen gave a small smile. “We’ve got a frequent flier getting fluorescent light therapy in two.”

Sara laughed out loud. In the obscure language of hospital lingo, Ellen had just informed her that the patient in room two was a hypochondriac who had been left to stare at the overhead lights until he felt better.

“Microdeckia,” Hare concluded. The patient was not playing with a full deck.

“What else?”

“Some kid from the college sleeping off a long one,” Ellen said.

Sara turned to Hare. “I don’t know if I can take these complicated cases.”

He chucked her under her chin. “There’s a girl.”

“I guess I should go move my car,” Sara said, remembering she had parked in the handicap spot. As every cop in town knew the car she drove, Sara doubted she was likely to get a ticket. Still, she wanted to walk outside for some fresh air, take some time to collect her thoughts, before she went back in to check on Jeffrey.

“How is he?” Lena asked as soon as Sara walked into the waiting room. Sara looked around, surprised to see the room was empty but for Lena.

“We kept it off the radio,” Lena provided. “This kind of thing…” She let her voice trail off.

“This kind of thing what?” Sara prompted. “Am I missing something here, Lena?”

Lena looked away nervously.

“You know who did it, huh?” Sara asked.

Lena shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

“That’s where Frank is? Taking care of business?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. He dropped me off here.”

“Pretty easy not to know what’s going on when you don’t bother to ask,” Sara snapped. “I guess the fact that Jeffrey could’ve died tonight is lost on you.”

“I know that.”

“Yeah?” Sara demanded. “Who was watching his back, Lena?”

Lena started to answer, but she turned away before saying anything.

Sara slammed the emergency room doors open with her hands, feeling anger well up. She knew exactly what was going on here. Frank knew who was responsible for shooting Jeffrey, but he was keeping his mouth closed out of some obscure sense of loyalty, probably to Matt Hogan. What was going through Lena’s mind, Sara could not begin to guess. After everything Jeffrey had done for her, to have Lena turn her back on him like this was inexcusable.

Sara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she walked around to the side of the hospital. Jeffrey could have been killed. The glass could have sliced through his femoral artery and he could have bled to death. For that matter, the original shot could have gone into his chest instead of through the window. Sara wondered what Frank and Lena would be doing now if Jeffrey had died. Probably drawing straws to see who got his desk.

“Oh, God.” Sara stopped short at the sight of her car. Lying on the hood of Sara’s car was a nude young woman with her arms spread out. She was on her back, her feet crossed at the ankle in an almost casual pose. Sara’s first instinct was to look up to see if the woman had jumped from one of the windows. There were no windows on this side of the two-story building, though, and the hood of the car showed no signs of impact.

Sara took three quick steps to the car, checking the woman’s pulse. A fast, hard beat came under Sara’s fingers, and she muttered a small prayer before running back into the hospital.

“Lena!”

Lena jumped up, fists clenched, as if she expected Sara to come over and start a fight.

“Get a stretcher,” Sara ordered. When Lena did not move, Sara yelled, “Now!”

Sara jogged back to the woman, half expecting her to be gone. Everything was moving in slow time for Sara, even the wind in her hair.

“Ma’am?” Sara called to the woman, raising her voice loud enough to be heard across town. The woman did not respond. “Ma’am?” Sara tried again. Still nothing.

Sara assessed the body, seeing no immediate signs of trauma. The skin was pink and ruddy, very hot to the touch despite the night cold. With her arms out and feet crossed as they were, the woman could’ve been sleeping. In the bright light, Sara could make out crusted blood