Jonathan Kellerman - Alex Delaware 02 by Blood Test

Author:Blood Test [Test, Blood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

14

THE PERSON on the phone was female, agitated, and vaguely familiar.

“Dr. Delaware, I need your help!”

I tried to place her. A patient from years back reaching out in the throes of crisis? If so, not being remembered would only compound her anxiety. I’d fake it until I figured out who it was.

“What can I do for you?” I said soothingly.

“It’s Raoul. He’s gotten himself into terrible trouble.”

Bingo. Helen Holroyd. Her voice sounded different when heated by emotion.

“What kind of trouble, Helen?”

“He’s in prison, down in La Vista!”

“What!”

“I just spoke to him—they allowed him one call. He sounds terrible! Heaven knows what they’re doing to him! A genius locked up like a common criminal! Oh God, please help!”

She was falling apart, which didn’t surprise me. Icy people often freeze themselves in order to hold in check a volcanic stew of disturbing and conflictual feelings. Emotional hibernation, if you will. Crack the ice and the stuff inside comes pouring out with all the discipline of molten lava.

She was sobbing and began to hyperventilate.

“Calm down,” I said. “We’ll clear it up. But first tell me how it happened.”

It took a couple of minutes for her to regain control.

“The police came to the lab late yesterday afternoon. They told him about those people being killed. I was there, working on the other side of the room. Hearing about it didn’t seem to affect him. He was at the computer, typing in data, and he didn’t stop the entire time they were there. Just kept on working. I knew something was wrong. It’s not like him to be that impassive. He had to be really upset. When they were gone I tried to talk to him but he shut me out. Then he left, just walked out of the building without telling anyone where he was going.”

“And drove to La Vista.”

“Yes! He must have thought about it all night and left early in the morning because he got there by ten and had some kind of altercation with someone. I’m not sure who, they wouldn’t let us talk long and he was so agitated he wasn’t making much sense. I called back and talked to the sheriff but he said they were holding Raoul for the Los Angeles police to question. He wouldn’t tell me more, said I was free to get a lawyer, and hung up. He was rude and insensitive, talking about Raoul as if he were a criminal and my knowing him made me a criminal, too.”

She sniffled, remembering the indignity.

“It’s all so—Kafkaesque! I’m so confused, don’t know how to help him. I thought of you because Raoul said you had connections with the police. Please tell me, what should I do?”

“Nothing for the time being. Let me make a few calls and get back to you. Where are you calling from?”

“The lab.”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

“I rarely do.”

Milo wasn’t available and the desk man at the station wouldn’t tell me where he was so I asked for Delano Hardy, my friend’s occasional partner, and was connected to him after being put on hold for ten minutes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.