that got away stated he was tall, thin, white, and wore all black including a ski mask.”
My hand shook as I lifted it to my mouth. Exact same thing happened tonight.
“He’s killed eight other women in this manner. One of the women he attacked got away and has disappeared off the map, and now, uh, your sister.” He licked his lips and seemed to gather himself, which if I’d been in a better mental headspace, I would have congratulated him for. Dealing with a pissed-off Sonia was no walk in the park on a good day and he was doing his best. “We’re going to need to get on top of this…” He frowned.
“Right now I need to focus on my sister. You need to call Quinn…”
“And who’s Quinn?” He wrote down the name on notepad and I sighed. He must be really new. Sonia tended to be a hard-ass and go through assistants like she went through the Sunday paper. Quinn was my sister’s right-hand man, her BFF jack of all trades who also happened to be gay and dress fabulously. I was jealous of his abilities in all things. He even was capable of managing my sister, something no one had been able to do, not even Mama Kerri. However, I also knew he’d just gotten back from a much-needed two-week vacation. Hence the reason newbie Logan didn’t know about him.
“Head of PR,” she ground out. “He’s just come back from the Bahamas. Explain what’s happened, sparing no detail. I’ll deal with the press after I’ve ensured my sister’s safety and well-being.” She waved her hand in the air, dismissing the poor guy. “Thank you.” She added onto her instruction as if she’d realized how bitchy she sounded. “You may leave.”
He nodded and scampered away like a long-lost puppy. Then two uniformed officers took his place.
“Ms. Wright?”
“Wright-Kerrighan.” I held my foster mother’s hand tighter. When each of the foster girls turned of age, every one of us changed our last names, hyphenating ours with hers. Kind of like a gift to her for all she’d done over the many years she raised us. I kept the Wright because it felt wrong getting rid of every trace of our biological parents. And since that’s how Sonia kept her name, I followed along. Our other foster sisters did too. Sonia however used Wright-Kerrighan only in private. For professional reasons she chose to stick with Wright.
“Can we speak with you about what happened?” asked a man in a pair of navy slacks and an old beige sportscoat that had seen better days.
“Can they stay?” I nodded to my sister and mom.
“Oh, hello, Senator Wright. I’m sorry to be seeing you again under these circumstances.” He had a shiny gold badge clipped to his worn-out belt.
“Captain Mandle, thank you for coming.” Sonia offered a flat press of her lips as though she weren’t actually happy to see him.
“Captain?” I frowned. How many crimes came with the Captain visiting one of the victims in the hospital the night of?
“This case is sensitive, the FBI is involved, and you’re uh, well darlin’, you’re a living witness.”
And that explained it. I was alive as opposed to being dead girl number nine. Awesome. This day just kept getting better and better.
“The Backseat Strangler.” I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.
“’Fraid so. I’m going to need to ask you a lot of questions. Many you may not have the answers to, but just do your best, yeah?”
I nodded. “I will.”
Peeking down the corridor, I noted a handful of officers standing around a single door at the end of the hall.
A nudge from behind had me shuffling into the open space before I’d gotten my wits together.
“Sonia, dammit! I was going for stealth mode!” I whisper-scolded under my breath.
“For what reason?” She hooked me at the elbow of my good arm, and we walked hip to hip toward the gaggle of men.
As soon as we approached, several of the uniformed officers turned around. One super tall white guy with longish layered dark blond hair that looked windswept held a hand up, palm facing out. He was dressed more professionally in a full pitch-black suit.
“This is a restricted section of the hospital. Authorized medical personal only,” he started, but my sister stepped right up to battle.
“Hello, Agent.” She glanced down his body.
He smirked. “Agent Russell.”
“Agent Russell. I’m Senator Sonia Wright and my sister was attacked this evening. Your peer, Agent Fontaine, saved her life. We’d like