Sisters - By Patricia MacDonald Page 0,61

the track lighting, she could not make out what it was. She held her breath, waiting for it to skitter off in some direction. But the object lay still, and did not move.

‘What is that thing?’ she demanded aloud, although there was no one to answer her question. She went over and crouched down, reluctantly reaching for the small, dark form, her heart pounding. She touched it and immediately cried out as a shudder ran up her spine. The thing on the ground was cold and slimy. ‘What the hell?’ Alex cried. Grimacing and wanting to flee from it, she forced herself to hold her ground instead. She reached out with two fingers and gingerly picked it up.

Even in the dim light she could see that it was the size of a small envelope and purplish in color. Repulsed, Alex wanted to drop it, but she kept a hold on it, and dangled the object in front of her eyes to examine it. It was some kind of organ meat. A piece of liver.

What the fuck? she thought, struggling to get to her feet without throwing the hunk of liver away from her. The dog began to bark like a lunatic. Over the barking Alex heard a door squeak, tried to turn and saw a shadow on the wall. Before she could register what was happening or cry out, she felt a thudding against her back, and then a searing pain which took her breath away. She crumpled to the floor, landing on top of the piece of liver which she had dropped, as her knees and all the strength in her arms gave way and let her fall.

TWENTY-TWO

She heard a murmur of voices, and thought that they were talking about her. But she didn’t recognize them, and couldn’t make out what they were saying. She wanted to see who it was. She wanted to ask them something. But what was it she wanted to ask?

Alex forced herself to open her eyes. The very act of raising her eyelids was painful. She blinked and looked around the room where she lay. It was completely unfamiliar, but she knew that it had to be a hospital. There were machines attached to her by lines, blinking neon numbers and whooshing sounds. She had absolutely no memory of arriving here.

She tried to move and gasped with the pain of it. She realized that she was encircled with gauze and tape, and she felt as if someone had sawn her in half, like one of those magician’s assistants.

She let out a whimpering cry. Anything more would have hurt too much. A blonde, heavyset nurse in scrubs appeared in the door to her room and hurried over to Alex’s bedside. She peered at Alex, and smiled when she saw that her eyes were open.

‘Hey, there,’ said the nurse. ‘You decided to come back to us.’

Alex tried to speak but her lips were dry. The nurse picked up a glass with a straw and gave her a sip. Alex wanted to suck down every drop of water in it but the nurse wrestled it away from her.

‘Don’t overdo it. Just take it easy.’

‘Where am I?’

‘Boston General. They brought you here by ambulance.’

Suddenly Alex had a dim recollection of lying on a gurney during a bumpy ride, and a person dressed in a blue uniform yelling questions at her over the sound of sirens as they raced along. ‘What happened?’ she asked.

‘You don’t remember?’

Alex shook her head.

‘You were stabbed in the back,’ said the nurse.

‘When?’

‘During the night,’ she replied.

Alex’s brain started to clear. ‘Someone was in the house,’ she whispered. She remembered hearing Remus, and coming down to the kitchen. Something else . . .

‘Whoever did it left you there to die, but apparently your dog wouldn’t stop barking and finally one of the neighbors called the police. By the time they found you, you’d lost an awful lot of blood.’

Remus, she thought. He saved me.

‘Doctor Pandava will be in to tell you all about it. I’m going to let him know that you’re awake.’

No, Alex wanted to cry out. Stay here. Tell me what happened. But the nurse had disappeared from the room. Does anyone know I’m here? she thought. And . . . She felt her stomach lurch at the next thought. Who had done this to her?

The door to her room opened and Alex looked up in alarm. ‘Who is it?’ she asked.

A short, good-looking doctor with tobacco-colored skin approached her bed. ‘I am