Ellie Kline 08-Cold Trail by Stone Mary & Berdel Donna

Author:Stone, Mary & Berdel, Donna [Stone, Mary & Berdel, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, American Suspense, Crime Thriller, Serial Killer, Police Procedural, Murder Investigation, Cold Case, South Carolina, Charleston
Published: 2021-03-06T06:00:00+00:00

19

In the long, quiet hallway outside of Dr. Eddington’s office, Luke sat bouncing his leg while he stared at the closed door and waited for his session.

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

The motion caused the ugly brown chair to vibrate and squeak, but Luke couldn’t stop himself. Just like he couldn’t stop from chewing on his lower lip.

He ran his tongue over the rough skin, all cracked and peeling from the cold, and shivered. The texture bothered him. A lot. Not as bad as too many loud noises, but still bad.

Luke raked his teeth over his lip until he caught pieces of loose skin between them. Starting on the left and working his way right, he ripped each strip off.

He’d been remembering the old man and his cane a lot lately, from back when he was Lucas Harrison. Whenever he did that, his insides felt squirmy, like he had worms for guts.

Luke jiggled his leg faster. If he thought about the old man too much, Dr. Eddington might not let him visit the cabin this year.

“Hello, Luke. Come on in.” Dr. Eddington appeared in the doorway, dressed in the white lab coat she always wore, smiling and motioning for him to follow her inside, the way she did every week.

Luke liked that, for the same reason he liked the ugly brown plastic chair in the hall and the blue fabric chair behind her desk—the routine. Knowing what to expect made him feel safe. He sat in the blue chair now, making sure to scoot back far enough that his feet couldn’t reach the desk. Sometimes, he kicked things without noticing. That made people mad.

“Would you like anything to drink?”

He shook his head. She always asked and he always said no. Dr. Eddington grabbed a water bottle for herself from the tiny refrigerator near the door. Luke scanned the familiar room while she settled herself behind the big black desk. Not really looking, just checking to make sure that none of the family photos or colorful sunset paintings or green plants on the wooden bookshelf had been moved or replaced.

Dr. Eddington folded her hands on the desk and watched him without speaking. That was one of the things Luke liked about her. She never tried to rush him or told him his habits were silly. Sunlight from the window behind her turned the gray streaks in her dark hair a shiny silver. Luke enjoyed watching them shimmer but staring at people’s hair was weird.

He drew in a deep breath and made eye contact because she’d told him doing so let other people know you were listening. After a few seconds, though, staring at her hazel eyes made his leg bounce again, so he stared at a beach painting behind her left shoulder instead.

“How have you been feeling these past few days, Luke? I know this tends to be a difficult time of year for you.”

Luke scuffed his shoe on the floor. He hated these questions about feelings. Dr. Eddington always tried to tell him there were no right answers, but Luke was pretty sure there were wrong ones.

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